©picture by scribbles (Marye McKenney)

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Harvesting Hope

Lauraine Snelling's newest offering is the continuing story of Blessing, North Dakota, and all of its residents. This is the second book of the fifth series about Blessing, ND, and there are many of the same characters, as well as a few newer ones. A Harvest of Hope reads more like a day to day sampling of events and people rather than a telling of the story of one couple falling in love.

Most of the time, I prefer that the novel I read center on the relationship of the couple featured in the romance, but Lauraine has made her method work and work well. The characters have been developed all through the series of series and their personalities are easy to like. I feel like there is a modicum of truth to these stories, that Lauraine is telling her family history through her novels. Maybe that is her goal, to bring the reader into the story and to make that reader feel part of the family's history she is telling. I was a bit upset about Lauraine's previous book because it was touted to be a telling of the romance between Miriam Hastings and Trygve Knutsen, but this book tells that story fully and still chronicles the ups and downs of daily life in Blessing, ND. There are hints of the next book in this one, the dentist and one of Miriam's nursing friends, also that Miriam's family will be moving to Blessing as soon as Miriam finishes nursing school.

The people who populate these Blessings novels are friends from the first meeting all the way through to the each novel Lauraine writes in the series. I feel that I can't really tell much of the story in my review, just suffice it to say that I feel this book is well worth the time to read it. The reader will feel that he/she has been with her best friends talking over tea and cookies. Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and tea and cookies with a friend.

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.

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