Susan Payne Returns With . . .

An intrepid heroine and a mysterious man come together and make magic in There's Always Hope.

Hope St. Michaels travels to Sweetwater Kansas to assume the role of school marm to the area's children. Disfigured by port wine birthmark, she faces bias and bigotry and feat. Enter the one-named anti-hero named Wilder who battles his own set of biases due to his Native American heritage, as well as his stubborn, close-mouthed attitude. Together these two are magic.

Again, Susan Payne teaches another valuable lesson: do not judge a book by its cover. Hope is intrepid and brave and devoted to educating children. Her disfigurement, not of her own making of course, makes the ill will and maltreatment by some of the Sweetwater residents all the more wrenching.

Now, Wilder, the one named anti-hero, is another story. Too handsome for his own good—again not of his own making—but there you go—and part Native American, he does not seek out friends nor does he wish to influence people. He simply doesn't care what others think of him, and that of itself is a breath of fresh air. Wilder's softer side emerges—often against his own will—when it comes to the new school marm whom he is sworn to protect.

And it is a wonder. to read.

On a scale of 1—5, There's Always Hope deserves a 5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews