BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 16 April 2024 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – THE FRIENDSHIP QUILT by LYNN DEAN
TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – THE FRIENDSHIP QUILT by LYNN DEAN
THE BOOK
THE BLURB
When Anne Carpenter’s husband died, he left her stranded in this remote frontier valley with two daughters to provide for and a boarding house as the sole means of doing so. Mustering all her grit, she’s managed to keep a roof over their heads…until an unexpected disaster leaves her destitute and dependent.
Pastor Rutherford Gentry is a man with a secret. When everything he’s devoted his life to goes up in smoke, he finds an unexpected opportunity to once more be of service…but does he have anything meaningful to offer?
Charlotte and Rufus MacMannus came to Elizabethtown in New Mexico Territory to start over after a devastating loss, but it seemed that trouble followed them. Now they struggle to use the few years and resources they have left the best way they know how.
After surviving unimaginable abuse, a Shoshone woman and her son are determined to rebuild their lives in the community that gave them shelter, but cultural differences add to their challenge to make a new home in a new community.
Hiram Newman understands the struggles of his young mixed-race apprentice because he’s faced similar abuses, himself. Now he has a chance to step up and accomplish things he’s only dared to dream of doing…but fears he’s not up to the task.
One community…five households in crisis…
Despite their differences, can they build anew on the ashes of their dreams and create something of beauty from the broken pieces of their lives?
THE AUTHOR
Growing up in Texas, I dictated my first stories to my mama before I was old enough to write them down myself. She humored me, for which I am grateful, and I’ve been telling stories in one form or another ever since.
Fast forward more years than I’ll admit to. Children grown. House (relatively) quiet. And I have a slew of characters living in my head, all clamoring to tell their stories and insisting that I write them!
I write about the things I know. The things I love–God, family, history–and how those things fit together to demonstrate timeless truths.
Time is precious. As a reader, you give a great gift when you choose to spend time reading my books, and I’m grateful.
My ambition is to give you a gift of memorable stories in return.
MY REVIEW
Ms. Dean has ‘stitched’ a lovely story of friendship and devotion and community. She has beautifully illustrated how we each complement one another, and that the whole is not complete without each of its component parts, or friends, as in her story.
Each of the characters has their own part of the story to tell, personal history that makes them an integral part of the community. The reader can identify with some of all of the elements of each of the characters—and hopefully with the unity among them.
The author has beautifully illustrated the value of each individual with the visual of the quilt, and the beauty of the finished product.
One of the sweetest and most powerful stories this reviewer has read.
ROBIN’S FEATHERS
ALL | THE | FEATHERS!
I purchased this book and offer my review of my own free will. The opinions expressed in my review are my own honest thoughts and reaction to this book.
I hear voices. Loud. Incessant. And very real. Which basically gives me two options: choke back massive amounts of Prozac or write fiction. I’ve been writing since I discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. I seek to glorify God in all that I write–except for that graffiti phase I went through as teenager.
Naomi is an award-winning author who crafts her stories from the pristine north woods of Wisconsin, where she and her husband Jeff live as epically as God allows near the families of their five children. She enjoys roaming around on the farm, snacking out of the garden, relaxing in her vintage camper, and loving on her passel of grandchildren. Naomi is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; Faith, Hope, and Love Christian Writers; and the Lake Superior Writers. Though she has written in a variety of venues, her great love is historical fiction. She had three new releases in 2022. Her novel, Song for the Hunter is the sequel to Mist O’er the Voyageur, a 2019 Selah Awards finalist and two-time Book of the Year nominee. Not for Love is her novella in Barbour’s new Lumberjacks & Ladies collection. Her Heroines of WWII novel titled Season of My Enemy releases in June. She is the author of several other series, collections, and stand-alone novels. Naomi would love to connect with you around the web and you can sign up for her monthly newsletter on her site.
FOUR FEATHERS
Keely Brooke Keith is the author of the beloved Uncharted series. Her books are best described as inspirational frontier-style fiction with a futuristic twist. Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Keely was a tree-climbing, baseball-loving 80s kid. She grew up in a family who moved often, which fueled her dreams of faraway lands.
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