I was not sure what to expect with this because it is a “Love Finds You” book. The series is written by dozens of different authors; all with their own style of writing, but this book was simply amazing. The humor was hilarious and I was laughing almost the whole time I was reading it. I loved reading about the relationship between the children and adults. It kept changing and growing throughout the novel. It was very hard to put down. The romance was also not the main focus, which was nice. Best of all, one character plays the violin and the other plays flute. :) I felt that the characters were realistic and they really drew me into the time period. Overall, this was a really enjoyable book and I am going to look into more books by the author.
4.5 Stars ( )

This is the first book I have read by this author and I must say I really enjoyed her writing style and story. I can't say it any better than Tracey Bateman said it on the back cover, "Pamela Griffin always comes through with lovable, believable characters and a story that brings together faith, love, fun, and of course a tender romance. With each page I felt gathered into this close, loving family, and as the book concluded, I wasn't ready to say good-bye. I look forward to her next book". I agree totally!!

First off this is written from Hope, Kansas ("there will always be HOPE in Kansas; loved that), and since I live in Kansas I enjoyed the setting, and the little bit of history about the town at the beginning of the book. It is the year 1889 and the fashionable easterner Alison Stripling has just received a letter she thinks is from her late sister's husband in Hope, asking her to come and help with his 6 children. Alison is ready to escape her meaningless life in Boston and go, but when she arrives she finds out the 6 children got together and secretly sent for her as they think their Dad needs a wife. Rafe Munroe, the Dad, is not happy when he finds out what they have done and is ready to send her back to Boston; but first he wants to teach his children a lesson. From here on you will laugh at times and almost lose hope at times, but slowly you will see these two adults begin to fall in love. They both seem to bring out the worst in each other and I enjoyed watching them "go at it" with their words at times, but the tender love that develops was precious. I am so glad I stopped in Hope, Kansas and met this family. ( )

If you're looking for a nice, sweet and simple historical romance then this book is it. This is one of the better Love Finds You books that have been published recently. It's a simple plot, but everything just flows together. The characters are believable and have good chemistry. Amy is Boston but she's not snobby. Rafe has a Bostonian background as well but as his was not in high society he's found it easier to fit in in the prairie.

Both characters have to deal with getting over the loss of shared loved one before they can move on. Alison is trying to adjust from the higher class upper bringing she's been used to and adapt to prairie life. She also has to overcome the feelings of dislike she had as a child for Rafe after he married her sister. Meanwhile Rafe is still getting over the loss of his wife and has essentially held her memory on a pedestal. He tries to get Alison to go along with his plan of her moving away but soon finds out he needs her. I'd say the biggest plus is how the children are portrayed. They aren't annoying, misbehaving brats but neither are they perfect angels. They are normal kids who just want the best for their father and aunt and I really appreciated this.

Even though the story is predictable, I never once felt it to be boring or overdrawn. Sometimes just a nice sweet simple love story is all you need to refresh yourself. It's not high quality literary fiction but it was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon reading a good love story and left me feeling very pleasant. ( )