Friday, February 23, 2018

A Mother's Love: An Amish Novel by Charlotte Hubbard


Hello!  If you are looking for a light-hearted magical story, pick up Midnight Magic by Jo-Ann Carson (available on Kindle Unlimited). 

A Mother’s Love by Charlotte Hubbard is a heartwarming Amish novel.  Rose Raber lives in Cedar Creek with her daughter, Gracie and her mother, Lydia.  The previous fall Rose lost her father and her husband in a fire at their sawmill.  Now, Rose is losing her mother to cancer.  Before her mother passes away she tells Rose about a stationery box in her dresser which contains letters addressed to Rose.  When Rose reads the letters, she discovers that she was adopted.  In the last letter in the box, Anne (her birth mother) requests that Rose not look for her.  Rose does not know if she can honor that request.  Rose and Gracie are at the local mercantile when they run into (literally) Matthias Wagler.  Matthias is a widower who is opening a harness shop in nearby Morning Star.  Rose is fortunate in obtaining a position as a cook at Morning Star Senior Center.    Rose and Matthias spend more time together (thanks to Gracie), and Rose finds Matthias easy to talk to.  She ends up confiding in him about her birth mother and how Anne was being courted by Saul Hartzler at the time.  This information puts Matthias in a sticky situation.  He is familiar with Saul Hartzler of the Hartzler Carriage Company and is entering into a partnership with him.  Should he tell Rose that her birth mother is nearby?  The decision is taken out of Matthias hands when Anne Hartzler walks into the senior center and encounters Rose.  Rose lost one mother, but she is getting a wonderful opportunity to know the woman who gave her life.  They must be discrete, so Saul does not discover Anne’s secret.  Morning Star is a small town, though, and it is inevitable that Saul will encounter Rose who is the spitting image of her mother.  What happens when a thirty-year-old secret springs forth disrupting several lives? 

A Mother’s Love is well-written and has a nice steady pace which makes for easy to read and engaging novel.  I found A Mother’s Love to be an emotional novel (you might need to keep a tissue handy).  I give A Mother’s Love 4 out of 5 stars.  The characters are developed and realistic.  Rose is going through a rough time and we can feel her emotions (the turmoil, confusion, concern, doubt, love).  I did feel that she worried too much about what others would think about her actions.  Gracie is a gregarious, curious and active child who easily charms every person she encounters.  She will be handful when she is a teenager.  A Mother’s Love is full of activity.  It is amazing at how much the author packed into one story.  I thought A Mother’s Love had several good messages.  They include that none of us are perfect (all of us have flaws), God has a plan for our lives, good things come to those that wait (aka God’s timing not our own), and the power of prayer.  We see how important it is to forgive a person, to have love in our lives, and the importance of faith.  The ending is very special and leaves a person with a good feeling in their heart.  A Mother’s Love is a thoughtful and heartfelt novel.  I am eager to read her next novel A Mother's Gift.

I appreciate you visiting today and reading my review.  Next time I will share my thoughts on The Book of Secrets by Melissa McShane.  May you have a stunning day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader
 

1 comment:

  1. Kristina, thank you so much for your wonderful review of my book!

    ReplyDelete