Today, I’m sneaking in double reviews for Ruth Logan Herne’s new historical books. The Sewing Sisters’ Society is a collection of three novellas and a great introduction to the town of Second Chance. A Most Inconvenient Love is a full-length book with familiar and new townspeople.
About The Sewing Sisters’ Society
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?
In My Opinion
In this novella collection from Ruth Logan Herne, three women come to Second Chance, South Dakota looking for…well, a second chance. With the support of Hattie McGillicuddy, the matronly owner of the small town’s sewing shop, these women learn to let go of their pasts, reach for their futures, and find love.
These books are Herne’s first historicals and just as excellent and engaging as her contemporaries. If you love children in your books, you can’t go wrong with anything written by Herne. I loved how this collection is set in a time when women were making a stand for their rights, on the cusp of the women’s vote (and consequently, right as South Dakota becomes a state).
Each novella in this collection stands alone so if you want or need to set it aside after finishing one, you won’t be lost when you come back to it (but chances are you’re going to want to keep reading). This collection is also an excellent introduction to the people of Second Chance (and even characters for the future stories, including the full-length A Most Inconvenient Love).
Encouraging, delightful, and filled with hope and healing, The Sewing Sisters’ Society is another winner from Herne.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
About A Most Inconvenient Love
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?
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In My Opinion
For those who have read The Sewing Sisters’ Society novella collection, Rachel Eichas is a familiar name. And if you haven’t read the novella collection, don’t worry, this book works just as the collection as an introduction to the town and residents of Second Chance, South Dakota.
Ruth Logan Herne introduces readers to the joys and struggles of prairie living (and small-town living) in this book. Readers get a feel for challenges brought on by the elements as well as growth while also sharing in the intelligence and insights to those challenges and friendships forged through them.
Rachel is a strong woman who loves to learn. Seb is hardworking and has a huge heart that means he’ll make sacrifices to protect those he loves most. The two of them are drawn to each other from the beginning but each has pain from relationships with their fathers that hold them back.
I enjoyed watching Rachel and Seb dance around their attraction for each other, which was obvious not only to the reader but also several people close to them. And then there’s little Eli who steals hearts wherever he goes.
Faith, family, friendship, and more make the perfect combination for a wonderful read. And then there’s that bit of information from Herne at the end about what’s coming next.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
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