Spring for Susannah [Paperback]

Catherine Richmond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2011

Hundreds of miles from home, Susannah faces an uncertain future as a mail-order bride on the untamed Dakota prairie.

When her parents die suddenly, and no suitors call, Susannah resigns herself to the only option available: becoming a mail-order bride. Agreeing to marry her pastor's brother, Jesse, Susannah leaves the only home she's ever known for the untamed frontier of the Dakota Territory.

Her new husband is more loving and patient with her than she believes she deserves. Still, there is also a wildness to him that mirrors the wilderness surrounding them. And Susannah finds herself constantly on edge. But Jesse's confidence in her—and his faith in God's perfect plan—slowly begin to chip away at the wall she hides behind.

When she miscarries in the brutal Dakota winter, Susannah's fledgling faith in herself and in God begins to crumble. Still, Jesse's love is unwavering. Just when it seems like winter will never end, Susannah finally sees the first tentative evidence of spring. And with it, the realization that more than the landscape has changed.

She looks to the future with a renewed heart. Yet in her wildest dreams, she couldn't predict all that awaits her.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Inspired by hymn lyrics, Richmond arrives on the inspirational fiction scene with a moving debut novel.Readers will be filled with hope that Susannah will learn the true meaning of love. Highly recommended where inspiring, romantic historical fiction is in demand. --Booklist

...charming inspirational story about a man's extreme faith, a woman's bravery, and God's amazing grace. Catherine Richmond has penned a treasure in her debut novel, SPRING for SUSANNAH. She gives realistic details of life in the 1870's, works in a good measure of inspiration, and just the right amount of romance. This is truly a must read! -FreshFiction.com -- Fresh Fiction

About the Author

Catherine Richmond was focused on her career as an occupational therapist until a special song planted a story idea in her mind. That idea would ultimately become Spring for Susannah, her first novel. She is also a founder and moderator of Nebraska Novelists critique group and lives in Nebraska with her husband.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595549242
• ISBN-13: 978-1595549242
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (132 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was busy raising a family, working as an occupational therapist, and trying to remember where I hid the chocolate, when a song sparked a story within me. The journey to publication has been long, but full of blessings. I couldn't have done it without ACFW, RWA, and FHL, the inspirational chapter of RWA - and lots of chocolate!

I was born in Washington, DC, grew up in northern Virginia, attended Western Michigan University, and moved around a lot for my husband's aviation career. Maybe our paths have crossed; shoot me an email and we'll figure it out!

My favorite place to write is the porch. Then I reward myself with reading time in my air chair - and chocolate, of course!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good until the middle May 28, 2011

By Haley Mathiot VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Warning: few spoilers

Okay. So. I got this in the mail and read it through completely the same day. That's got to be worth something.

I loved the premise of this book. It sounded so sweet, it sounded like it had a lot of potential. And I loved it: up until the halfway mark.

Halfway through, Susannah, seemingly out of nowhere, storms out of the house and tells her husband she's leaving. One minute she was fine, and she was beginning to love him, and the next minute, that horrible smelly house is just too much for her. It made no sense.

Also, their arguments were like that (what few of them they had.) on minute they were fine and the next minute they have a little bickering or frustration with each other, and he's like "if it's that bad for you, we'll get divorced." (not an exact quote, but it was something like that).

Then he left her. It was tolerable up until that point. But then he just snapped, and he left her. The locusts came back and he wouldn't listen to her, he just left and was like "I'll bring you home money because now I can't support you." He went all Edward Cullen on me just as I was really beginning to like him!

And then she found out she was pregnant.
And then he gets captured by Indians.
And then she thinks he's dead and two other guys say they'll marry her.

A little bit of plot overkill, maybe?

I was really disappointed. It would have been so much better if the conflicts were more realistic, and the plot consisted of less events that were more pointed towards the same thing.

Then there was her salvation. She wasn't really a Christian before, and her faith didn't seem much improved by the end either. I was hoping for a heartbreaking realization or a sacrifice or a change, and all I saw was "huh I guess he's on to something, okay I'll pray too. God please give me back my husband."

Because of all that, near the end I found myself skimming and reading just the dialogue so I could get to the end. And the very end could have had so much more emotion, so much more response, but it just felt very dead.

I really wish I had loved this book because it sounded so adorable. If only it hadn't turned at that halfway point.

Recommended for ages 15+ for one scene in which the doctor gives some advice to the married couple

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start May 29, 2011

By J. Gossert

Format:Paperback

Catherine Richmond's debut novel is set in the Dakota Territory following the Civil War. Susannah's parents have passed away and with no income and no prospects she begins writing letters to her pastor's brother who is living in the Dakota Territory. She becomes his mail order bride and boards a train to go meet her husband.

What follows is a time of getting to know each other. Learning how to love each other and to live together.

Susannah has never experienced unconditional love so every time something doesn't go the way she thinks it should, she expects Jesse (her husband) to send her packing. Jesse has infinite patience with her and gives his all at loving her right from the beginning.

There are some sexual references like nothing I have ever experienced in a "Christian" novel before. Nothing overt or anything that made me uncomfortable - just different from anything I've read before. That said, I'm not sure this is a book for younger girls.

I liked this book to a point and I've struggled with how to word this without giving too much away. As with most books in this genre there is a time of building up the relationship and then a time where the couple is put through trials. The trial happens too quickly after the relationship finally develops and lasts entirely too long. And when they finally come back together, the end of the book is too close. Jesse returns and five short pages later the book is done. Too many loose ends were left. It might be okay if this was the beginning of a series but there is no mention of another book.

All in all a good debut novel.

My copy was graciously provided by BookSneeze for my honest review.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Debut novel May 30, 2011

By Courtney

Format:Paperback

Such a great romantic debut novel!! I was really impressed by the story of Spring for Susannah! I LOVE stories about mail-order brides and this one was great! Unlike other mail-order brides stories I've read this one the main hero and heroine were sort of set-up by a mutual person. The hero Jesse has a minister brother, and Jesse gets lonely and asks his brother if he knows anyone looking to be a bride? So then the minister thinks the quiet shy girl Susannah who just lost her parents and needs a husband is a perfect match for Jesse and that's how they end up together!

What's different about this Christian Romance than most is the couple gets married before they even meet each other and then they fall in love later instead of the other way around! Susannah is terribly shy and has dealt with some horrible things in her past so she has a hard time opening up to Jesse even though Jesse is everything one could want in a mate!

I really loved this story! I could really relate to Susannah because I am a shy person myself and find I related to her inner voice a lot. Susannah kept telling herself she shouldn't do this and he wouldn't like her if she said that and so on and it reminded me of myself!

There was so much to love about the hero Jesse. He isn't perfect and has dealt with some pretty hard trials in his life but he places a lot of faith in God and does everything he can to get Susannah to open up to him. I loved his teasing and flirting with Susannah.

Some people gave a negative comment about the bedroom scenes but I personally enjoyed them. They were married and I thought the flirting and teasing just made them seem more like a realistic character and marriage then other books but I do think some people might not like that sort of talk.

My only complaint of the book is the ending. There was so many things going on and I wish they would have gotten to the ending way sooner than they did and I also wish there was more after the ending! It's hard to word exactly what I felt was lacking in the ending without spoiling the book!

I can't wait to read more by Catherine Richmond because I'm sure her writing will just continue to get better!

A Big Thank You to Litfuse for providing a review copy of the book. I was not obligated to provide a positive review.