Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Wildflowers from Winter: My Review



About the Book:
A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built a life far removed from her trailer park teen years. Until an interruption from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa. Determined to pay her respects while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. But the unexpected inheritance of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.

Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years. So when Bethany is left the land, he must fight her decisions to realize his dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany's vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away.

For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn't seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love and a peace she's not even sure exists?

My Comments:
I have been known to pan some religious fiction as being preachy or moralistic.  Yet, I really like books that are basically about a character's spiritual struggle.  I guess when it comes right down to it, if I want to read a romance novel I want to read about him and her and their relationship--and having either one of them spend a lot of time talking about faith often comes off as a phony add-on.  There is romance in Wildflowers from Winter but it is really much more the story of Bethany's faith journey--why she became estranged from God and how she comes back.  Through interactions with other characters we see how tragedy and faith interact, for better and for worse.   

One thing I did not like is that periodically the book would jump between first person (told by Bethany) and third person.  I found it distracting, though not hard to follow.

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a complimentary review copy via the Blogging for Books program.  Grade:  B+.  

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