A Hopeful Heart

By: Kim Vogel Sawyer

Narrated by: Linda Stephens

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Drawn to the enduring truths of Kim Vogel Sawyer’s gentle stories, fans and critics alike have fallen in love with the novels of this ACFW Book of the Year Award winner. Set in 1888 Kansas, A Hopeful Heart tells the story of a young woman from Back East who’s convinced she must settle for a life that’s second best. But as she struggles to overcome the challenges of a new faith and the hardships of frontier life, she may discover that—for her—the best is yet to come.

©2010 Kim Vogel Sawyer (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“Sawyer treats readers to love stories that speak to the heart.” ( Romantic Times)

A HOPEFUL HEART

ENJOYED LISTENING TO THIS BOOK. NARRATOR WAS EXCELLENT. FINISHED THE BOOK IN TWO DAYS.

Enjoyable

I love this author. Storyline was smooth and consistent. Realism and adventure was a great component.

Excellent!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. All the references on forgiveness and trusting God.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Aunt Hattie. Godly woman with solid faith, strong leader character, sharing that faith with others.

What about Linda Stephens’s performance did you like?

Good reader, good with different voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

yes and yes, lol

Any additional comments?

Loved the examples of forgiveness and trusting God as your Father, very encouraging and realistic.

One small annoyance is the time lapse between chapters, I kept thinking it had stopped playing. That must be an editing issue??? It does not affect the story or the reader's performance.

Love the book, not fond of the narrator

Great story, love the series. This narrator did not do the story justice. You may want to consider reading this book vs listening.

The narrator is excellent!

This narrator does a superb job at voice changes and accents!? The story is interesting too.

Made me believe in love again

This is an enjoyable tale of faith and love. The characters are easy to relate to, I really liked Aunt Hattie; she's the kind of lady I want to be when I'm older.

Heartfelt

It was a lovely, heartfelt story and a pleasant listen....low key, but sweet. I enjoyed listening to it...I liked the way Hannah taught our "heroine", and her readers about love.

Sweet story

It was a nice story, thankful for Christian authors and little predictable but enjoyable. The narrator isn’t my favorite sometimes she kinda gets on my nerves.

great listen

loved the story and the reader. very much enjoyed. you'll love it too!!! sure fire page turner.

Good story, a bit sappy

Kim's storylines are often good, but her writing style sometimes distracts from the story.

In particular, she has a fondness for personifying feelings and joining them with action verbs, which sounds terribly odd! Additionally, some of the literary quirks she uses to convey intense feelings don't describe something realistic. For instance, I don’t know anyone that grabs onto their hands so hard their knuckles hurt, or bites their cheek so hard it bleeds, when they’re feeling nervous. I don’t know anyone who, when they feel strong feelings, has their heart beat so hard they literally feel like it’s going to explode! All these embellishments just serve to make it sound a bit ridiculous, which distracts from the action of the moment.

Otherwise, the story is enjoyable.

The narrator has a good range of voices that sound fairly realistic. Her acting is good. Sometimes her narration is a bit melodramatic, which adds to the sappiness.