Hallmark’s ‘When Hope Calls’ Is Getting a Series of Spinoff Books
Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart spinoff series When Hope Calls is getting a spinoff of its own. The first in a new series of books featuring the show’s characters is coming to shelves in 2020. It will be written by When Calls the Heart author Janette Oke and her daughter Laurel Oke Logan.
The first ‘When Hope Calls’ book is due out in May 2020
Unyielding Hope, the first in a planned series of When Hope Calls books, is due out in May 2020. The book will reveal more about the story of Lillian and Grace, two orphaned sisters who reunite to found an orphanage in Canada in the early 20th century. It’s currently available for pre-order from Amazon.
Here’s how publisher Bethany House describes the upcoming book:
Lillian Walsh has already suffered more than most. After the passing of her sister and birth parents when she was younger, and now her adoptive mother’s recent death, Lillian struggles to understand why God would allow her to lose so much. Yet her adoptive father seems ready to move on, boarding up their home to embark on an extended visit to his native Wales.
Then a lawyer turns up on their doorstep with news that again upends Lillian’s life. She has inherited a small estate from her birth parents and, even more shocking, her younger sister Grace is likely alive. Lillian rushes to reunite with her sister, despite the fear that they won’t be able rebuild a connection.
When the two sisters meet, Grace is not what Lillian expected–she’s full of exuberance and big dreams despite being raised in difficult circumstances. Can Lillian set aside her own plans to join her sister in an adventure that will surely change them both?
Unyielding Hope will be the first in a three-book When Hope Calls series, International Business Times reported in September 2019. The companion novels will explore stories that we haven’t yet seen on the Hallmark Movies Now series.
Oke is also the author of six novels in the Canadian West series, which inspired When Calls the Heart. She and her daughter are also the authors of three books in the Return to the Canadian West series, a companion series to WCTH.
Will there be a season 2 of ‘When Hope Calls’?
News of the upcoming novel will be music to the ears of When Hope Calls fans, who haven’t yet heard whether the series will be renewed for a second season. The show was Hallmark’s first foray into streaming-only content, a fact that frustrated some viewers, who were annoyed at being asked to pay for yet another subscription in order to see the episodes.
Hallmark hasn’t released any specific viewership numbers for the show, which stars Morgan Kohan as Lillian and Jocelyn Hudon as Grace. But the network did say in September 2019 press release that the series had signups to Hallmark Movies Now “surging.”
On Instagram, fans are begging for the show to return, saying they need to see more of Grace and Lillian’s story.
“Such a great show! 🤞🏻for a Season 2,” commented one fan.
When Hope Calls Season 1 is currently streaming on Hallmark Movies Now.
