Streams of Mercy (Song of Blessing #3) by Lauraine Snelling

Another hit about the town of Blessing and its special residents. You can never go wrong selecting a Lauraine Snelling book.  Each minute of your time will be thoroughly enriched. Although it is not necessary to read the other books in the series first to enjoy this, you will be very glad if you did, so that you too can fall in love with each member of this extended family. But be warned - these books will make you hungry. For homemade baked bread and cookies - and to hear more about what's happening to each of the characters. They are not really about just one or two characters - but about a town made up of special people. 

In this book we hear more about Thomas Devlin, a lovable Irish priest who is ever ready to help any and all in any way that he can.  He wasn't easily accepted into this community of Norwegians, but as most Irishmen he grows on you. As you might think, his relationships with the residents can be awkward, but he does grow to care for Anji - who fairly recently lost her husband. Anji's husband's family in Norway tries to control her future remarriage, so that adds one more obstacle to the mix.

The needs of the hospital always seem to be growing, and it is severely challenged in this book - especially after a circus train comes to town.  Lots of heart wrenching issues for the patients and for the doctors and nurses there. 

Once again a pleasure to spend time in Blessing and take part in its growth and progression! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher from the Baker Publishing Group, Bethany - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “GuidesConcerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

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From the book jacket:

The Heartwarming Drama Continues in the Song of Blessing Series
Anji Baard Moen, a recent widow, returns from Norway with her children. She quickly settles back into life in Blessing, teaching Norwegian history in the high school and writing articles for the Blessing Gazette. When tragedy strikes, Anji steps in to run the newspaper and soon finds a kindred spirit in the widower who owns the printing press. As they spend time together, Anji wonders if there's something more than friendship growing between them.

But Anji has also caught the eye of a recent arrival to Blessing. He has put his carpentry skills to good use on the town's building projects, including Anji's house. But Anji is torn between her feelings of loyalty to someone who needs her and the chance to build a new life with this intriguing newcomer.

Where will her choice take her? 

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A Most Inconvenient Marriage by Regina Jennings

Trust in God's plan, not on our own understanding.

Abigail's father died in a riding accident and her mother remarried - to a man who sold off all her father's horses and falsely accused Abigail of stealing his watch, forcing her out of the house and family since her mother sided with him. So she left, looking for a way to support herself and went into nursing.

This book starts out in 1865 at the Yankee Gratiot Street Prison, St Louis, Missouri.  The war is just ending, but she's helping a Confederate soldier  who isn't going to make it.  After much consideration, as he's about to die, Abigail agrees to marry the man to inherit and take care of his Ozark horse farm, his mother and his ailing sister.  She welcomes the chance for a new life and is taken in right away and loved by his mother, but the sister is very ill and very difficult.

With a wound from the war that never healed properly, Jeremiah searches everywhere for his best friend but finally gives up and returns home after the war is over.  Loving Laurel is what got him through it all, and he's looking forward to marrying her as soon as he gets home. But he is greatly surprised to find that a woman is living in his home claiming to be his wife. A woman he's never met!

Life after the war is nearly as difficult as it had been getting through it. There are all kinds of criminals roaming the land looking to prey on people. The fields have been neglected. Most of their horses have been sold or taken.  It's time to rebuild - lives as well as surroundings. This is a lovely story of regeneration and learning to give in to the plan that God has for us all, of  letting go and learning to love and trust others. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Baker Publishing Group, Bethany - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

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Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund

Faith, forgiveness and romance in 1859 Michigan.

After reading the novella that came before, I was eager to read this next book in the series and was engulfed/immersed within the first couple of chapters. I love historical fiction and it's interesting to learn new things as you read. I didn't realize that there were pirates on the Great Lakes. And I never thought of how hard it would be to keep a lighthouse beam going all night, every night. Or that there would be people who didn't want it to shine - for their own gain.

