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    Here in My Heart: A Novella
    Here in My Heart: A Novella
    Here in My Heart: A Novella
    Audiobook4 hours

    Here in My Heart: A Novella

    Written by Anna DeStefano

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Live and work together, or lose everything that matters…

    The ultimatum tilts Dru Hampton’s contented life in Chandlerville, Georgia, on its ear. The man that Vivian, her cantankerous boss and benefactor, wants Dru to partner with—live with—is Brad Douglas, who’s let Dru down every way a man can.

    Sheriff’s deputy Brad Douglas has come a long way since his rebellious youth. He’s back home to care for Vivian, his ill grandmother. He’s stayed out of Dru’s way all these years to make up for the hurt he once caused her. Now, the delightfully mischievous Vivian’s dying wish is for them to rebuild at least a working relationship together…and she’s betting on them rediscovering much more.

    The family business and the Douglas home that Dru and Brad both cherish will be sold if they don’t resolve their differences. Can these childhood sweethearts make up and reclaim each other’s hearts before it’s too late?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateSep 30, 2014
    ISBN9781491549018
    Here in My Heart: A Novella
    Author

    Anna DeStefano

    AnnaDeStefano brings to life heartwarming, emotion-packed stories about community, family and second chances. Her award-winning, nationally bestselling small-town romances spotlight family, friendships, and the forgiveness that nurtures her characters’ dreams…as they explore the issues all contemporary family face. Anna’s imagination is forever inspired by our ability to claim an unlimited and exciting future—by first facing and overcoming the setbacks of the past. She’s the author of more than twenty-seven books, including the Echoes of the Heart and the Mimosa Lane novels, all set in Chandlerville, Georgia, and her Atlanta Heroes series. Look for her other titles featuring the reader-favorite Dixon family: Here in My Heart, Let Me Love You Again, His Darling Bride, and Book Three of the Seasons of the Heart series, Love on Mimosa Lane. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Anna’s lived in the South her entire life. Her background as a care provider and adult educator in the world of crisis and grief recovery lends itself to the deeper psychological themes of every story she writes. A wife and mother, she currently writes in a charming northeast suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, not all that different from her characters’ beloved Chandlerville. She is also a workshop and keynote speaker, a writing coach, and a freelance editor. Get to know Anna at annawrites.com/blog and the Anna DeStefano: Author page on Facebook, where she shares her inspirations, her challenges, a healthy dose of honest optimism, and tidbits about upcoming projects.

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    Reviews for Here in My Heart

    3.5/5

    8 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Great read! I love these Echoes of the Heart books. Set in a small Georgia town with great characters and that small town sense of community is wonderful. This story is about Dru, the hardworking waitress at the Whip and Brad, the guy that left her seven years again. It's a heartfelt story of the two of them working through the issues and fighting to have a second chance at love. A definite must read!
    • 3/5
      A special thank you to Montlake Romance and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 Stars

      Here in My Heart: Anovella (Echoes of the Heart Series, #1) by Anna Destefano, a light southern read set in a small town, of forgiveness, redemption, risks, romance, and empowerment.

      Dru loves her life in Chandlerville, Georgia a charming suburb northeast of Atlanta. As an infant, she had the Dixons, a loving foster family who’d gifted her with a community and friends and a world where she would gladly stay forever, to give back to the community.

      Dru and Brad have a past, as Brad let down her down and his best friend. Now they are forced together to play nice. Brad lives in Savannah, GA and works with the police department, building his own life, and raised by his grandmother, Vivian, the town matriarch. She is outrageous and difficult, yet generous to a fault.

      Brad was friends with Dru's brothers, and of course she was always tagging along. He was her first love with teenage baggage, making a mess of their life. Dru wants to put the past behind her and is not thrilled to see Brad back in her town. Vivian, calls him home, as she is dying and devises a plan to get these two together.

      Dru owes eccentric Vivian more than she could possibly repay, as Vi had paid her to work her butt of at the Whip and backed Dru, putting so much time into their community, helping the local kids. Brad was supposed to be the villain, not her silent benefactor.

      Dru is involved with radKIDS, as an instructor, an amazing program for kids and young adults, advocating for and teaching safety across the country to communities, children, and parents. Dru and Brad find themselves reconnecting with the family restaurant business, Dream Whip – no matter the odds.

      She finds the life she has made for herself reshaping into something she does not recognize, when Vivian’s wishes are laid out, in her will and her demented matchmaking bender. Dru is terrified of loving and losing Brad all over and unsure if she wants to take the risk.

      For a woman who had shied away from outward expressions of affection, Vi had gone all out making a careful record of how much she cared—giving them both time to grow up and figure out what comes next.

      A sweet heartwarming story and fans of Sherryl Woods, Susan Mallery, Julia London, RaeAnne Thayne Debbie Macomber, and Mariah Stewartwill enjoy the small town charm and romance.

      Also included, a sneak peak of Oliver and Selena’s story “Waiting for Your Love”, the first novel in Anna’s new Echoes of the Heart Series (coming spring 2015).

      A native of the southeast myself, having lived in (NC, Atlanta, GA, and now south FL), Anna definitely knows the South and reflective from the stunning front cover, and throughout the pages with her background in the crisis and grief recovery areas.
    • 3/5
      3.5 starsHERE IN MY HEART is my first experience with Ms. DeStefano’s work and what better way to start than a sweet love story that takes me back home to Georgia?The small southern town of Chandlerville is a spit from Atlanta yet far enough to possess that comforting close knit community feel of everyone being extended family in some shape, form, or fashion.Dru might think she knows everything about the night that led to Oliver and Brad leaving town but she actually knows very little. One kiss and longing does not a relationship make. Dru occasionally took stubborn and prideful independence to a whole new level.Brad is the bad boy made good. He became the man his grandmother knew he was inside. Now, after being around Dru again he realizes he needs to tell her everything, regain her trust, and hopefully win her heart. Brad is always honest but doesn’t grovel or push. Dru has to at least meet him half way if they have any hope of working.Even though she was dying my favorite character was Vi. She maneuvered situations, people, and events, not out of selfishness or need for control, but out of love and concern. She knew called it with Brad and Dru. Vi was the best kind of matriarch.Dru and Brad’s second chance, or rather first real chance, is more about Dru learning to trust and let go.While HERE IN MY HEART is Dru and Brad’s love story it also deals with a serious and frightening issue, child predators. Through Dru’s radkids program at the Y and her young foster sister Lisa, child predation isn’t simply highlighted but features answers and programs to teach children to defend themselves and avoid dangerous situations. This problem~solution approach works well within the framework of Dru and Brad’s characters and romantic journey making HERE IN MY HEART romance with a difference.Even though it was obvious the characters and community were well established I never felt lost or that I was missing essential information.As an added bonus, the first two chapters in a new series kicking off with Oliver and Selena’s story is included. The tidbits revealed about Oliver and Selena in HERE IN MY HEART tickled my curiosity and the teaser has certainly whet my appetite for more.HERE IN MY HEART is a sweet tale of puppy love all grown up, a small town romance with sass.Reviewed for Miss Ivy's Book Nook