Wildflowers (Glenbrooke, Book 8) [Paperback]

Robin Jones Gunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2001

When Genevieve Ahrens moves into the charming community of Glenbrooke, she revives the downtown area by purchasing the Wallflower Restaurant and making it a town favorite. But Gena's heart needs some renovation of its own when her daughter marries and Gena is back in touch with her estranged husband. All of her advice to a young friend about forgiving and trusting God to heal the hurt haunts her as she and Stephen talk through what went wrong in their marriage. Will the pain-filled couple experience the joy of God's redeeming grace or the agony of divorce?

Genevieve has been married for over half her life…so how can she suddenly fall deeply in love for the very first time?

Genevieve Ahren’s dream is coming true at last! Glenbrooke’s Wildflowers Cafe goes up for sale and Genevieve knows she can make it into something special.

However, her new venture is far from easy. With her husband gone so often due to his career as an international airline pilot, Genevieve is alone in making all the important decisions. Her heart is empty and hollowed out...like an isolated cottage boarded up for a long winter season.

It’s in the solitude of this dark season that Genevieve discovers friends she didn’t realize she had. When this small circle of tender-hearted women rally around her, Genevieve finds light streaming in through the door of her heart. A door she thought she had locked and bolted long ago. The biggest surprise of all is when Genevieve realizes she is giddily in love—with the last man she expected could make her feel this way!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Love, longing, and faith in midlife are the triple themes braided together in Wildflowers, the sweet eighth installment of the Glenbrooke Series by popular Christian novelist Robin Gunn. As Genevieve Ahrens busies herself making a success of the Wildflower Café, she's aware that the rest of her life is in trouble. After 26 years of marriage, "all the doors to her heart were shut, and all the shades were pulled down tight," and she's withdrawn from her faith. Genevieve's husband Steven is a commercial airline captain who is away for long stretches of time, leaving her bitter and resentful. When fire guts the Wildflower Café, Genevieve can no longer distract herself from the frozen state of her soul and her heart. In the end, she finds that it is her ability to forgive the past through a renewed faith that thaws her unhappiness. Although occasionally the descriptions become a little heavy-handed, Gunn's fans will find that her award-winning ability to tell a good story is in full evidence here. --Cindy Crosby

About the Author

Robin Jones Gunn is the award-winning, bestselling author of more than 45 books, including 8 in The Glenbrooke series. She is also the author of the nonfiction work, Mothering by Heart. Robin and her husband, Ross, live in Portland, Oregon, with their teenage son and daughter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Publishers; Repack edition (September 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576736318
• ISBN-13: 978-1576736319
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,625,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

You are warmly invited to visit Robin's website at www.robingunn.com. Be sure to sign up for the Robin's Nest Newsletter and have a browse in the Online Shop.

Over the past 25 years Robin has written 70 books with over 4 million copies sold.

She started writing for teens when the girls in her church youth group challenged her to write stories for them. It took 2 years and 10 rejections before the first Christy Miller novel was published in 1988. Since then the tales of these Forever Friends have continued. The Christy Miller series was followed by the Sierra Jensen series, Christy and Todd the College Years and the Katie Weldon series.

As Robin's readers grew older they asked for more stories about characters their age. The 8 book Glenbrooke series was launched followed by the Sisterchicks(R) series and a variety of standalone destination novels including "Under a Maui Moon" and "Canary Island Song".

Join Robin Jones Gunn on her facebook public figure page where she frequently posts updates on her latest travel or writing adventure.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!, November 2, 2001

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wildflowers (Glenbrooke, Book 8) (Paperback)

Genevieve Ahrens had been married to Steven many years. Their oldest daughter had already left the nest and only two remained. With Steven being an airline captain and gone often, she kept busy with her newly-acquired café. Gena had wonderful plans for the Wildflower Café. The famous author of the "All The Best" line of books even stopped by. He planned to return in a few months to see if the changes would be good enough for him to feature the café in his next book! Gena's assistant, Leah, was a big help and a close friend.

When a major crisis occurred at the café, once again Steven was not there for Gena. Their marriage problems were getting worse and their future together looked bleak. But friends slowly showed her how to open her heart to God. Gena must learn that sometimes God does not answer prayers for very good reasons.

***** An excellent example of writing! This is the type of novel that should be read slowly and savored. I enjoyed every page! Each time I stopped reading it was with a glow in my heart. Wonderful! I hope to see more from this author soon. *****

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just About Teen Problems!!!, May 31, 2002

By 

Sierra (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wildflowers (Glenbrooke, Book 8) (Paperback)

The book, Wildflowers, doesn't focus mainly on teens, as many books nowadays do. Being a teen myself this is okay, but for the adult readers, it's not. I was very surprised to find out that Genevieve wasn't a teen, nor was she 20 or 30. This was very refreshing! I commend Robin J. Gunn! This book actually illustrated things that can really happen, as opposed to, "Oh yeah, my boyfriend broke up with me today.My dog bit me." This book is highy reccomended!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wildflowers, November 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wildflowers (Glenbrooke, Book 8) (Paperback)

Robin Jones Gunn has done it again! She has made me happy.
Her books are the best, everytime I read a new one by her I think, her books cannot get any better! Wildflowers, her latest book in the Glenbrooke series defies this and only shows her great writing style.
The main character, Gena goes through many situations that make her start questioning what has happened to her faith in God. This book is like a coming of age book (although Gena is not a teen or young adult) she learns some important truths prior to her new understanding of what it is to really know someone is by and will never leave you. Through the her renewed relationship with God, she comes to overcome obstacles that were hindering her relationships from going further.
I really liked the book because it was by Robin Jones Gunn! Also, the book is great because no matter what is going on, I can feel the presence of God in the midst of all the turmoil in Gena's life. The book is a reminder to all that it is never too late to renew your relationship with God, or if you don't have a relationship with hime yet, you can start right away!