Customer Reviews

Rebecca's Reward (Daughters of Blessing #4)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

NOTE: The review on the Amazon webpage is clearly NOT about this book, there is no "Thomas Ollenburger" or any other Mennonite characters, nor does any part of the story take place in Kansas or Boston.

Now for the real plot: Rebecca Baard wants to start an ice cream/soda shop in the town of Blessing, but her brother thinks it's nothing but a foolish dream. She travels to Bismarck to visit her cousin Penny and has the chance to visit an ice cream parlor and learn how to run it, and meets a nice young man after a skating mishap - he encourages her to stay in Bismarck longer but she insists on returning to Blessing as planned. Upon her return to Blessing, she is shocked to learn that Mr. Jeffers, the despicable new owner of Penny's former store in Blessing, has been telling everyone that he and Rebecca are engaged because her brothers gave him permission to court her. The brothers refuse to take responsibility for their actions and force her to confront Mr. Jeffries to say she's not interested, but he turns on her (thankfully, a friend hears Rebecca scream and stops him in time). Most of her family and friends know it's not Rebecca's fault and are ready to defender her, but Mrs. Valders, the town gossip, tries to put all the blame on her.

My favorite parts of this story is are Mrs. Valders' adopted son Gerald, who dislikes confrontation, willingly stands up to his mother after she publicly declares falsehoods about Rebecca, and Gerald's brother Toby, previously the school bully, is instrumental in making everything work out right in the end.

While the story takes place long ago, I can connect to things going on now. I found myself encouraged by the way the characters faced dilemma's, pray first, listen, and then act. The sense of "community" continues to draw me into these books, and I look forward to reading all of the series.

Going home to Blessing, North Dakota is a favorite reading pastime for me. I've been a fan of Lauraine Snelling's books about the Bjourkland family and their friends for well over ten years. I look forward to each new book about the townsfolk and the going ons in their lives as they live out the American dream out in the west. With this book, we get to read the story of Rebecca Baard, cousin of Penny and daughter to Ingeborg's best friend who died several years ago. Rebecca is tired of the life she lives, having to tend an all male house and wants to start a new life. She dreams of opening a soda shoppe in her hometown but needs to find resources and funding to make this dream come true. I really liked her relationship with her friends and cousins. It's good to read about how girl talk was an important part of life even back in the day.

My favorite part about this book was the talk of all the ice cream! Rebecca is extremely productive and takes a lot of initiative to make this dream of hers become a reality. There's a lot of planning and research that went into making her decision. I appreciated that she did take the time to learn about what goes into running an ice cream shop and not had it magically happen. There was a lot of things to consider, including the question of who would go get ice cream in the winter time. I really liked it when she went on the behind the scenes tour of the ice cream parlor in Bismarck and then got to eat the ice cream.

I also have really enjoyed seeing the Valders boys change and mature throughout the entire Blessing saga. When we first met them, they were ragtags who were troublemakers, stubborn and rude. They eventually got adopted and throughout the books began to change and soften the hearts of the townsfolk and their own parents. With this book the focus is on Gerald and it's wonderful to see him now be a kind hearted man who has definitely grown up from him wild beginnings. I was also really glad to see him take a stand against his mother, who seems to be the ever popular grump of the town.

The only thing I felt was a bit odd was that the story of Mr. Jeffers seems to end up abruptly with no conclusion. There was nothing really wrong per se, but I just felt that the story was left hanging and just pushed aside. It's not a big plot but since it affected the main characters it would have been nice to have some closure. Other than this, I really enjoyed reading this book. It's total comfort reading for me, and I love the historical setting. I am dying to read Astrid's story and am excited that the next series about Blessing is going to be based entirely on her. Lauraine Snelling is one of my favorite Christian historical fiction authors and I feel that if you start with the first book in this saga, you won't be able to stop.

Rebecca's Reward (Daughters of Blessing #4)

After having read the previous 12 books (the first 6 in the "Red River Of The North" series, the next 4 in the "Return To Red River" series, and the last 3 in this "Daughters Of Blessing" series) it is so much easier to read this last book in this series. The next series is called, "Back To Blessing." I am just reading "Rebecca's Reward" for the first time (the other 12 I had read 2 yrs. ago) and find this book as wonderful as the previous books. After having studied genealogy and history, I find these books historically accurate. I was SO THRILLED to read Lauraine Snelling's "Dedication" in this book. I always had felt that she started the first books from a real true genealogical base, with the Norwegians coming to America being her real family. As you read the "Dedication" you will find out how true that was. I will not tell you everything that specifically happens in the book, because I feel that isn't fair to you, the reader. You'll want to read it for yourself, and not know all the details (like other reviewers do it) before you've even opened the book. This book is about Rebecca Baard (I will tell you that much). There is also: A graduation, an evil occurrence, now 5 phones in Blessing, a visit to a far away family, a character saves Rebecca, a vision is seen in person, an evening ride, relatives from back home are thinking of immigrating, animals are missed, another death from a natural disaster, a beloved character has a stroke, an evil man attacks, a person driven from Blessing, a man speaks to his mother, a re-do appears brand new in town, a crook is found out, very happy news for one family, a marriage, and a dream comes true. Snelling is a fantastic author and has a beautiful way with words. I would highly recommend reading the other books before this one, and then read this one. All of the books are dated as to when in time they happened. Thanks Lauraine for a wonderful read, and bringing the daughters of Blessing back to life for us!

I am hooked on the Lauraine Snelling books telling of settling the Dakota Territory. This is a wonderful series of a wonderful family.

This book is great! Like the rest of the series, it is a great read. I love all of Lauraine Snellings Red River series. I highly recommend this book.

I love Lauraine Snelling's books - this is number 25 for me.

Her characters are so real it's as if you know them personally. I highly recommend going to her website and getting a list of her books and start with the first. These characters are passed on from book-to-book. Her depiction of life on the North Dakota plains is very real due to her extensive research. You'll love these Norwegian characters and how they grew to settle from Norway to North Dakota.

The fourth book in the "Daughters of Blessing" series finds Rebecca's dreams finally being fulfilled. Rebecca is frustrated with life on the farm, cattle dying, and her brother Gus, who makes demands on her but never truly believes in her. Rebecca has always dreamed of opening a soda shop in town, but finding resources and funding to make this dream come true seems impossible. However while visiting a friend in Bismarck, she learns about the ice cream making business by touring behind the scenes of an ice cream parlor. As her relationship with her good friend Gerald changes, her dreams begin to come true.

Rebecca's Reward is the latest in the Daughters of Blessing group in the Red River Series. Rebecca is the daughter of Ingeborg's best friend Agnes. In Rebecca's Reward, Rebecca is coming of age and frustrated with living in an all-male household. She wants to make her dream of a soda shop a reality. She spends some time with her sister Penny in Fargo learning how to start her business. The daughters of Blessing spend the night at the Boarding house one night and make a list of all the eligible bachlors in Blessing, in making her list, Rebecca realizes that one bachlor already has her heart.

This is a great book as are all the Blessing books

Lauraine Snelling keeps us spell bound to Blessing and the characters we have learned to love. I hope she produces yet another in this wonderful, uplifting series. My friends cannot wait for me to add each book to the church library!