Customer Reviews

When Love Blooms

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Penned with the descriptive nibs of all the five senses, Hatcher transports the reader to the magnificent high country of Idaho in a thoroughly engaging tale of love and wounded heroes. When Love Blooms is layered with appealing characters, and I was so at home with the story's cast, I felt like I was like viewing my own family history. I have yet to read a Robin Lee Hatcher novel that didn't entrance me from the first page, and with a unique plot for a romance, When Love Blooms is no exception. I give it a high recommendation.

I loved this story! It is set in the late 1800's in a remote area of Idaho. Robin makes you care about the characters and live vicariously through them.

Dru's main objective is not only to find a suitable governess for her two children but someone her husband, Gavin would fall in love with. Why? Because Dru is dying and their marriage was one of convenience. Dru's previous husband passed away in a tragic accident and Gavin took on the role to take care of Dru and her children.

Due to past experiences, Gavin is none too happy about his wife's decision to hire a governess. After all, he can take care of the two girls on his own. He doesn't need a high and mighty woman who doesn't like to get her hands dirty to take over. Gavin doesn't leave Emily any doubt that she is not wanted at the ranch. Emily and Gavin fight against their attraction toward one another. Emily loves the Lord with all her heart but Gavin keeps his distance with God.

Patrick, a rich landowner falls for Emily. He can give her anything her heart's desire. He lavishes Emily with compliments and makes her feel worthwhile and special.

Emily does fall in love with the children but the question remains, "Does Dru get her wish fulfilled?"

This is a wonderful story of hope of love in the midst of sorrow and pain.

When Love Blooms by Robin Lee Hatcher is a typical Christian romance novel. Emily Harris, a young woman who is uncertain what she wants to do with her life, takes a job as a governess with the Blake family on their Idaho ranch in the 1800s. What she doesn't realize when she takes the job is that Brina and Pet's mother, Dru, is dying of cancer. At first all Emily knows is that Dru is sick, Dru's husband, Gavin, immediately disapproves of Emily, and Emily takes an instant liking to her new charges.

Emily is also unaware of Dru's plan to find a new woman for Gavin to love after her passing. Even without knowing of Dru's plan, both Emily and Gavin begin fighting an attraction for each other, and the typical misunderstandings follow, including Emily becoming engaged to another man, and her returning home to Boise. But will they discover how they feel about each other before it's too late?

It was a good book, the kind you might take to the pool or beach over the summer. Certainly not a particularly original story--kind of The Sound of Music meets Love Comes Softly--but that characters are likable, the setting is fairly unique, and the Christian themes make it a better alternative to a lot of the books currently available in bookstores.

Yesterday I finished reading "When Love Blooms" by Robin Lee Hatcher. The book is a beautiful story set in the 1800s. Emily Harris is ready to carve out a life of her own and takes a job as a governess to two young girls at a ranch located in the Stanley Basin of Idaho. She had spent the last several years tending to her sister and nieces and nephews and was well equipped to take on a nine-year-old and five-year-old as well as their ailing mother. She never expected much from their father.

"When Love Blooms" takes on issues of selflessness, neglect, and perseverance. I really enjoyed being introduced to the believable characters and situations. I look forward to reading more of Robin Lee Hatcher's books. This book is published by Zondervan, copyright 2008 and may be purchased at your favorite book stores.

Historical novels have a way of transporting you into the world of a bygone generation, and sometimes the setting remains with you after you've set the book down. WHEN LOVE BLOOMS takes its readers to the Idaho Territory in 1883. Young Emily Harris travels from Washington, D.C., to Boise to care for her older sister and nephew, suffering from pneumonia. Once there, with the domestic scene under control, Emily answers an ad placed by a family with two young girls seeking a governess, not in town but on a distant "mountain ranch."

The ailing Mrs. Blake --- Drucilla --- hires Emily, disregarding the disapproval of her husband Gavin. Gavin thinks Emily is too urbane, too refined, not hearty enough for life on the other side of the mountain pass, in the Sawtooth Valley. Emily hasn't always been a city girl and thinks she knows what she's getting into. She quickly accepts the offer and accompanies the Blakes out of town, assuring the family that she will stay with them through the winter, until the next summer.

Life of course is more complicated than Emily had imagined. The winter weather is unbelievably harsh. Drucilla's illness is not just a passing weakness but a terminal cancer. Emily hits it off with the daughters but can't quite figure Gavin's negative vibes. Why does he so dislike her? ("She would make him admit that she was well suited for the work he'd hired her to do. So help her she would, even if it killed her.") If Drucilla dies, how will she fit into this family? The reader asks even more questions. Who is this Charlie whom Drucilla mentions in conversation with Gavin? What kind of marriage do Drucilla and Gavin really have?

Eventually Emily meets Patrick, the oldest son of a wealthy Irish family that lives in a castle-line home, Killarney Hall, near the Blakes' Star Dust Ranch. Despite Gavin's warning that Patrick is full of blarney, Emily entertains his attention. Maybe he is God's provision for her own family life.

Emily ultimately has to make decisions about her future. Where and with whom will she be? When she left Boise she "felt destined to make a difference." What was God wanting her to do?

