Journal of a Dutch 30-something

Don't you love a mail-order bride story every now and again? If you also like the movie While You Were Sleeping, you are definitely going to want to check this one out!

Ed McGraw wants more time to develop his carpentry business, and to do that he needs his brother Isaac home to help with the homestead. If Isaac had a wife, surely he'd stick around. Perhaps he should place an ad...

Rebekah Edwards has been sweet on Isaac McGraw since they were in school together. Now her focus is on helping run the newspaper. But when Ed shows up to place an ad for a bride for Isaac, she realizes this is her opportunity to finally catch the man of her dreams. She doesn't realize, however, that Ed -- whom she can't stand -- is actually the one corresponding with her, pretending to be Isaac.

Meanwhile, trouble abounds in the town of Calvin, Wyoming. Ranchers are being attacked and families poisoned. Will Rebekah be in danger if she dares to investigate and report on her findings? Why does she think more highly of Ed every time they're forced to work together? 

Wendy Klopfenstein is a promising new author. She weaves a great story together. My one complaint about this novel is that it seemed a lot of things, whether regarding relationships or even catching the bad guy, could have been solved with a good conversation. But if characters communicated clearly, where would the angst be? I enjoyed the nod to the movie While You Were Sleeping, with a fun western setting and faith themes intertwined. 

If this sounds like a book you would enjoy, come follow Ed and Rebekah as they uncover secrets and learn to let God be in control.

I received my copy of the book from the author and publisher. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Chloe Vance is sitting on the most exciting news of her life. She's accepted a job teaching art at a school in Prague. Now if only she can find a way to break the news to her always-do-what's-expected mother.

In order to prove that she can take care of herself, Chloe spontaneously invites her mother on a roadtrip touring the literary sites in America's heartland. Her older sister Lauren tags along too. As they visit sites in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Oklahoma, they experience the wonders of the written word but face the fact that it's our own stories we might have the most trouble sharing.

The characters in this book are all very unique. Chloe has a wonderful free spirit, full of grace. Edie is shackled by invisible tethers of expectations from generations before her. Lauren holds deep secrets and has lost a grasp of her own self-worth. Can the ties of family love triumph in the face of all they are not saying?

This was a great story, especially if you are a literary fan and have visited some of these same sites. It's a study in how we view ourselves, how we view others, and how we can shut others out or let them in. At times it was a difficult book to read, because what we say or what we don't say has the power to hurt others, and unfortunately there are hard moments of pain in the story. But that's not the end. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it brought happy, touched tears to my eyes.

Recommended for all fans of women's fiction.