Customer Reviews

Scraps of Love: Marry for Love/Mother's Old Quilt/The Coat/Love of a Lifetime (Inspirational Romance Collection)

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

 

 

Title: SCRAPS OF LOVE

Authors: Tracey V. Bateman, Lena Nelson Dooley, Rhonda Gibson, and Janet Spaeth

Reviewed by Jean Kincaid

Publisher: Barbour Publishing

ISBN: 1-59310-254-2 / $10.95

Release Date: October 2004

Genre: Historical/Contemporary Christian Romance

Recycled fabric binds a family together in four novellas


MARRY FOR LOVE...Janet Spaeth

The delightful Bridgit Streeter plans a tea that her future Pastor/husband, Peter Collins, requests. She tackles with much anxiety, cutting and stitching together her own wedding dress. There's just one problem. Bridgit can't cook or sew. She can, however, ride like the wind, and farm from sunup to sunset. The antics of Bridgit endear her to readers, young and old alike.

MOTHER'S OLD QUILT...Lena Nelson Dooley

John Collins accidentally kills the dog of a woman shadowed by tragedy, adding to the despair Maggie Swenson feels will never leave her. John works hard to compensate for his mistake; chopping wood, feeding the animals, cleaning the barn, falling hard for the lovely Maggie. He gifts Maggie with a new puppy wrapped in an old quilt. Maggie's broken heart heals as she cares for the pup, and slowly she returns John's love. She cleans and repairs the quilt, later learning the meaning of each piece of fabric.

THE COAT...Tracey V. Bateman

Leah Halliday lines her son, Collin's, coat, with parts of an old family quilt. Headmaster Max Reilly intervenes in a scuffle between Collin and several other boys. Max buys Collin a new coat, and meets Leah when he delivers the present to the Halliday home. Leah refuses the coat then at Max's prompting, realizes the lining of Collin's old coat instigated the fight. Max takes Collin under his wing, taking advantage of every opportunity to spend time with Leah as well. He fears what will happen to their newfound love when Leah learns of his past.

LOVE OF A LIFETIME...Rhonda Gibson

Spunky Colleen Halliday receives a huge box in the mail, delivered by the handsome Adam Walker. In the box are request from her aunts to preserve the family's memories. Colleen can't bake a lick, but inherited a bakery from her grandma. Alarms blare and smoke billows when Colleen burns another batch of sweets. Adam's sister, Jenny, offers to teach Colleen how to bake. In return the two girls work on scrapbooks together. Jenny's for a school project and Colleen's to piece together her past. Adam is clearly drawn to the woman that influences his sister, but a past relationship threatens his happiness.


SCRAPS OF LOVE is a most exciting Anthology. The heroines are spunky, witty, tough and feminine. Each hero displays endearing traits that elicit admiration and love. The stories are fast paced, and you laugh and cry, choke up and rejoice in the spiritual growth of each character. It chronicles life in a family through several generations. SCRAPS OF LOVE teaches us that a loving God pieces our lives together much the same way each heroine repairs the quilt.

SCRAPS OF LOVE has become my favorite Anthology. Four love stories, three historicals and a contemporary, will captivate the heart of the reader. In the Novella, LOVE OF A LIFETIME, Rhonda Gibson, new author, exhibits a fresh, delightful flair of writing talent.

This is a 5 star book with wonderful authors. I know you will enjoy the stories as much as I did.

Janet Speath starts the book off with the creation of a fun read. The heroine learns how to quilt. Enjoyable.

Lena Dooley pulls your heartstings with a story of loved ones lost and the restoration of the quilt. Pulls the emotions.

Tracey Bateman shows the effects of war on a small family. She turns the lining of the coat into a coat of many colors. A warm story

Rhonda Gibson wraps it up with a cast of characters that are fun and real. The scraps of love, lives and the quilt become a part of a scrapbook that leaves the reader wanting to see more by this author. My favorite.

Carol Begay

As soon as I saw the title to this book it interested me as I am a scrapper myself....scrapbooks that is. All the stories are well written and loved them all but the one of the scrapbooker for me was the best. Rhonda Gibson sure as a way with her characters to make you laugh, cry and just get some great ideas from. Hoping to see something else she writes soon.

I rarely read romance. It's just not my thing - much more of an action, suspense, and drama fellow. But this book (along with a few others - e.g. Trolley Girl) managed to keep me interested. The writing is solid, moving, and a great piece of inspirational fiction.

I found the characters much more likable (or should I say real) than I expected. I may have a skewed outlook on romance novels since my mother owns about 2,000 of them and I can barely stand to even see the cove of a romance novel. It's quite possible that books like this one can help me overcome my bias.

N-E-HOW...this is a book worth buying and reading. Great job to all the writers!

See ya next review!
Dan Blankenship
author of The Running Girl

Scraps of Love is 4 stories, starting in the 1800's through modern day. These stories trace the path of a patchwork quilt and how it weaves through these families. I always have enjoyed stories where an object is passed down or when it ties different people together. Definitely worth the read.

SCRAPS OF LOVE is a sweet anthology guaranteed to be a quick and enjoyable read. It was fun reading how the quilt in this book got its start and how it was handled as it was passed from generation to generation.

My favorite story in this anthology is Mother's Old Quilt, but all the stories were very good.