Review: Dandelions on the Wind by Mona Hodgson

Well-written. Good story. Believable characters. Dandelions on the Wind by Mona Hodgson had all these things, and I yearned for more. I don't mean it didn't have a satisfying ending. It did. I enjoyed Ms. Hodgson's writing and Maren and Wooly's story grabbed me from page one and I wanted to read more.

Back cover:

Tattered relationships and broken hearts, like a quilt, can be pieced together by God’s love.

When Maren Jensen took a job on Elsa Brantenberg’s St. Charles, Missouri farm, she never expected to call the place her home. As she grows to love Mrs. Brantenberg and her granddaughter, Gabi, Maren is transformed from a lonely mail-order bride-without-a-groom to a beloved member of the Brantenberg household. 

But when Gabi’s father, Rutherford “Wooly” Wainwright, returns to the farm unexpectedly, everything changes for Maren. Despite the failing eyesight that caused her suitor to reject her, she can see that Wooly desperately needs to reconnect with the family he abandoned when his grief sent him running toward the army—and into the Civil War. She also senses there could be something more between the widower and herself, if either can move beyond their past hurts.    

Comforted and counseled by the wisdom of the women in her beloved quilting circle, Maren begins to discover the cost such decisions demand of her heart. Are her choices in obedience to God, or is she running from His plan? Is it too late for love to be stitched into the fabric of her life?

Rating: 4 roses

Blessings,
Ginger

Review: "Twice A Bride" by Mona Hodgson

Twice a Bride is book 4 in The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek, but is fine as a stand alone. I hadn't read the first three books and didn't feel like I was missing anything.

I enjoyed this story, but it took me a bit to get into it. Having not lost a spouse, I had a hard time connecting with Willow's grief.  Despite these things, I felt compelled to keep reading because the story pulled me in. I wanted to find out how Willow and Trenton reached their happily-ever-after.

Back cover:

Love lost doesn’t mean love lost forever. 

Can unexpected romance deliver a second chance for two deserving widows?

Full of resolve, young widow Willow Peterson decides to pursue her dreams to be an artist as she settles into a new life in the growing mountain town of Cripple Creek.  When she lands a job working as a portrait painter with handsome entrepreneur and photographer Trenton Van Der Veer, the road before Willow seems to be taking a better-than-anticipated turn.  

With questions tugging at several hearts in town, including the Sinclair Sisters’ beloved Miss Hattie, change is traveling down the tracks as several unexpected visitors make their way out West.  Will the new arrivals threaten the deep family bonds of the Sinclair sisters and the roots of love that are just taking hold for Willow?     

Filled with the resonating questions that all women face, this romance awakens hope against grief, love against loss, and dreams against life’s unexpected turns.

Rating: 4 stars

Available from Amazon and other fine retailers.

Blessings,
Ginger