She Walks In Beauty by Siri Mitchell

Set during New York's gilded age, "She Walks in Beauty" shows the pressure young women faced to meet family expectations of marrying well. They not only had to learn appropriate social etiquette, but also secret fan gestures, proper dance steps, and wear that torturous corset. This story follows Clara Carter as she is forced into the social season a year early just so she can try to win the hand of one of the wealthiest heirs. Clara had dreams of going to college and had secretly hoped to skip the social season all together.

Amazingly, Clara goes from a shy girl to a beautiful, confident woman. She becomes the societies hottest debutante and has a really good shot at securing a proposal from the most sought after bachelor. But Clara is also a romantic, and struggles with following her family's demands or following her heart.

This book will make you think about true beauty. During this period of time, there was so much focus on looking outwardly beautiful even if there were health consequences. This is eerily similar to the period of time that we are living in now. It is amazing what we will do to look and feel beautify when it is inner beauty that really should define us.

This was one of the best fiction books that I have read in awhile. Once I started reading, I could not put the book down. I will definitely be reading more of Siri Mitchell's books.

This book was sent to me by Bethany House Publishers as part of their book review program. I was sent a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed are my own.

Somewhere to Belong by Judith Miller

Somewhere to Belong is about two girls who become fast friends. Berta Schumacher has been moved to Main Amana, a cooperative living, simple lifestyle community by her parents. She had lived a life of luxury in Chicago and it is a complete shock to have to live in a village with extreme structure. Johanna Ilg has been raised her entire life in Main Amana. The rules and the structure is all that she has known. Until she discovers a secret about her life, that makes her question who she really is and if Amana is where she really belongs.

This was a very interesting book. The author did a great job of developing the characters and really getting you into the book. I really enjoyed the story line but really did not like the setting (Main Amana). It is supposed to be a cooperative living, utopian, type village. It makes you think it is Amish, but there are some differences from the Amish communities. A family is assigned a living space/apartment, with several families living in one house. Every person is assigned a duty that requires them to work 7 days a week. All of this is decided by the "Bruderrat" community elders. There is a communal eating house where men sit separately from the women. It is said that it is better to be single than married, even though people can marry. It is such a controlled environment, it almost seems cultish.

Outside of the whole utopian community, I really enjoyed the stories of Berti and Johanna. This was my first book to read by Judith Miller. Somewhere to Belong is in a series called Daughters of Amana. I will probably not read any of these books.

This book was sent to me by Bethany House Publishers as part of their book review program. I was sent a free copy of this book to review.

Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Wilson

Sixteen women head to Plum Grove, Nebraska with hopes of free land and a fresh start. What they find out is they have been tricked and are actually to be brides for the local bachelors. Six of the women decide to show the con-artist that they are self-sufficient and refuse to be claimed by a man. These women begin the journey of a lifetime. This was a wonderful story of hope, forgiveness, love, and new beginnings. The author does a great job of intertwinning the story and lives of the six main characters. You begin to truly admire each of the women as the band together to create a new life for themselves. While homesteading is hard work, they come up with a creative plan to buy four plots of land to homestead and put one house that sits on a corner of each plot. This way they share the work and bounty and create a new life. This was a great book with a great storyline.

This book was sent to me by Bethany House Publishers as part of their book review program. I was sent a free copy of this book to review.

Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr

Elvira (Ellie) Kilmer is almost homeless and in much need of a job. When an opportunity comes to serve as housekeeper for a local widower, Jackson Smith, and his two young sons, she welcomes the opportunity. When Jackson offers an very unusual proposal to Ellie, she must decide if she is willing to marry without love in order to have a place to live and the chance to raise Jackson's sons. Hearts Awakening is an interesting story with some unexpected twists. The books draws you in right from the beginning and leads you through a wonderful story of two people who are so different yet so much alike. You won't be disappointed in this book.

This book was sent to me by Bethany House Publishers as part of their book review program. I was sent a free copy of this book to review.