Book Review: Song of My Heart

Sadie Wagner loves to sing, and God has blessed her with a beautiful voice. Her most cherished dream is to someday use her gift on a real opera house stage. When her cousin Sid writes and tells her of a job opening in the small town of Goldtree, Kansas, where she could work in the mercantile during the week and give some evening concerts in the opera house, Sadie sees the opportunity as an answer to prayer. Her papa has been injured in a mining accident, and the family needs her to support them, so she packs up her things with her parents' blessing, and travels to Kansas with high hopes and dreams. But neither the new job as a clerk, nor the opera house is quite what she expected! And she also didn't expect to find such a good friend in the town's new sheriff, Thad McKane. But she's confused by Sid's jealousy . . . and the strange behavior of the opera house owner, Asa Baxter. When Sadie discovers some illegal dealings going on, and is asked to compromise her own convictions or lose her job, she struggles to figure out the right decision. In the end, she learns some valuable lessons about God, faith, and love.

I have read a few other books by Kim Vogel Sawyer, and was glad for the opportunity to read Song of My Heart. I really enjoyed the main characters, Sadie and Thad. I felt Sadie's heartache and dilemma as she struggled to figure out what decisions she should make, and I got a good laugh when Thad thought he had caught a moonshiner, but got sprayed by a skunk instead. Both Sadie and Thad seemed quite "real" and I enjoyed their story. I alternated between feeling sympathy and annoyance with Sadie's cousin Sid, who has been carrying the torch for Sadie for years . . . and the twin spinsters Melva and Shelva, who ran the mercantile, were some of my favorite characters as they added a fun dose of humor to the story. This book had the flavor of a western romance, but it wasn't completely "typical" because of some of the unique plot elements. All in all I enjoyed it and it was a fun read! I give it 4 to 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

**I was given a free copy of this book by Bethany House Publishers, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.