Patrick has an ugly past and has come to the lighthouse on Presque Isle. He doesn't mind the lifestyle. He was saved and is befriended by Holy Bill, who helped to find this job. Grateful for a new chance, Patrick came there with his wife and toddler, and his wife has just died.

Emma and her brother are on a steamship that has been attacked by pirates. Maybe they should have stayed on Mackinac. But this was a chance for both of them for a new life.  It had been a struggle since coming over from Ireland. Their mother died of starvation, and their father didn't cope well. Forced to jump into the lake and hang onto a barrel, Emma and Ryan are rescued by Patrick and taken to shore.  They both look for work in an area where jobs are scarce.

Patrick buries his wife and is in desperate need of someone to look after his boy.  In fact little Josiah runs up to Emma who had been watching the funeral. Holy Bill has been praying for Patrick and a better life for him. He encourages Emma and Patrick to be married that day so that she can take care of the boy and Patrick both.  Emma had thought herself unattractive and that she'd never find a husband. She is grateful for a way to take care of herself and also have a real home and family - as well as stop being a burden to her brother.  

There is a lot of romantic tension as Emma and Patrick get to know one another and begin a new life where they both may finally have a chance at happiness. There's a lot to tell about their past, but when is it ever a good time?  In Patrick's case, will that telling make them lose the ground that they have gained? And then there are rumors about how his wife died, spread by his wife's cousin - who befriends Emma.

This is an excellent story and the characters are fully dimensional.  I enjoyed getting to know them and see how their lives would play out. I was sorry to give this only four stars. As much as I loved the story, I did feel that it went on a little too long. I started to lose interest about 2/3 of the way through but read it to the end and and was glad to see how it wrapped up.  I really loved the cover on this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher from the Baker Publishing Group, Bethany - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

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Surprised By Love by Julie Lessman

 Heartbreaking romance from beginning to end!

Another hit from Julie Lessman.  Honestly, you cannot go wrong with one of her books! This is book three in The Heart of San Francisco series, set during San Francisco's Gilded Age. I had not read the previous two books, but was able to grasp the story line and enjoy it without a problem. I had read the Daughters of Boston series and this is in some ways similar in that it involves a large Irish family,  yet with entirely different people.  And I do mean people as these are more than characters to you even part way through the book.

Meg is a young woman who as a child was overweight and made fun of.  She's just come home from Paris, all grown up, with a new figure and new look that will melt the boys - and silence anyone who ever ridiculed her before.  She's still a sweet girl on the inside though, and most of all wants to see Bram, who acted as a protective older brother to her before.  Meg is granted an internship to be a lawyer, and she has interests in the medical field as well.  She is thrust into an office with Devlin, the one person who tore her apart relentlessly in the past. He cannot see her in the same way anymore, and falls head over heels for her now.  He's a Christian and sincerely apologizes for what he did to her in the past,  so he becomes more appealing to Meg, especially since Bram denies his love for her.

Bram is so glad to see Meg again and to know that she has thrived while away. He's pretty surprised though at the beautiful young woman she's become, and is drawn to her in a different way now.  But he has some secrets that have never come to light before, and because of his guilt agrees to marry another girl to help his father and his business.

Threaded all through this is another back story between Meg's mother and Bram's boss. The whole story comes together with the biblical story of Abraham, who accepted whatever God wanted from him no matter the cost to himself.  There are lessens to be learned by all as this is applied to the characters in the book.  It's a tale of intense romance, conflict and passion, corruption, deception and revelation.   You'll be pulled along and if you're like me will end up in tears at the end!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher from the Baker Publishing Group Bethany - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html


ISBN: 0800721659
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To Everything a Season by Lauraine Snelling

Another addition to the series set in Blessing, ND in the 1900's, this is the first in a new series. If you haven't read the previous books about the Red River Valley, you will still enjoy this book. If you have read the original series, you'll be pleasantly pleased that the story of the people of Blessing is continuing.

