Michigan, 1880
Annalisa Werner's hope for a fairy tale love is over. Her husband failed her in every way and now his death has left her with few options to save the family farm. She needs a plentiful harvest. That, and a husband to help bring it in. Someone strong, dependable. That'll be enough. A marriage for love...that's something she's given up on.
So her father sends a letter to his brother in the Old Country, asking him to find Annalisa a groom.
Then a man appears: Carl Richards, from their home country of Germany and a former schoolteacher--or so he says. He's looking for work and will serve on the farm until her husband arrives.
With time running out, she accepts his help, but there's more to this man than he's admitting. He's also gentle, kind, charming--unlike any man she's ever known. But even as Carl is shining light into the darkness of her heart, she knows her true groom may arrive any day.
MY THOUGHTS:
Jody Hedlund is perhaps one of today's greatest authors, every book I have read by her has been enjoyable and has me turning pages so quickly that I reach the end before I know it. A Noble Groom was no exception. It was an extremely well-written book and the research that went into writing it is evident throughout.
There are two reasons I am giving is less than five stars. 1) The ending was just too abrupt, there was all this build up to it and then everything was over and resolved like that *snaps fingers*. I would have like to have had a bit more at the end, so that I could have lived out what happened along with Annalisa rather than it all having happen and it being told to me the way it was. 2) This one is a little harder to explain without spoiling the story, but I will try. I didn't care for the way Annalisa's behaved towards the end of the book. I am sure, some, if not most, people will have liked how she finally stood up for herself, but I didn't like the way she did it.
This book was a slight departure from Jody's other books in that the story isn't based on any particular person's life, but rather a specific event, which I wasn't expecting. This didn't take away from the story at all, in fact it was very interesting, but I just thought I'd mention it for those who are expecting it to be like her first three books.
While not my favorite of her books, I still very much enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it to fans of historical fiction.
***I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was asked to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done.***
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Jody Hedlund is celebrating the release of A Noble Groom by giving away a Kindle Fire and hosting a Facebook Author Chat Party {5/8}!
One "noble" winner will receive:
- A Kindle Fire
- A copy of A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 7th. Winner will be announced at the
"A Noble Groom" Author Chat Party on May 8th. Connect with Jody, get a sneak peek of her next book, try your hand at the trivia contest, and chat with readers just like you. There will also be many fun giveaways -- gift certificates, books, and more!
So grab your copy of A Noble Groom and join Jody on the evening of May 8th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)
Don't miss a moment of the fun, RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 8th!
GRAND PRIZE:
NEW STRIDE PACKAGE
THIRD PRIZE:
Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
“Love the Wounded” by Lynn Dove is the final and dramatic conclusion to her brilliant Wounded Trilogy series that has followed the lives of teenagers Jake, Leigh, Mike, Dylan and Tim as they come to terms with a series of tragedies and events that have made each of them question why God allows “bad things to happen to good people”. Leigh does not know who to choose…her heart tells her she will always love Jake, but he has changed so much since the death of their friend, Ronnie, and with his mother going through breast cancer, he has totally closed himself off from her emotionally. Now she is dating Dylan and try as she might to accept him for who he is, she can’t stop thinking about Jake! Dylan has never gotten over the loss of his father and little sister, killed by a drunk driver when he was just a young boy. After a horrific accident that has put both Tim and his little brother, Evan in the hospital, everyone knows that not only is he being bullied at school; he cuts himself to cope with it all. But meeting Cassidy has given him the courage to stand up to the bullies and at the same time give her what she so desperately needs…a life-giving bone marrow transplant. Jake’s mother keeps telling him that “God works all things out for good” but with all the things going on in his life and with his friends, he’s just not sure anymore. It is only after Mike is paralyzed in a car accident that Jake was partially responsible for that all the families and friends will be brought back together, not by coincidence, but by God’s design and then Jake will finally believe that God truly does “Love the Wounded”. “A life of working with youth has inspired Lynn Dove, a Cochrane mother to turn her experiences into a book trilogy…(the Wounded Trilogy) series that parallels the struggles of students…(and) covers the angst of some of the real serious issues that teenagers face today, particularly with bullying and gossip. ” -Rocky View Weekly-
