Wildflowers from Winter - Katie Ganshert

 

Like the winter, grief has a season. 

 Life returns with the spring. 

A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built the life she dreamed of during her trailer-park teen years.  An unexpected call from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa.  

Determined to pay her respects to her past while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long.  The unexpected inheritance of five hundred acres of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.  

Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years.  When Bethany is left the land, Evan must fight her decisions to realize his own dreams.  But even as he disagrees with Bethany's vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away.

For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn't seem like the path to freedom.  Is letting go the only way to new life, love, and a peace that she's not even sure exists?

My thoughts...

While this book was a slow start for me, once I was fully engaged in the storyline, I could not put it down.  Not even on our family vacation, up North at a cabin, with friends.  I eagerly awaited the times I could slip away and read a few chapters after the kids were put to bed.   Never mind the other adults were waiting for me so we could begin our nightly tournament of games!

The character of Bethany was a mystery to me in the beginning, I wasn't sure what to expect from her, were her loyalties laid, and what her future would hold.  I think her story really started taking shape once she moved back to the farm, met Evan, and started to get back in touch with her childhood roots!

I give this book 3 stars, if your able to get past the first few chapters, you just might end up enjoying the story!

 **I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group and was not required to post a positive review.**