Customer Reviews

Forevermore (Only in Gooding!)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Like a breath of fresh air, Hope Ladley drifts in from one farm to the next landing wherever the good Lord leads her to offer help around harvest time. Arriving at the farm of widower Jakob Stauffer she finds him still grieving for his departed wife. Jakob hasn't relaxed in some time while trying to hold things together for his young daughter Emmy Lou and shield his heavily pregnant sister Annie from a violent husband. Hope's upbeat personality and loving quirky ways quickly win over Annie and Emmy Lou, but it's going to take much more to break through the hard overprotective shell Jakob has developed to trust anyone with his heart let alone what's left of his family.

*** Just as mentioned above, Ms. Hake's latest story depicting the cliché mangling, illiterate, itinerant wanderer Hope Ladley is indeed a breath of fresh air. What Hope lacks in book learning (due to dyslexia) she overflows with trust in the Lord, love, and human understanding. What a marvelous creation of a character this author has brought forth for all to admire and enjoy!

Likewise, Jakob was fashioned with a deep sense of honor and unfathomable pain after the loss of his wife and child, and not having been able to protect his sister from being beaten and abused by her lowlife of a husband. His trust did not come easy with constant worry over his daughter Emmy Lou coming to harm, or his sister's abusive husband discovering her condition. Hope was a complete puzzle to him, especially her odd way of getting things done while severely mangling well-known bible verses and clichés - which - when she explained her version, began to make sense.

Hake did a brilliant job of letting Jakob see the reasoning behind Hope's seemingly hap-hazard way of getting things done. As more heart-wrenching events unfolded, it would be through Hope's understanding and ingenuity that Jakob would be able to weather the obstacles tossed his way. His "pact" with Hope was drawing closer to the day she would again `mosey on down the road' to the next place the Lord led her to, but Jakob knew he had to somehow convince her to stay with him forevermore.

By re-introducing neighbors of the Stauffer's from previous book, FANCY PANTS, Hake rounds out Hope and Jakob's story with a plethora of even more realistic and likeable characters. Definitely a stand-alone, FOREVERMORE is a wonderful depiction of earlier times when neighbors helped neighbors and every one pitched in with many hands easing the load. Bible verses were judiciously used at perfect moments within the story giving the reader even more to absorb, especially when mixed up and interpreted Hope's way. The reader will find plenty of light heartedness as well as some very tense moments as Annie's abusive husband resurfaced, as well as an emotional health related issue concerning young Emmy Lou.

Hake is superb at writing compelling and thoroughly enjoyable stories. Bottom line, FOREVERMORE is a fabulous uplifting read that fans of inspirational historical stories are sure to embrace. Highly recommended reading.......

Marilyn Rondeau

(The previous reviewer gave an excellent synopsis so I will skip writing one) The first book of this genre that I ever picked up was Letter Perfect by this author. I loved that book and love this author. Her books (Forevermore included) are lighthearted and usually have a touch of intrigue- nothing that is too terrifying, but enough to brush the story with excitement. That said, let me now justify giving this just 3 stars.

The lead character, Hope Ladley, is flawless. She is so flawless she is next to Jesus in perfection. NOBODY is this perfect. I enjoy a good, moral character but for me they need to be relatable. Hope is thoughtful, whimsical and loving. Even her flaws are morphed into assets. SLightly unconventional but only because she is so considerate. Her slandering of the cliches was cute for awhile but after awhile they started to annoy me...meanwhile, her co-characters grew less annoyed and seemed to enjoy them toward the end. (I was under the impression that she slaughtered words because she was illiterate(because she was dyslexic)). I was thrilled when she finally showed a little gumption toward the end of the book instead of just taking it.

Jakob is, fortunately, a flawed character. He is what saved this book from being 2 stars. He is a loving father and a hard worker who is willing to sacrafice everything to protect his abused sister from her husband. I liked him.

As usual, Hake has wonderful secondary characters. THey are well developed. I also enjoyed the fact that this was a spin off from Fancy Pants (remember when Sydney saved the little girl from the well? Well this is that family).

All in all, a good story. It was fun to read and there was some excitment with the abusive husband aspect. If you enjoy Hake's other books you will also this one. I enjoyed it despite the mediocre rating. I read it in one day. I just didn't find the lead character believable or realistic which is an important thing to me.

I picked up this book after I read Fancy Pants and really enjoyed it. This is the second book from this author I've read. I know I shouldn't compare books, but I didn't like this one quite as much as Fancy Pants.

It does mention characters we met in the previous book which was nice. I was happy to see what had become of Syd and Tim.

I really liked the character of Jakob in this novel. I think he made a great leading man. I enjoyed the storyline with Annie and her abusive husband, it gave the novel a little edge which I enjoy.

I think the weakest part of the book for me was thinking of Hope as a romantic lead. I found Hope funny and endearing. She reminded me right away of Amelia Bedelia, a character from children's books who is always mixing up what people say.

