Blog Tour: Spring for Susannah

Spring for Susannah

About the Book:

Hundreds of miles from home, Susannah faces an uncertain future as a mail-order bride on the untamed Dakota prairie.

When her parents die suddenly, and no suitors call, Susannah resigns herself to the only option available: becoming a mail-order bride. Agreeing to marry her pastor's brother, Jesse, Susannah leaves the only home she's ever known for the untamed frontier of the Dakota Territory.

Her new husband is more loving and patient with her than she believes she deserves. Still, there is also a wildness to him that mirrors the wilderness surrounding them. And Susannah finds herself constantly on edge. But Jesse's confidence in her-and his faith in God's perfect plan-slowly begin to chip away at the wall she hides behind.

When she miscarries in the brutal Dakota winter, Susannah's fledgling faith in herself and in God begins to crumble. Still, Jesse's love is unwavering. Just when it seems like winter will never end, Susannah finally sees the first tentative evidence of spring. And with it, the realization that more than the landscape has changed.

She looks to the future with a renewed heart. Yet in her wildest dreams, she couldn't predict all that awaits her.

My Comments:

As Christian romances go, this is pretty typical except that the couple gets married at the beginning of the book and then spends the rest of it falling in love.  Susannah has never fit the mold into which her mother tried to force her nor did she fit in with the other girls at school.  At thirty, she is a failure in the marriage market and when her parents die and the unthinkable happens to her, she agrees that being a mail-order bride is her only option.  Her best friend's husband's brother agrees to marry her and she heads off to Dakota to a new life that is harder than anything she has ever known.  It also gives her the opportunity to do things she'd never be allowed to do at home.  Slowly she learns to trust her husband, and to accept that God loves her (it is a Christian romance after all).

One thing that made it a little a-typical of a Christian romance is that it did have bedroom scenes.  No, we didn't get blow by blows but we did get some of their discussions about it and there is a scene in which the doctor recommends birth control and describes the current methods.  

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the book,while nothing exceptional or unique, was exactly what I expected when I picked it up and it made a great pool read.  Grade:  B.

I'd like to thank Amy at Litfuse for providing a review copy of the book.  I was not obligated to provide a positive review.

Something Extra!

To celebrate her debut novel, Catherine and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have teamed up to give away a Spring For Susannah Prize Package worth over $150!

One grand prize winner will receive:

* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen

* Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond (for KINDLE)

To enter just click one of the icons below and then tell your friends! But hurry, giveaway ends on June 27th. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 28th at 5 PM (6PM MST, 7PM CST, & 8PM EST) during Catherine's Spring for Susannah Book Club Party on Facebook! Catherine is rustling up some fun for the party - she'll be chatting about the story behind her novel, hosting a book club chat, testing your mail-order bride trivia skills, and giving away some GREAT prizes! Don't miss the fun and tell your friends!