A Most Unsuitable Match by Stephanie Grace Whitson

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Most Unsuitable Match Bethany House; Original edition (August 1, 2011) by Stephanie Grace Whitson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A native of southern Illinois, Stephanie Grace Whitson has lived in Nebraska since 1975. She began what she calls "playing with imaginary friends" (writing fiction) when, as a result of teaching her four homeschooled children Nebraska history, she was personally encouraged and challenged by the lives of pioneer women in the West. Since her first book, Walks the Fire, was published in 1995, Stephanie's fiction titles have appeared on the ECPA bestseller list numerous times and been finalists for the Christy Award, the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, and ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year.

Her first nonfiction work, How to Help a Grieving Friend, was released in 2005. In addition to serving in her local church and keeping up with two married children, two college students, and a high school senior, Stephanie enjoys motorcycle trips with her family and church friends. Her passionate interests in pioneer women's history, antique quilts, and French, Italian, and Hawaiian language and culture provide endless story-telling possibilities.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An unlikely attraction occurs between two passengers on a steamboat journey up the Missouri River to Montana...

She is a self-centered young woman from a privileged family who fears the outdoors and avoids anything rustic. He is a preacher living under a sense of duty and obligation to love the unlovable people in the world. She isn't letting anything deter her from solving a family mystery that surfaced after her mother's death. He is on a mission to reach the rejects of society in the remote wilderness regions of Montana. Miss Fannie Rousseau and Reverend Samuel Beck are opposites in every way... except in how they both keep wondering if their paths will ever cross again.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Most Unsuitable Match, go HERE.

Review: Unbridled Dreams by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Soooo...since Blogger blew up or whatever yesterday, and deleted all posts and comments (sadness!) since Wednesday, here is my review of Unbridled Dreams again, originally from 2008.

Unbridled Dreams
By: Stephanie Grace Whitson
Publisher: Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0764203275

About the book:

Irma Friedrich has everything a girl could want…but she’s miserable. To her, the perfect life includes horses and roundups and trick riding.

Willa Friedrich, haunted by disappointment and fear, thinks controlling her daughter’s future is the only way to protect Irma from dangers Willa knows all too well.

Shep Sterling, known as King of the Cowboys, leads a life that represents all Irma desires…and everything her mother fears.

Something has to give when Willa’s insistence on sending Irma to finishing school collides with Irma’s determination to audition for Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West. And Shep Sterling is waiting in the wings…

Review:

Growing up, I was absolutely obsessed with all things western. I loved cowboy stories, and practically devoured Louis L'Amour novels (long live the Sacketts!). When I started reading Christian fiction, I soon found that most books with a western setting fell squarely into the "prairie romance" category (which is all well and good, but they just aren't my cup of tea). I prefer a western-set tale that's a little grittier or more adventurous. Unbridled Dreams fits the bill perfectly, delivering an adventurous, romantic, whirlwind coming-of-age tale set against the colorful backdrop of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.

By the late 19th century, the west was settled, but the "wild" west lived on in Cody's renowned traveling show. Seventeen-year-old Irma Friedrich has one burning desire - to realize her dream of becoming Liberty Belle, a trick riding Wild West star. However, her unorthodox dream is in direct opposition to her mother's desire for a ladylike daughter who could make an advantageous marriage. When Irma and her overly-indulgent father Otto go to extreme lengths to make Irma's dream come true, Irma must prove herself to the Wild West troupe and somehow repair her tense relationship with her mother without sacrificing her dreams. But when the star cowboy, Shep, begins to pay her extra special attention, to Irma's shock she begins to question her single-minded pursuit of stardom.

Irma is a wonderful, richly drawn character. She's a teenager with a lot to learn about life, and her journey from a passionate, spoiled girl to a hard-working troupe member is richly detailed and her maturation is believable. Willa and Otto's marriage is beautifully portrayed with a sometimes painful realism. Whitson's portrait of marriage shows it to be hard, sacrificial work, but when God's at the center of the relationship, the rewards are breathtakingly worthwhile. The heart of the story is Irma's growth as an individual and in coming to terms with her mother. I suspect that a lot of mothers and daughters will be able to relate to Willa and Irma's relationship. Through her characters, Whitson confronts the reader with what happens when secrets are laid bare, communication is fractured, and pride brings painful but much needed lessons. Unbridled Dreams is a fast-paced, absorbing read that takes its wonderfully real characters on a journey of forgiveness, healing, and restoration. Highly recommended.

Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing


Sixteen Brides


Bethany House (April 2010)


by


Stephanie Grace Whitson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A native of southern Illinois, Stephanie Grace Whitson has lived in Nebraska since 1975. She began what she calls "playing with imaginary friends" (writing fiction) when, as a result of teaching her four home schooled children Nebraska history.

She was personally encouraged and challenged by the lives of pioneer women in the West. Since her first book, Walks the Fire, was published in 1995, Stephanie's fiction titles have appeared on the ECPA bestseller list numerous times and been finalists for the Christy Award, the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, and ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year.

Her first nonfiction work, How to Help a Grieving Friend, was released in 2005. In addition to serving in her local church and keeping up with two married children, two college students, and a high school senior, Stephanie enjoys motorcycle trips with her family and church friends.

Her passionate interests in pioneer women's history, antique quilts, and French, Italian, and Hawaiian language and culture provide endless story-telling possibilities.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1872, sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community."

Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledgling community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival! Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them.

These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances--especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Sixteen Brides, go HERE.