Unfortunately for me, once I got the image of Hope as Amelia Bedelia in my head, it made it hard for me to see her as a romantic lead. She is a zaney woman who fits a hat onto her mule and mixes up common sayings. The chemistry between her and Jakob just wasn't there for me. I couldn't see the two of them matched up very well.

I found this book to be entertaining, and certainly not a waste of time. The christian message was heartwarming. But as a romance, I found this book was slightly off it's mark.

I found this book to have a good story diminished by gimmicky, mediocre writing. Two things bothered me. The story was set in Texas, but the main character seemed modeled after Ruby in Cold Mountain, including the Appalachian dialect. It might have worked if the other characters in the area spoke the same dialect, but no one else did, so to me it stuck out as annoyingly weird. She also kept speaking in muddled cliches that really grated on my nerves, and even if you found them cutesy at first, the gimmick was vastly overdone to the point of being nauseating. That being said, it was overall an entertaining story, not without its charms, and a fast read to fill a stormy night, but I would have enjoyed it much more and given it four stars if the protagonist came off as an authentic plainswoman instead of Ellie Mae Clampett channeling Archie Bunker--that totally ruined the romance for me.

I will skip the summary since others hve done a great job doing so. I very much liked this book and the characters. Even though Hope's bad grammar bugged me, at the same time it made the character more real. The reason I gave it 3 stars was because of all the mangled cliches. Thrown in here and there might have been cute but the constant use of them was completely annoying and took away from the book in my opinion.

"Forevermore" was sweet and believable and had a pleasant story line. Jakob and his daughter are easy to like, and Hope is sweet and caring (although a little too perfect). While I enjoyed the story, it was the dialect of Hope I really struggled with. I found her annoying. Simply reading her butchered sayings and poor language left me tired. I found myself correcting her English, just to get through her words.

I gave it three stars for the story, and would have given one more but because of Hope. . .

I have enjoyed this author's books before and I did not fail to do so now. Hope is an unusual woman who trusts God completely for everything. She has such a deep trust in Him and a wonderful appreciation for all God has made and done. This book shows us that by depending on God for our needs and our problems, we can rest assured that He will take care of us. It was fun also to meet up with some old friends from 'Fancy Pants'.

In 1891 Texas, farmer Jakob Stauffer misses his late wife Naomi not only as a companion he cherished but because she brought order and organization to his household of his pregnant sister Annie Erickson and his young daughter Emmy-Lou. Miss Hope Ladley arrives looking for work as a temporary housekeeper. The widower Jakob finds her upbeat and very kind towards his beloved daughter and her mule Hattie with the hat. Her references are the best, and she will not mistake his hiring her as a matrimonial interview so he hires her.

Jakob hopes that Hope can bring order like his late wife did until she died sixteen months ago. Instead she brings even more chaos; yet things are done well and Stauffer finds he enjoys the insanity that the workaholic Hope brings to the mix as everyone seems happy for the first time since Naomi died. His new fear is what he will do when she decides God calls on her to move on. However, before that occurs a viper enters Eden when Annie's odious spouse Konrad arrives destroying the equilibrium and much more.

Hope is a unique character as she humorously "mangles" idioms and colloquialism like "you don't know me from Eve" and "you know me from Adam" as he is male. Readers will be amused by her commentary as she is Mary Poppins on the farm in late nineteenth century America. The support cast augments life on the farm in a bygone era as readers will wonder like Jakob who believes, thanks to God, he has fallen in love for the second time in his plentiful life if his beloved will leave.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoy love stories like this one. There is a lot happening and feelings evolving over time and best of all they keep God in every move.

Hope Ladley never stays in one place too long. Hope and her donkey, Hattie, flit from one place to the next as the Lord directs her, and for this harvest season, God seems to be directing her to Jakob Stauffer's farm. The aloof and grieving farmer has a young daughter and a timid, hurting and pregnant sister. Can Hope live up to her name and bring healing and happiness to the family through her faith in God?

Jakob Stauffer has enough things to worry about. He has to raise his daughter alone, now that his precious wife is gone. His sister Annie is back home trying to get away from an abusive husband. And his home has been in chaos since his wife died. He hires Hope to relieve his sister during her pregnancy and to bring some semblance of order to their lives. But since hiring Hope, the chaos in his home has seems to have increased. She launders only few articles of clothing, cans only few jars of pickle and only does things half way. Did he do the right thing in hiring her?

Forevermore is a great story of hope and faith triumphing over sorrow and evil. Even though it delves into serious topics such as abuse and grief, it is also a hilarious book. I laughed page after page as I followed Hope's antics. The greatest laughs came from the way Hope, who cannot read or write, butchered many common clichés.

Throughout the book Hope is portrayed as sunny, thoughtful and full of life, a person who always sees the glass as half full. However, Hake also portrays her as a person who occasionally battles fear and confusion, making her very real and somebody who readers can identify with. Annie's recovery from abuse is often depicted as one step forward and two steps backwards, something that is extremely reasonable.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an entertaining and uplifting story. Hake, an author I have never read before, is now on my "Favorite Author" list. I am eagerly looking forward to her other books.

Armchair Interviews says: Hake is an award-winning romance writer who inspires her readers.