Learning to know each character is enjoyable - they are all three dimensional and for the most part each is quite loveable. You get so involved with the entire community as the small town continues to grow. You want to know more about each of the original cast and their descendants as they live and love, have children and contribute to the town. 

Initially, the Bjorklund brothers bring their families from Norway to begin a new life on the land they will turn from prairie to fertile farms, and later into a thriving town. They bring other family over to join them with the promise of land - which is scarce in their homeland. The continuing story of Haaken and Ingeborg and all the family is heartbreaking and poignant.  But there is also a new romance that begins in this book between Trygve Knutson and Miriam Hastings.

Trygve has been traveling with a well drilling crew, which is a successful business for  his Uncle. Even though he enjoys traveling, something tells him it's time to stay home and work on the family farms again.

Miriam lives in Chicago and is going to nursing school. She has a very ill mother and also siblings that she is trying to care for and support by getting her nursing degree. She is such a gifted nurse that she is selected to travel to Blessing to continue her instruction - for a year.  It's excruciating to leave them, but her instructors make it possible for her to go. Once in Blessing, she falls in love with the area that is so very much different from the city.  The lifestyle is more like what her mother has talked about as how she grew up.

Through circumstances at the hospital and with the founding families, Trygve and Miriam go through a crisis that touches them both. It also shows the level of faith that each has and their perception of how God influences their lives. 

There is another new element brought to the town - a Catholic priest and the growing population in the town who follow that faith rather than the Protestant religion of the original founders.  Conflict builds as to whether or not they will allow this to happen.

I am a huge fan of Lauraine Snelling's work. This is a welcome opportunity to see how the residents of the Red River Valley handle life, their faith and their growing town.  I love that it's not a fast read, but instead is quite intricate. It's not really about the romance between just two people - it's about all the characters in the town and their relationships. The only thing that I was disappointed with in this book is the somewhat abrupt ending. I know that the series will continue the story about Trygve and Miriam, but I wasn't ready for this book to end yet.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher from Bethany House - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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The Brickmaker's Bride by Judith Miller

Synopsis from the book
In the clay-rich hills of the newly founded state of West Virginia, two families tentatively come together to rebuild a war-torn brickmaking business.
Ewan McKay has immigrated to West Virginia with his aunt and uncle, promising to trade his skills in the clay business for financial help. Uncle Hugh purchases a brickmaking operation from a Civil War widow and her daughter, and it's Ewan's job to get the company up and running again.
Ewan seeks help from Laura, the former owner's daughter, and he quickly feels a connection with her, but she's being courted by another man--a lawyer with far more social clout and money than Ewan. Resolving that he'll make the brickworks enough of a success that he can become a partner in the business and be able to afford to bring his sisters over from Ireland, Ewan pours all his energy into the new job.
But when Hugh signs a bad business deal, all Ewan's hard work is put in jeopardy. As his hopes for the future crumble, Laura reveals something surprising. Can she help him save the brickworks, and will Ewan finally get a shot at winning her heart?

My review
This was not one of my favorite books, but it was definitely worth the read. Overall I really like seeing an Irish immigrant overcome society's pregidouses. A man of faith, hard working and doing what is right, who catches a break. It's also nice to see strong women with rich lives hold their own in business and society, who also have great faith, kindness and genuinely help others. 

Laura is repressed as well as Ewan, but in different ways. There are moments of faith interspersed that show strength of character in each. Ewan made a statement - here's part of it: "...love and bricks both need a slow, steady burn in order to become strong and withstand the test of time..." That to me is what this story is about.  

I was very interested to learn more about brickmaking. There were several things I didn't know about the process. You don't just scrape the clay into a mold, unmold and let it dry.  In addition to being backbreaking, there are a lot of important details and skill involved. 

This was not a quick read for me but sometimes that is exactly what you want.  It is a satisfying historical love story well worth your time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher from Bethany House - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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