Prairie Rose (A Town Called Hope, Book 1) [Paperback]

Catherine Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 1997

Hope and love blossom on the untamed prairie as a young woman searching for a place to call home happens upon a Kansas homestead during the 1860s . . .

A Town Called Hope, the inspiring series set in post Civil War Kansas, is the creation of best-selling romance writer Catherine Palmer. In the fast-paced Prairie Rose, impulsive nineteen-year-old Rosie Mills takes a job caring for the young son of widowed homesteader Seth Hunter in order to escape the orphanage in which she was raised. Rosie's naive view of love and her understanding of what it means to have a Father in heaven are quickly put to the test. Afraid of being wounded again, Seth struggles to freely open his heart--to his hurting son, to a woman's love, and to a Father who will not abandon him. Together Rosie and Seth must face the harsh uncertainties of prairie life--and the one man who threatens to destroy their happiness.

Praire Rose launches a series sure to satisfy readers who expect solid biblical values in a wholesome, exhilarating romance.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Rosenbloom Cotton Mills, known as Rosie, has spent her entire 19 years in an orphanage in Kansas City, Missouri. Then, in May of 1865, Rosie saves Seth Hunter from an attack by his brother-in-law. Seeing a chance to escape the orphanage, Rosie accompanies Seth and his son, Chipper, out west to act as their housekeeper. Rosie soon falls in love with Seth but feels she can never marry because she was an illegitimate child. Eventually, her Bible reading convinces her that those who had said she was doomed to a solitary life were misinterpreting the Bible. In Rosie, Palmer (The Treasure of Zanzibar, Tyndale, 1997) has created an entertaining and humorous character, letting this romance rise above most others. Highly recommended for collections with a demand for historical romance.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Highly recommended."--Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (August 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842370560
• ISBN-13: 978-0842374200
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,688,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Catherine Palmer lives in Atlanta with her husband, Tim, where they serve as missionaries in a refugee community. They have two grown sons. Cathy is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University and holds a master's degree in English from Baylor University. Her first book was published in 1988. Since then she has published over 50 novels, many of them national best sellers. Catherine has won numerous awards for her writing, including the Christy Award, the highest honor in Christian fiction. In 2004, she was given the Career Achievement Award for Inspirational Romance by "Romantic Times BOOKreviews" magazine. More than 2 million copies of Catherine's novels are currently in print.

With her compelling characters and strong message of Christian faith, Catherine is known for writing fiction that "touches the hearts and souls of readers." Her many collections include A Town Called Hope, Treasures of the Heart, Finders Keepers, English Ivy, and the Miss Pickworth series. Catherine also recently coauthored the Four Seasons fiction series with Gary Chapman, the "New York Times" best-selling author of "The Five Love Languages."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Christian romance, June 14, 2000

By 

Beverly "bevreader" (Mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prairie Rose (A Town Called Hope, Book 1) (Paperback)

Rosenbloom Cotton Mills is ana unusual name for an unusual girl. Brought up in an orphange, Rosie is no stranger to hardship. But when she impulsively leaves the orphange for the Kansas praire, she takes on more hardship than she originally anticipated, including a dour widower, his young son who has never gotten to know his father, and a homestead desperately in need of a woman's touch. Rosie faces each challenge with a smile and with the knowledge that God is her father and his love in her heart. The humor in this book is expertly balanced with the hard praire life that Rosie comes to love. In the midst of her hardships, Rosie comes to understand the true meaning of not only God's love for her, but her love for Seth. Palmer is a great Christian romance writer in the tradition of Oke and Glover, and I recommend her highly.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Christian Romance, January 1, 2003

By 

A. Churchwell "mom of Kyle" (Athens, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prairie Rose (A Town Called Hope, Book 1) (Paperback)

I love romance stories but as a Christian always felt guilty when reading the "dirty" ones. When I purchased this book I did not even realize it was a Christian romance and had never read a Christian romance novel. I just thought it was a western/romance type of book. When I started reading and realized it was a Christian romance, to tell you the truth, I thought it would be boring as I was used to the steamy scenes in mainstream romance. Boy was I wrong! I laughed and cried with Rosie as I finished this book in only one day and immediatley ordered the other books in the series and not one has been a disappointment. I will never go back to mainstream romance books with their filthy scenes. I now can read about people falling in love in a Godly way. God Bless everyone who reads this.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rosie is a character to fall in love with, December 17, 2001

By 

Teresa Slack "Fiction Author" (http://www.teresaslack.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prairie Rose (A Town Called Hope, Book 1) (Paperback)

Sometimes with series books, the characters are so perfect and predictable, I really don't care enough about them to read any of their further adventures. Not so with Rosie and the other residents of A Town Called Hope. I gobbled this story up as fast as I could and then waited anxiously for the sequels to arrive at my library. As soon as the Prairie Trilogy was in print--with Prairie Fire and Prairie Storm--I bought it for my friend for Christmas. She fell in love immediately with Catherine Palmer's characters, just like I did. Now she has bought Prairie Christmas and is a huge Catherine Palmer fan.

Catherine Palmer has created a cast of characters that will live on in the reader's mind long after the pleasure of reading Prairie Rose and its successors are over.