May's Group Buddy Read - Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin

[Beth]

May's Group Buddy Read is Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin!

Geesje de Jonge crossed the ocean at age seventeen with her parents and a small group of immigrants from the Netherlands to settle in the Michigan wilderness. Fifty years later, in 1897, she's asked to write a memoir of her early experiences as the town celebrates its anniversary. Reluctant at first, she soon uncovers memories and emotions hidden all these years, including the story of her one true love.

At the nearby Hotel Ottawa Resort on the shore of Lake Michigan, twenty-three-year-old Anna Nicholson is trying to ease the pain of a broken engagement to a wealthy Chicago banker. But her time of introspection is disturbed after a violent storm aboard a steamship stirs up memories of a childhood nightmare. As more memories and dreams surface, Anna begins to question who she is and whether she wants to return to her wealthy life in Chicago. When she befriends a young seminary student who is working at the hotel for the summer, she finds herself asking him all the questions that have been troubling her.

Neither Geesje nor Anna, who are different in every possible way, can foresee the life-altering surprises awaiting them before the summer ends.

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Chime in below if you plan on joining in!

[Katherine]

Will be reading!

[Nancy]

Read it. Good book.

[Beth]

Awesome, Katherine! I'm about 30% into it. Good so far. :)

Nancy, glad to hear you liked it!

[Katrina]

I hope to read this one. I have the e-book from my library. I am a little behind in some of my challenges and may spend May as a catch up month, so if I don't get to this one during the month, I will still plan to read it. Looking forward to it.

[Missy]

Just started this one yesterday while I was in the stairwell for a tornado warning. So far so good.

[Lauri]

I read this book last year. Loved it. Probably in my top 5 for the year.

[Christine]

I am reading it now and loving it! Lynn Austin is such a great author!

[Katherine]

Finished mine yesterday. I really loved the story! And now I want to read the sequel!

[Alejandro]

Is there a thread to Buddy read books other than the BOTM?

[Beth]

Alejandro, yes! I can’t link on the app but look for the topic called Read with a Buddy. There is a thread to post your suggested buddy read, where other members can respond if they’d like to read along. If you need help locating the thread, I can post it later from my computer.

[Kim]

My mom enjoyed this one a few months ago; looking forward to reading it too

[Beth]

Waves of Mercy was a great read! I'm glad to know there is a second book to continue Anna's story.

I'm curious to hear any thoughts you guys may have!

Did the coincidences of Anna being Geesje's granddaughter ring true?

What I found interesting is that Anna had not had any memories up until that point of her life with Christina. I understand she was young when that happened, but I also think she would have had some memories before that summer, and perhaps something that had lingered with her other than feeling different or like she didn't belong...I don't know, I'm not articulating this well, but that seemed a bit unrealistic.

Geesje's family and the rest of the immigrants were so brave to cross the ocean like they did. Those details were fascinating, and the trials they faced were so heart-wrenching. It is an interesting dichotomy to Anna's life for sure.

I am somewhat hit or miss with Austin novels. I've given one or two five stars, while others were not my cup of tea at all.
All in all, while this wasn't my favorite Austin novel to date (that's still Wonderland Creek), it was very good, and I'm glad I read it.

[Beth]

For those of you that have read all or a lot of her books - what are your favorites?

These are my favorites of hers so far:


I've also read...

[Christine]

I really enjoyed this book and the characters in it. I especially liked Geesje and her strong faith. It was great to see that mature. Her story was well-written. I loved how her marriage to Maarten deepened into love, though at the beginning of their marriage, she wasn't "in love" with him.

For me, the coincidence of Anna being Geesje's granddaughter did ring true while reading it, but it could have something to do with my wanting something like that to be the case. In hindsight, it does seem somewhat unrealistic.

The historical aspects were so well-written. I always love when I learn about a different time period or parts of history that I wasn't aware of.

[Nancy]

I really liked her Fire by Night book too.

[Christine]

From what I have read of Lynn Austin's books, my favorites are:
(favorite!) and .

I also enjoyed: and .
I am looking forward to and reading more of Anna's story!

[Beth]

Christine wrote: "I really enjoyed this book and the characters in it. I especially liked Geesje and her strong faith. It was great to see that mature. Her story was well-written. I loved how her marriage to Maarten..."

It's always refreshing to read a genuinely flawed character - I mean that she was just so human as we all make mistakes. I just appreciated reading a character that wasn't unrealistically good, if that makes sense.

Ah, fun! Wonderland Creek definitely remains my favorite of her books. It's a re-reader for sure.