by Laurie Alice Eakes
The Midwives, Book 3
Christian Fiction / Historical / Romance
Available January 2013
Revell Books
384 pages
About the Book
She thought she had left her old life behind . . .
Esther Cherrett comes from a proud line of midwives and was trained by her mother to take over the family calling. When a terrible scandal threatens all she holds dear, Esther flees, taking a position as a teacher in the wild western mountains of Virginia. But instead of the refuge she was seeking, Esther finds herself in the midst of a deadly family feud-and courted by two men on opposite sides of the conflict. All she wants is to run away again.
Yet could it be that her past holds the key to reconciliation-and love?
In this gripping story of trust, deception, and bittersweet loss, you’ll discover the true meaning of choices of the heart.
My Thoughts
Esther is running away from something—exactly what that is, we don't find out until a ways into the book (and all of the details don't come until closer to the end). She accepts a position as a teacher in a mountain community that just so happens to be feuding among themselves. As Esther's secrets start coming out and the feuding starts up again, she must figure out whether she will continue to run or if she will accept God's forgiveness and learn to forgive herself.
After reading the second book in Laurie Alice Eakes' Midwives series, I knew I wanted to read Choices of the Heart as soon as it came out! The book was a bit different than what I expected, though still very good. All of the drama of the feuding families an the love triangle definitely brought some tension to the story, which was interesting to try to figure out. And Eakes did a great job of allowing readers to be conflicted about which guy should win Esther's heart, which is sometimes hard to do. I also enjoyed getting to know the people and the setting of this mountain community. The scenery was well-written and gave me a great picture of what the area must truly be like (or at least back in the 1840s!).
While I did enjoy the book, I was bothered by the way that the issue in Esther's past was addressed. I don't want to give anything away, but it was made to seem like it was Esther's fault—which it was not, no matter what she did prior to the actual event. (Possibly the author wrote it this way since that is how Esther felt for much of the book, but it just bothered me.) I also felt that the pacing was a bit off. We didn't find out all of the details about this mysterious "thing" that happened until close to the end, and then everything wrapped up pretty quickly.
While I enjoyed the previous book more, this was still a wonderful read. I recommend the entire series! [3.5 stars]
I received a free copy of this book from Revell Books in exchange for my fair and honest review.
Esther is running away from something—exactly what that is, we don't find out until a ways into the book (and all of the details don't come until closer to the end). She accepts a position as a teacher in a mountain community that just so happens to be feuding among themselves. As Esther's secrets start coming out and the feuding starts up again, she must figure out whether she will continue to run or if she will accept God's forgiveness and learn to forgive herself.
After reading the second book in Laurie Alice Eakes' Midwives series, I knew I wanted to read Choices of the Heart as soon as it came out! The book was a bit different than what I expected, though still very good. All of the drama of the feuding families an the love triangle definitely brought some tension to the story, which was interesting to try to figure out. And Eakes did a great job of allowing readers to be conflicted about which guy should win Esther's heart, which is sometimes hard to do. I also enjoyed getting to know the people and the setting of this mountain community. The scenery was well-written and gave me a great picture of what the area must truly be like (or at least back in the 1840s!).
While I did enjoy the book, I was bothered by the way that the issue in Esther's past was addressed. I don't want to give anything away, but it was made to seem like it was Esther's fault—which it was not, no matter what she did prior to the actual event. (Possibly the author wrote it this way since that is how Esther felt for much of the book, but it just bothered me.) I also felt that the pacing was a bit off. We didn't find out all of the details about this mysterious "thing" that happened until close to the end, and then everything wrapped up pretty quickly.
While I enjoyed the previous book more, this was still a wonderful read. I recommend the entire series! [3.5 stars]
Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell,
a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I received a free copy of this book from Revell Books in exchange for my fair and honest review.
About the Author
Laurie Alice Eakes has created stories since she can remember. In 2003, she graduated from Seton Hill University with a master’s degree in writing and sold her first book two years later. Family Guardian won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency in 2007, and her third book, The Glassblower was a 2010 Carol Award finalist in 2010. In the past three years, she has sold six books to Baker/Revell, five of which are set during the Regency time period, four books to Barbour Publishing, as well as two novellas to Barbour Publishing and one to Baker/Revell. Six of her books have been picked up by Thorndike Press for large print publication, and Lady in the Mist, her first book with Revell, was chosen for hardcover publication with Crossings Bookclub. She also teaches online writing courses and enjoys a speaking ministry that has taken her from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast.
Laurie Alice lives in Texas with her husband, two dogs and two cats, and is learning how to make tamales.
Laurie Alice Eakes Online
I agree with you 100% about "the thing" that happened to her. I didn't mention it just b/c, like you, said I felt it was written that way b/c that's what Esther felt...at least I hope that's the case!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
xoxo,
Renee
Thanks for stopping by, Renee!
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