There is nothing subtle about the writing in WHEN LOVE BLOOMS. This is a light read for women who --- if they had been born a generation earlier --- would have enjoyed the historical romances of Grace Livingston Hill.

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

"When Love Blooms" is the perfect title for this romantic story of loss, new discoveries and the healing power of love. Gavin Blake and Emily Harris meet when she accepts the position of governess and teacher for his wife's two young daughters. Emily appears to be very much a refined city lady, and Gavin doubts that Emily will adapt to the rugged lifestyle of his family's mountain ranch. Emily is not quite sure of what to make of Gavin, and she senses his disapproval. Gavin married his wife Dru because she was the widow of his best friend, and he feels responsible for the care of Dru and her children. Dru and Gavin are married, but they are just good friends, not truly husband and wife. They are not lovers. Dru is very ill, dying of cancer, and she sees in Emily someone who will love her children. While Gavin at first disapproves of Emily, he is also quite attracted to her, and his quilt over this attraction eats away at him. The more time that Emily spends with the family, the more she realizes that Gavin is a good man of deep feeling. Though all of the characters undergo difficult personal challenges, they also experience great personal growth. They bloom as people, just as "love blooms". A lovely, touching romantic read!

A timeless, inspirational love story by an author whose many books have won many awards!

When Love Blooms takes us to Boise, Idaho where a young woman named Emily was summoned by her brother-in-law to come to see her ailing sister and nephew, where she helped nurse them back to health. After they are well, she no longer feels needed. So what was she to do? Return to her former job or stay on in Boise? Where was God calling her to go? Then an ad in the local paper seemed to be the answer to her prayers.

She meets with the owner of the ad, a dying woman in search of someone just right to take of her two young children and her husband after she's gone. Is Emily the right woman for the job? Can this be Emily's chance to make a difference in the world and change one man's heart?

He's just lost his wife. She's a governess to his daughters. His deceased wife picked her just for him. But can he let love bloom in his heart for her?

Find out in this wondrous story from Robin Lee Hatcher! I'm certainly glad I did and I give it highest praises as I'm sure you will, too!

Robin Lee Hatcher restored my passion for reading pioneer novels. Despite my busy life, I couldn't put down this uniquely touching tale set in the mountains of beautiful Idaho, where we see a vision of pioneer struggles mixed with sadness, hope, and honor.
Gavin and Dru Blake, in the wake of her cancer, find it necessary to hire a governess in Boise. Emily Harris is an answer to Dru's prayers for a woman who loves the Lord and will nurture her girls and husband after she passes on. She appears to be a bit refined in Gavin's eyes and the dare is set before her to prove she can survive an outback life.
Gavin and Dru Blake's perseverance in their lives as ranchers is inspiring. Gavin married Dru following her husband and his best friend's death. Because of her illness, they made this necessary choice, as many pioneers did in that day, to protect the precious girls. This dedication to children, giving up personal desires, is a convicting sacrifice in our "all about me" culture.
Emily, unaware of the gravity of Dru's health, proves to be of the same stock as her employers stepping right in, working more than her expected share with tenderness and compassion towards the family, despite Gavin's gruff doubts about her stamina.
Integrity is even more evident in Emily's life as she eventually feels drawn toward Gavin, embarrassed and confused, not understanding God's and Dru's future hopes for her. She and Gavin both feel a tugging in their hearts and temptation but flee from the attraction with honor. Both find the need to turn and examine where they are with God in their grief and temptation.
This respectful attitude towards marriage, even an unconsummated marriage, is a challenge to our society. I found Robin's book to be filled with grace and accountability in areas we all have or will face in our lives. A well written pleasant read, and a book that will bring growth to your walk with Jesus as you journey through this family's struggles, joys, and challenges.

Review by Jill Williamson

Emily Harris is looking for a life change. She loves her sister's family, but she needs to get out on her own. She wants to be more than just a society wife. She interviews as a governess for a ranching family far away from city life. She is determined to prove that there is more to her than a pretty face.

Gavin Blake doesn't think his wife made the right choice in hiring Emily Harris. The work is hard in the rugged high country, and this refined lady has no business teaching two young girls on a ranch miles from nowhere.

But Dru Blake knows what she's doing. Emily Harris is the perfect person to love her daughters and her husband. For Dru has a plan she hopes the Good Lord will help her out with. A plan that will not only take care of her daughters once she's gone, but will take care of Gavin, too.

What a hard, yet heartwarming, story! I started this at about 10:30 one night and stayed up until 2:30 am because I couldn't stop reading it. I was enthralled by the characters and their conflict that Robin Lee Hatcher created. She transported me into 1883. Her characters tugged at my heart and wouldn't let me rest until I knew how everything worked out. This was the first book of Robin's that I've read. Now I know why she is so successful. What a storyteller!

I enjoyed this story,but it also aggravated me,and I can only give it 4 stars instead of five,because I didn't feel the eventual romance was developed enough to be believable. Not enough passion for me,and I just can't get thrilled over a lukewarm romance,LOL! In all the other ways,it is a very good story that held my interest.

This was my second book by Robin Lee Hatcher,and it seems that she is a master of creating wonderful stories about misconceptions between the characters,which definitely brings suspense into play. I am also a fan of Christian ready-made family romances.

I plan to read much more of her work.