She closed her eyes and tipped her head. For a moment that seemed to last for eternity, she waited. Then she felt his breath get closer and then he kissed her. She eased into the kiss, but he edged back.A heartwarming WWII love story, Sandhill Dreams was a finalist in the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers’ Carol Awards for short historical fiction.Lainie Gardner once dreamed of becoming a … fiction.
Lainie Gardner once dreamed of becoming a nurse. Of serving her country. Of doing something important in the war. But rheumatic fever changed all that, and instead of running home to her parents’ coddling, Lainie is determined to find a war job at Fort Robinson in Nebraska’s sandhills, where she meets a soldier with his own broken dreams.
Tom Hamilton has feared dogs since he was bitten as a child, but his assignment at Fort Robinson is training war dogs and their handlers. Surely the Army has another use for him, but he’s trapped in a job he can’t stand in an out-of-the-way outpost. Every day is a reminder of his cowardice. Who would want to build a future with a man like him? Getting to know Lainie is a welcome distraction from the work that causes so much turmoil.
Is it possible new dreams will bring Lainie and Tom more joy than they ever imagined? Or will their fears hold them apart?
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Other books in this series:
Canteen Dreams
Captive Dreams
A Promise Kept
A Promise Born
A Promise Forged
more
Great historical novel with original story line. Clean language and just the right amount of romance.
Read it! Totally enjoyed this story. Determined to help out in the war effort but not as she hoped as a nurse, the character signs up for not quite what she thought but what hard work and determination.
The setting is in Nebraska which is where my heart lives even it the rest of my body is elsewhere.
It was a good book. In my opinion it dragged along in places, but it is a sweet amd believable story.
This was a very sensible novel !
Different twist on acWWII story
Lots of details about WWII that I didn’t know. Interesting characters and a great picture of life in Nebraska in a small town during the war.
Reading now.
The author Cara Putnam has amazing story telling skills.
During 1930’s, during the war a soldier meets woman
I especially enjoyed this book because I grew up during WWII. It clearly showed what life was like during the 1940s. The way people were all involved in supporting the troops and sacrifice here at home was shown through the groups who met the troop trains with food during their short stops to those who helped with the dances and entertainment at the USO.
This book gave insight into the training of dogs for use by the military. It was a very informative and well written account of basic training for troops and dogs. At the same time, it was a heart warming story of budding romance during war time.
I liked this book. It gave a picture of the World War II era and how this love between the two main characters evolved. Also found it interesting that dogs were trained in the service of our country during this time. Very informative and I had no idea this was going on. All in all it was a sweet love story. The only drawback I found was that the heroin was a bit childish at times and self-centered.
Happy Easy to read books. Love the clean carefree writing . Very enjoyable.
Great view of how women were received during WWII. How hard it was for them to find a place to serve. Loved the determination of the main character!
This is an easy read with wonderful characters; predictable with a very happy ending!
Sandhill Dreams is an informative story that is inspirational and easy to read. It was very interesting to learn about the training of the dogs for wartime use. I really enjoyed the total story.
A delightful romance including the love of pets/animals
Unique historical setting but disappointing heroine
Audiobook version: stars overall, 3 stars story, 4 stars narration
This sweet historical romance had a lot of good points, but several things in the story left me feeling dissatisfied. First, here are the things I enjoyed. I really liked the unusual and fascinating setting at Fort Robinson, an army base in Nebraska, during World War II. The author described the landscape, town, and fort very well. I could visualize the prairie and the wildflowers blowing in the breeze. The overall writing quality was very good as well. Secondly, the hero Tom was a wonderful guy with a lovable personality. Third, the heroine had an interesting health problem that I had never encountered in a book: rheumatic fever, which occurred after a staph infection when antibiotics were not available. Finally, I loved the narrator, Cecily White, who was great at male and female voices, and she really gave a believable 1940s flair to the voices.
However, there were several things about the book that bothered me. First, this may be a trigger warning for some people. Tom trained dogs for the army to send to the front lines of the war. At first I was intellectually intrigued, but the dog training gave me (a dog-lover) uncomfortable feelings. I worried about all of the dogs getting sent to war (I know it really happened), and more than one dog attack occurred in the book. Then, Lainie’s family dog got donated to the war effort, which is distressing to me. Secondly, Lainie’s personality was annoying. She was so stubborn (while being obliviousto her surroundings at the same time) that she almost got herself killed twice! It took Lainie way too long to gain some emotional maturity, and when she supposedly did, I was not convinced. Lainie was not good enough for Tom, I think. Those are the reasons why I had mixed feelings about this audiobook.
This book has a somewhat strong Christian component, but I don’t think it was too strong. There was a bunch of prayer and Bible verses. The story is told in alternating third person perspective. The steam level is very low, just kissing. Readers who want a sweet Christian romance and/or an interesting WWII-era setting might enjoy this book.
I requested and received a free audiobook copy via #AudiobookObsession, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
#AudiobookObsession Reviewer
A love story set in WWII. Lainey was a civilian employee in the corps. Also on this base was the training of soldier dogs. People would donate their family pets for the war. It was interesting to read about the training of the soldiers and their chosen dogs for war. Lainey has a connection with the trainer of the dogs, but he wants to get in the action of the war instead of training the dogs.
I enjoyed listening to this story narrated by Cecily White. audiobookobsessionreviewer
Only slightly connected to book one, this is an easy stand alone story!
The ending was slightly corny, but I enjoyed the book a lot!
This is a different narrator from book one, but she did an exceptional job!