Customer Reviews

Prairie Storm (A Town Called Hope)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As we left "Prairie Fire" there was no resident preacher. "Prairie Storm" gets us one, a former cowboy who feels he is called to China, but sort of stops over in the little town of Hope. On the way he found a dead family with a newborn boy which the mother handed up to him, begging him to raise her son for the Lord...then she died. Now Elijah Book is a single, rough-hewn, newly changed preacher with an infant....which he knows absolutely nothing about caring for. A traveling show comes to Hope, bringing a young, educated woman who is running from an abusive, wealthy, musically inclined father. She has just lost a newborn herself, so she agrees to nurse the preacher's baby for a fee. The "storm" occurs in the town when a tornado nearly wipes them out, and there is also a "storm" within the preacher and the young singing woman on the run. Both are equally stubborn and yet, the storm within them holds them hostage. A very well written, intriguing book with several big surprises!

What a wonderful book. Katherine left us at the end of Prairie Fire wondering what the Born again Christian Jack and his Bride to be Lass were going to do next. Then in this book she introduces new characters that keep the book so riveting, it is hard to put down. Katherine Palmer writes the books so that you feel that you are a part of the story. She is able to share the gospel with her readers while she keeps you on the edge of your seat with her realistic plot. I do hope she writes the next book quickly!

Great examples of working through spiritually abusive situations. However, it is realistic that the abused don't readily recognize the abuse until they seek God and look for His fruits. Also, realistic example of "it rains on the good and the bad"

After reading "Prarie Rose", "Prarie Fire" and "Prairie Storm" I am able to say that Catherine Palmer is a very talented and blessed writer. It seems to me that she had a divine inspiration while writing those romances, because it touchs your heart in a very impressive way. Excellent!!!
Prairie Storm is set in Hope and tells the beautiful love story of Lily and Eli.
She is a lovely widow that knows everything about the Bible and religion but don't know God and Eli is a young preacher that is learning to be a shepherd.
The book is a page-turner and extremely enjoyable. Fans of historical romances with happy ends will simply love Prairie Storm. I loved it.

"Prairie Storm" is a historical romance set in 1866 in Kansas. This book is the third in the series, but you can read it as a stand-alone. Reading this book before the other will spoil a few events in the previous novels, but not enough to spoil those books.

The characters were engaging, acted realistically, and had realistic struggles (even if some of the struggles weren't common ones). The setting and historical details were not highly detailed though they were enough to paint a mental picture. The suspense was created partly by relationship tensions (and not just romantic tensions--Lily and her old friend, Lily and her abusive father, etc.) and the search for answers about God.

The characters quoted a lot of Scripture and hymns, but it flowed naturally in the story (rather than feeling like it was primarily for the benefit of the reader). Lily knew Scripture well, but she initially used it in a critical way. Both main characters were searching for answers about God and, for the pastor, for God's will in his life. They looked to the Bible for answers since they realized they'd picked up wrong ideas from what religious people had told them. I liked how all of this was handled.

There were no sex scenes or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this charming novel.

A cowboy-turned-preacher Elijah considers it his call from God to pick up an orphaned Indian baby on the trail to Hope, but has no way to feed or care for the child. Then he meets Lily, an actress/singer from a traveling show, who is emotionally withdrawn but physically aching for the husband and child that she lost to diphtheria. Though she openly despises the preacher with a sharp tongue, she agrees to care for his child in exchange for payment, which will cover her train fare to a home she had once forsaken.

In this final book to the "Town called Hope" series, there's a sweet story where the characters are realistic and well developed, the story itself is well written, but the plot moved along a little slower than the previous books. The first two books in this series were captivating, but this one just seemed to lag behind them a little. However, I still loved this book! I enjoyed the interaction with all the previous characters in the town of Hope, though all the new characters added an interesting twist. I thought the story was intriguing and the characters were endearing, but the story just was a little too slow to be completely riveting. All together, it was a sweet story with a beautiful ending, just a little tame for the final book of such a compelling series.

I have always found Palmer's first books in trilogies to be the best. I had a hard time reading this one, and skimmed over more than the first half of the book. The plot picked up at the end, but I would like to see more involvement of the former characters. It's still a good series I would recommend, though.

I have always found Palmer's first books in trilogies to be the best. I had a hard time reading this one, and skimmed over more than the first half of the book. The plot picked up at the end, but I would like to see more involvement of the former characters. It's still a good series I would recommend, though.