Double Review: The Sewing Sisters' Society & A Most Inconvenient Love by Ruth Logan Herne

My rating: 4 stars / I really liked it

Synopsis

Hattie McGillicuddy might not look like your typical matchmaker, but Hattie makes things happen in the little town of Second Chance, South Dakota. With the arrival of the railroad and official statehood, Hattie’s determined to bring brides west, and not just any brides. Brides who need the wide open prairie as much as the prairie- and the prairie men- need them! Three pioneer stories of unlikely love are woven around a little town full of homespun characters that take us back to another place and another time but with the same faith, hope and love we cherish today.

Macy can’t sew a lick, and she’s come to town with a sacrifice and a secret, but when Hattie’s first apprentice is attracted to the pastor of the only church in town—the man raising her illegitimate son— will the truth set her free? Or make her leave the town and her son behind?

Unjustly accused, Nellie comes west to escape the law. She has a way with tucks and gathers, and every Western town could use more tucks and gathers. She’s determined to improve the drab look of the prairie and manages to brighten hearts as well. But will her quick speech and firm ideas of women’s suffrage draw Levi Eichas closer or send the somber carriage maker running?

Grief has robbed Ann Hazel, but when her aunt pushes her to go west and help an ailing Hattie McGillicuddy turn hems, Ann’s shamed into it. She’s managed to avoid life for awhile, but when Sol Eichas’s nanny comes down sick, Ann reluctantly agrees to help. As she winds her way around Sol’s heart and home, can the two troubled souls leave the past behind to embrace a future together?

My Review

These stories of sweet romance and a second chance at life and love worked perfectly as novellas in a collection. I liked that they had the same setting in a small but developing town, and exploring the relationships between each couple. Hattie is a sweetheart and I enjoyed her personality and the way she mentored the young women, providing a common thread connecting the stories. I felt like I got to know the characters quickly and connected to their struggles and feelings. Well-written novellas are a pleasure to read for the instant gratification of a happy ending ;) The following full-length book in the series, A Most Inconvenient Love, is a must-read to follow up with the lives of each of these endearing couples as they make up a strong supporting cast.

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

My rating: 3 stars / I liked it

Synopsis

Sober businessman Seb Ward may have come from a wealthy lumber-baron family in Minnesota, but he knows that appearances can be deceiving, and that his illustrious family is pretty dysfunctional. Being in another state has provided the buffer he sought from his father’s misdeeds, but when a little boy shows up on a train… a little boy who looks enough like Seb to be his own child… Seb’s faced with a dilemma. Raise the boy as his own, or let his mother suffer the embarrassment of “a brother by another mother.” And when the boy takes a shine to the Rachel Eichas, the newly contracted school teacher, Seb can’t help but do the same. But Rachel was raised by an unloving, business-first father and there’s no way she’s looking for those same qualities in a husband. Can she see through Seb’s focus and drive to find the loving man within?

My Review

I enjoyed this sweet story of a lumber mill owner and the local schoolteacher and how they came together despite some misunderstandings and conflicts in the town. I felt like I was missing a bit of backstory to many of the townspeople and family members that are mentioned, and while the author did a decent job catching the reader up, I wish that I had read The Sewing Sisters' Society novella collection first, where it tells their stories so I could get to know them first and appreciate them more in this book. I appreciated Sebastian's loyalty to his mother and self-sacrifice in taking on his young half-brother without dispelling the rumors, but hoping that his character would speak for itself. Rachel learned about trust as she got to know Sebastian and determine for herself what kind of man he was. She went through some difficult years with her strict father, but enduring that trial strengthened her and her sisters, as well as their bond. I enjoyed her disposition- friendly and helpful, but cautious and thoughtful as well. I liked the small town setting and the way the neighbors supported each other, even with the typical busybodies and negativity stemming from gossip and the disgruntled. The tone of the narrative was a bit peculiar, and it was interesting the way the author wove in snippets of scripture as they came to the minds of the characters.

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)