Review of This Road we Traveled by Jane Kirkpatrick

This blog post is a review of the book This Road we Traveled by Jane Kirkpatrick. 

Back Cover Synopsis: 
        " Tabitha Brown refuses to be left behind in Missouri when her son makes the decision to strike out for Oregon    even if she has to hire her own wagon to join the party. After all, family ties are stronger than fear.
           Along with her reluctant daughter and her ever-hopeful granddaughter, the intrepid Tabitha has her misgivings. The trials they face along the way will severely test her faith, courage, and ability to hope. With her family's survival on the line, she must make the ultimate sacrifice, plunging deeper into the wilderness to seek aid. What she couldn't know was how this frightening journey would impact how she understood her own life   and the greater part she had to play in history.
        With her signature attention to detail and epic style, New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick invites you to travel the deadly and enticing Oregon Trail. Based on actual events, This Road we Traveled inspires the pioneer in all of us."

About the Author:
     Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling author of nearly thirty books, including A Light in the Wilderness, The Memory Weaver, and A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. She is also the winner of the WILLA Literary Award and Carol Award for Historical Fiction. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.

My thoughts:
       I really enjoyed This Road we Traveled. I had never read any of Jane Kirkpatrick's work before, but expected good things from such an award-winning author. I was not disappointed. This book was very well written. It was based on real life events and real people but written as historical fiction. The characters and events were very realistic because so many of them were real. This story gives real insight into what many people faced on the Oregon Trail and the tough decisions that they had to make. It was a thought provoking yet entertaining read. The determination and perseverance of the pioneers is celebrated in the pages of this book. I would recommend this book to teens and adults. I received this book in exchange for my honest review through the Revell Reads blogger review program.

Review of Where Hope Prevails by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan

This blog post is a review of the book Where Hope Prevails by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan. Where Hope Prevails is the third book in the Return to the Canada West series.

*SPOILER ALERT*  This book is a companion story to Hallmark Channel's When Calls the Heart TV series. If you are watching the TV series and not fully caught up and don't like spoilers you might not want to read this book or post. The book is not exactly the same as the series but it is fairly close in some places.

Back Cover Synopsis: 

She leans forward for her first glimpse of the little mountain town that has captured her heart, but something has changed.

Elizabeth Thatcher's highly anticipated return to her beloved Coal Valley after a long summer with her family back east is filled with surprises . . . and not all of them good ones, in her estimation. Maybe the worst one of all relates to her treasured students. Can she adapt and learn to cope with this enormous change?Her Mountie, Jarrick Thornton, hasn't yet proposed, but she already knows what her answer will be. His duties take him away from the valley much too often, in her view, but the two of them, with patience and understanding--and one significant misunderstanding--are learning to know each other better. The dark cloud looming on the horizon in Beth's mind, though, is filled with questions about where their future might take them. As a member of the RCMP, Jarrick is stationed wherever his superiors send him . . . but what about her teaching position in Coal Valley?Beth attempts to do her best with each obstacle she faces, but does she rightly assess each situation as it surfaces? Good intentions don't always lead to good results. . . .A companion story to Hallmark Channel's When Calls the Heart TV series

About the Authors:
   Bestselling author Janette Oke is celebrated for her significant contribution to the Christian book industry. Her novels have sold more than thirty million copies, and she's the recipient of the ECPA President's Award, the CBA Life Impact Award, the Gold Medallion, and the Christy Award. Janette and her husband, Edward, live in Alberta, Canada.
   
  Laurel Oke Logan, daughter of Edward and Janette Oke, is the author of Janette Oke: A Heart for the Prairie, as well as the novels Dana's Valley,Where Courage Calls, and Where Trust Lies, which she co-wrote with her mom. Laurel's growing family includes six children, their spouses, and three grandsons. 


My thoughts: I have to admit I enjoy a good clean chick flick every now and then, so I have always enjoyed watching the Janette Oke books turned movies. So yes, I do watch When Calls the Heart. I have been waiting for the next installment to come out so when I got the chance to review this book I couldn't resist spoilers or not. My sister can't stand spoilers but they have never really bothered me. I can enjoy a book or movie even when I know the end. I mean I read books over and over again all the time. But I digress... On to the actual review part. Janette Oke is a prolific and talented writer and her daughter must have inherited her talent because this book is a good solid read. Entertaining yet not too light. This book delves into some problems that a lot of people face. How do you love your enemy? And is your enemy really your enemy or just someone you misunderstood or feel threatened by? I know too often I find myself feeling the same way about some people as Elizabeth feels about Robert Harris Hughes in this story. This story is well written and the characters are compelling and relatable. I completely sympathized with Elizabeth throughout the story although I did get a little impatient with her hesitation to explain how she felt about certain things to Jack. But that is 5 1/2 years of marriage speaking. And just for anyone reading this to find out what happens with Jack and Elizabeth well I'll let you read the book. ;-) I enjoyed this book and recommend it to teens and adults. It is the third book in the series but I read it without too much confusion. If you watch the show you can probably read it without reading the first two. I received this book from the Bethany House publishers blogger review program in exchange for my honest review.