Waiting for Spring: Christian Fiction Book Review

Author Amanda Cabot

    I agree with Thomas Jefferson when he said, "I cannot live without books." Some of my earliest memories are of my parents reading books to me or -- in the case of my father -- telling stories he made up.

    When people ask why I write, the answer is simple: it's part of who I am and who I was meant to be. I truly believe this is God's plan for me, and that's why it is my fervent prayer that my books will touch my readers' hearts and strengthen their faith in Him.

     This second story in the Westward Winds series - Waiting for Spring - takes place in Cheyenne, Wyoming, during the fall-winter-spring of 1886-87.  Charlotte Harding is a beautiful young widow with a very young son, David, and very few resources of her own.  She is intent on creating a new life for herself and her child after her husband was killed in Fort Laramie, and the killer would be seeking her for the “fortune” she must have acquired from the unscrupulous dealings of her late husband and a man called “The Baron.”  Charlotte has no idea what or where this “fortune” may be but is running for her life and trying to be very inconspicuous in her new setting of Cheyenne.

    Charlotte manages only enough financial resources to buy a small building where she sets up a very lovely dress-making shop.  She is an expert seamstress and soon has eager customers to support her business.  She is fortunate to meet another widow, Gwen, who has a young daughter, and in return for Gwen providing care for both children and maintaining their upstairs apartment, Charlotte is able to provide for all of them with her dressmaking skills.

    Charlotte’s young son is blind from birth, and her huge concern is giving him the very best of care and protection during a time when people nearly automatically put such handicapped children into an asylum for life.  She has determined never to do that and to do her very best to educate him and help him to become independent.

    The book refers to much background from the first title in this series (not read by this reviewer) and some of the mysteries of the past are only slowly revealed. 

    Charlotte cultivates some special friends, Mariam (the daughter of the town’s newspaper publisher) and Marian’s beau, Barrett Landry.  This becomes an interesting story of misplaced love and awkward relationships, career intentions, disappointments, and expectations.

    Charlotte’s quotation at beginning and end of this story is, “We can’t change the past, but if we make the present the best it can be, we can influence the future.  Whatever we choose to do with our lives should be done with that in mind."

    The attraction between Charlotte and Barrett is mutual, though both hide it in order to spare Mariam.  There are some great surprises in this book and some very scary moments as “The Baron” discovers who Charlotte really is and becomes very serious in his quest to find her “fortune.”

    Throughout the story, seeking guidance of the Lord is paramount and as each person’s story becomes known, it is easy to see how God’s hand is upon each one and His guidance is giving them strength and commitment to their individual futures.  This is a lovely Christian novel with very appropriate romance scenes, nothing at all offensive.  This is a great story and an interesting look at some serious social issues.

Waiting for Spring is available as of January 2013 at your favorite bookseller - from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I was provided with one copy of Waiting for Spring in exchange for my honest review of this book.  No other compensation was provided.

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