April Additional Group Read- Courting Morrow Little

[Maria]

Rachel wrote: "I've only read a couple of Jody's, but that's a good comparison! I absolutely adored the romance in Rebellious Heart. That was one of my favourite reads for 2013."

I need to read something by Jodi Hedlund! I often hear her books are good but haven't got to them yet.

[Beth]

Natalie, I've read Sarah E. Ladd & Kim Vogel Sawyer, and though they are historical writers as well, I wouldn't compare them to Laura Frantz. She's my favorite, so I'm a bit biased ;)

Stylistically, I might also compare her to Catherine Richmond or perhaps Liz Curtis Higgs.

[Rachel]

Ooh, I definitely want to try Lori Benton. Catherine Richmond is a fantastic comparison, especially with Through Rushing Water. It's been a long time since I read any Liz Curtis Higgs (too long!) but I think she's a good call too.

[Cheryl]

Beth wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I'm nearly 3/4 of the way through this book and absolutely loving it! The love story is incredibly romantic, even if it isn't the most traditional, since the hero and heroine spend l..."

Good to know Beth- I haven't read any Lori Benton, so it would be great to give her a try!

[Natalie]

@Beth: Thanks. I am so busy reading Amish and Mennonite romances that I don't branch out a lot. That said, I am starting to enjoyed Regency romances more than I thought I would. What time period would you msot associate with the genre?

[Beth]

Natalie wrote: "@Beth: Thanks. I am so busy reading Amish and Mennonite romances that I don't branch out a lot. That said, I am starting to enjoyed Regency romances more than I thought I would. What time period ..."

With the Regency era? I would say earlier 1800's - 1820's? I'm by no means a history buff. But I think books even outside of that period can sometimes have a "regency" feel.

[Beth]

Rachel wrote: "Ooh, I definitely want to try Lori Benton. Catherine Richmond is a fantastic comparison, especially with Through Rushing Water. It's been a long time since I read any Liz Curtis Hig..."

I think you would love Lori Benton! I'm eager to read her first one Burning Sky.

I've read both of Catherine Richmond's books thus far, and I think my favorite was Spring for Susannah - it had such a sweet marriage of convenience story.

LCH was one of the first Christian authors I read. I still love her Lowlands of Scotland books, but I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea :)

[Beth]

Cheryl wrote: "Beth wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I'm nearly 3/4 of the way through this book and absolutely loving it! The love story is incredibly romantic, even if it isn't the most traditional, since the hero and he..."

Cheryl, you would love Lori's writing too! I can only speak for Tamsen's story, but I'm almost positive you would love it.

[Cheryl]

Maria wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I've only read a couple of Jody's, but that's a good comparison! I absolutely adored the romance in Rebellious Heart. That was one of my favourite reads for 2013."

I..."

She is really good Maria- I loved !!

[Sarah]

Cheryl wrote: "Natalie, while it is true that the additional group reads are traditionally on the "newer side" several of the members have had difficulty accessing the newer titles from their library and so a wa..."

Thanks so much for adding in some of the "newer Kindle freebies" Cheryl. I am one of the ones that has had trouble getting the newer titles. It was nice to have this on my Kindle ready to read when I had time to read.

[Sarah]

I enjoyed this book. It was definitely a little different, but a good different for the most part. It started out a little slow, but by the end I was on pins & needles. I stayed up way later than I should have to finish it :). I was very relieved that Morrow ended up with who she ended up with (to avoid a spoiler). To often a book ends with the marriage of the Hero & Heroine, it was neat to read a book that went beyond that. Loved the fact that Morrow learned to release her fears & forgive. I think that Ms. Frantz handled the scene where Morrow learns more about the massacre so well. I agree with others that the ending was a bit rushed. Would love to see a sequel with more about the family.

[Cheryl]

Great comments Sarah- and I agree with you- once it got going, it really got going :) There was a lot going against this couple for sure, but it was neat to see how it played out.

[Rachel]

I finished this last night! I wasn't sure if I'd manage to stay away long enough to finish it (I'm getting more and more tired as my pregnancy progresses, so staying up until 10:30 was a stretch!) but it was just so hard to put down once I got into the final 100 pages. I felt the ending was really good, but I too wish we could have read more about what happens to Morrow and her family, when they finally find somewhere safe to settle. I don't think the ending was missing anything, I just got so attached to the characters that I wanted more!

I also enjoyed reading a novel where the book didn't stop with the happy-ever-after wedding scene. It just wouldn't have worked in this book, and I felt like the story focused a lot more on Morrow's personal struggles with dealing with the massacre of her family, etc, than the romance. Don't get me wrong, the romance was fantastic, she had a lot of other things to deal with that wove into her eventual marriage.

[Rachel]

Also, I really appreciate featuring Kindle Freebies in the Additional Group Reads. Christian Fiction isn't very popular in the UK, and the only newer CF in my local library system consists of big names like Karen Kingsbury, Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. Unless I've agreed to review a new release, I normally can't read it until the price has dropped.

[Maria]

Cheryl wrote: "Maria wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I've only read a couple of Jody's, but that's a good comparison! I absolutely adored the romance in Rebellious Heart. That was one of my favourite reads..."

That's great! Because I own that one :) I have the first book of the series as well. Do you think I should read them in order?

[Beth]

Rachel wrote: "I finished this last night! I wasn't sure if I'd manage to stay away long enough to finish it (I'm getting more and more tired as my pregnancy progresses, so staying up until 10:30 was a stretch!) ..."

I totally agree about the ending - I'm glad it went beyond just the romance aspect of the story.

[Beth]

Maria wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Maria wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I've only read a couple of Jody's, but that's a good comparison! I absolutely adored the romance in Rebellious Heart. That was one of my ..."

Maria, I read A Noble Groom and haven't read Unending Devotion yet - I actually own it too - we should do a buddy read! :)

[Maria]

Oh, that would be awesome, Beth! Let me know when it works for you :)

[Beth]

I'll post about it on the Buddy Read thread sometime today in case anyone else might want to join :)

[Maria]

Perfect! :)

[Rachel]

If you plan to do a buddy read for Unending Devotion I'd love to join in the discussion! I still remember a lot of details about that book, even though it's been ages since I read it. It was fascinating!

[Cheryl]

Rachel wrote: "If you plan to do a buddy read for Unending Devotion I'd love to join in the discussion! I still remember a lot of details about that book, even though it's been ages since I read i..."

Me too- I have that one on my kindle- it just depends when you wanna do it- I'm a little back logged on my review books :)

[Beth]

Okay, I posted about it on the Pitch thread!

[Susan]

I read this book months ago, but the story has really stayed with me. Loved it!

[Ruth]

I'm finally done and overall enjoyed it, though I wasn't too impressed with Red Shirt (not unimpressed, he just seemed kinda... bland I suppose, or just too aloof for me to feel like I'd really gotten to know him). Loved that Morrow's character growth happened a lot more organically than I'm used to seeing. Courting Morrow Little might not have been quite spot on for me, but I still enjoyed it, and I'd still love to check out more of this author's work. :)

[Rachel]

I don't usually like the strong, silent type heroes, but something about Red Shirt managed to win me over ;) I agree with Ruth's assessment about Morrow's character growth. It felt very realistic, especially considering how much she had to deal with. Her gradual acceptance and forgiveness of Red Shirt on behalf of what happened to her mother and sister felt very believable.

[Natalie]

This was a good book. I am glad I got to read today even though it's a bit harder to find the archived discussions.