Title:Beyond All Measure
Author:Dorothy Love
Series:Hickory Ridge Romance,#1
Publisher:Thomas Nelson
Release Date:May 31,2011
Pages:320
Source:publisher|My FTC Disclaimer
Purchase: Amazon|BarnesAndNoble|Deepershopping.com
Rating:5/5 Books
About the Book:
Unless she can trust God’s love to cast out her fears, Ada may lose the heart of a good man.
Ada Wentworth, a young Bostonian, journeys to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, in the years following the Civil War. Alone and nearly penniless following a broken engagement, Ada accepts a position as a lady’s companion to the elderly Lillian Willis, a pillar of the community and aunt to the local lumber mill owner, Wyatt Caldwell. Ada intends to use her millinery skills to establish a hat shop and secure her future.
Haunted by unanswered questions from her life in Boston, Ada is most drawn to two townsfolks: Wyatt, a Texan with big plans of his own, and Sophie, a mulatto girl who resides at the Hickory Ridge orphanage. Ada’s friendship with Sophia attracts the attention of a group of locals seeking to displace the residents of Two Creeks, a “colored” settlement on the edge of town. As tensions rise, Ada is threatened but refuses to abandon her plan to help the girl.
When Lillian dies, Ada is left without employment or a place to call home. And since Wyatt’s primary purpose for staying in Hickory Ridge was to watch over his aunt, he can now pursue his dream of owning Longhorns in his home state of Texas.
With their feelings for each other growing, Ada must decide whether she can trust God with her future and Wyatt with her heart.
About the Author:
A native of west Tennessee, Dorothy Love makes her home in the Texas hill country with her husband and their two golden retrievers. An accomplished author in the secular market, Dorothy makes her debut in Christian fiction with the Hickory Ridge novels. Hometown: San Antonio, Texas.
My Review:
Wow! I really love Dorothy’s work! She has extreme writing skills and instantly captured me with this novel. It’s filled with amazing characters, history, emotions, and a fantastic story line.
Ada has lost everything…..her family, her love…..all of it taken from her following the devastation of the Civil War. She’s alone, and decides to move on with her life and save up for her own hat shop, by taking a position in Tennessee as a lady’s companion. Meeting Wyatt’s aunt Lillian was a treat. No, she wasn’t the most pleasant of old women, but my heart truly went out to her. She lent a special air to the story line and really tugged me further into the story.
I loved getting to know Wyatt. He wanted what was best for his aunt, no matter who grumpy she is. But, Ada is a special woman and as he watches her interact with his aunt, and gets to know her better as they work side by side, he finds a special connection with her.
But, after all that Ada has been through with her past love, and the loss of her family, will she open her heart up to him? Can moving on from the devastation and pain of the Civil War bring these two hearts together as one?
I absolutely loved it! God’s messages of hope, faith,letting go and moving on were absolutely powerful. I definitely recommend this with a flying 5 Books rating! You’ll be instantly swept away to another place in time, you’ll feel the emotions of all the characters as if they were your own, and best of all….you’ll make amazing new friends! I can’t wait to read the second book in this series, Beauty For Ashes, due out February 2012!
Next Stop:Thursday, October 20th: A Chick Who Reads
