Where Wildflowers Bloom is an inspirational historical romance by Ann Shorey.Twenty-year-old Faith is haunted by the Civil War, which is only recently over in 1866. Her small Missouri town of Noble Springs only plagues her with memories of her father and brother, both of whom died in the war – and she’s desperate to leave.
Her grandfather, the only family Faith has left, has strong roots in the town though. His mercantile is a common shop among their neighbors, and he only recently turned over the reins to Faith to manage, causing rather a bit of scandal in Noble Springs for having a female manager, which is practically unheard of.
Despite her managing the store, she knows that only her grandfather can sell – and it’ll be necessary if her dream to travel west to Oregon with him to start a new life free of the constant reminders of their heavy loss will ever happen. But as she’s trying to work out how to broach the subject to him, Royal Baxter returns to town.
For years Faith has constantly checked for news on Royal Baxter, the man she wanted to marry. He was believed to probably have died in the war – but now he’s back alive, well, and handsome as ever. And, amazingly, he seems interested!
But is it love she feels for Royal Baxter? Or is it the strengthening of her desire to leave Noble Springs?
Does the Lord have entirely different plans for Faith?
With Faith’s young age of only twenty, Where Wildflowers Bloom is easily accessible to YA readers as well as adults. It has a firm foothold in a Missouri landscape, giving the impression that you are indeed in 1866 among the townsfolk.
This novel is, in a general sense, a historical romance – and a fun one at that. However, it also features issues like possible Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic-stress-disorder, and the struggle to be taken seriously as a women when those around you belittle that very fact. This gives a depth to the story that is helpful when you have a good idea where it’s going. Thing is, with good romances you enjoy the journey to the expected end – and that I did here!
There’s just enough of a puzzle to keep things intriguing in Where Wildflowers Bloom while we settle in to the vibrant mixture of characters that range from the charming and kind to the judgmental and cruel. What with the family drama and financial difficulties, I also found Faith and her grandfather to be very relatable and believe they will be to many readers as well.
And once you realize who the true romantic lead is, besides Faith of course, it’s really splendid. I loved the non-superficiality of it. I won’t tell you who – are you kidding? Read it for yourself! All I’ll say is that Ann Shorey managed to get me all tied up in knots dying for the inevitable moment that our meant-to-be-together-duo would finally be, well… together!
Very entertaining, satisfying novel that, though it wraps up a bit quicker than I’d prefer, was well worth the read. Check out Where Wildflowers Bloom!
*Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
*I received a copy of Where Wildflowers Bloom from the Baker Publishing Group. Their generosity in no way influenced, nor sought to influence, my opinion of the novel.
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