Hearts Awakening and Sixteen Brides

I love these little novels that literally require no brain power to read.  It is great to simply relax with a book at the end of a long day.  Bethany House publishes some good historical fiction to that account.  I received both of these books on the same day from their blogging program and had a hard time choosing which one would help me unwind first.

Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr is set in the pre-Civil War era in Pennsylvania.  Elvira Kilmer, known as Ellie, is a spinster with little hope for a marriage and family.  She needs work to survive and is recommended to be the housekeeper of a widower with two young boys.  Jackson Smith owns an apple orchard and works hard to provide a living for his family, but scandal surrounding his first marriage threatens his standing and reputation among the community.  As he and Ellie become acquainted with one another, their relationship shifts into one of mutual understanding, but remains full of mistakes and misunderstandings as they work together to raise Jackson's children. 

Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson follows a train of young Civil War widows who head west to Nebraska in search of a new beginning.  Promised free land by the Homestead Act, they find they have been misguided by the man who brought them to the frontier with such hopes.  While many of the women return to the East, five decide to settle in the small town of Plum Grove.  Together, they claim their land and begin to build anew, leaning on each other for strength and support.  The community embraces them in their endeavors, and soon the women are more involved in the lives of Plum Grove's residents than they ever imagined.

I thought both books were sweet, albeit a little hokey.  For a while, I thought Sixteen Brides might recommend itself as quite a surprise, but the book quickly shifted to the relationships between the widows and the eligible men of Plum Grove.  These books are certainly not on the level of Austen, Gaskell, and Dickens, but they never claim to be.  Still, both books deal with more than just a cheesy romance between the characters.  The authors integrate life lessons of faith and love throughout the books.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Behtny House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."