Book Beginnings on Fridays/Friday 56: Love Comes Softly

   

    Hi! Happy New Year's Day, everyone, and welcome to my Friday post (the first one I've published since 2021 started). This one is the last in this month's Week of Book Memes, and kicks off my slow journey toward this site's first blogiversary! Yay! (To view all of the Week of Book Memes events I've done in the past, click HERE.) 

    Earlier this week, I participated in my fourth #IMWAYR, blogged about my top ten favorite books of 2020, and spotlighted Jen Calonita's newest read. Feel free to look at those if you're interested. If you've already looked at any of them, or took the time to comment, thank you so much! Every time I see that people are enjoying my posts it makes me so happy.

    This time, my Book Beginnings on Fridays/Friday 56 features a book rapidly becoming a classic. Especially if you read a lot of Christian fiction, you'll recognize this read as a pioneer in the literary world...ironic considering that it's set in American pioneer days! With a similar feel to the Little House books, it's no surprise that this well-written, emotional story has become a well-known Hallmark movie series.

Title: Love Comes Softly

Author: Janette Oke

Genre: Christian Fiction

Synopsis: Marty and Clem set out for the pioneer West full of hopes and dreams. They would stake a claim of their own on the new frontier, and build a home for themselves and their family.

But just after they'd arrived and Clem had chosen the perfect setting for their new home, an accident took his life...leaving Marty alone and pregnant. Then, on the day of his funeral, Clark Davis came along...and asked Marty to marry him!

Marty was infuriated -- but with no money, no shelter, and a baby on the way, what choice did she have? Besides, Clark said he only wanted her to be a mama to his baby girl, Missie. If Marty was still unhappy come spring, he would pay for her ticket back East.

Determined not to be a burden to Clark, and intending only to earn her keep. Marty threw herself into her new role of "Mama." But she had never been anyone's mama before, and she didn't even know how to keep a house! If only she could do right by this lonely man and his daughter just long enough to earn her train fare back home...

Now, Marty must learn wholeness and love through patience and faith.

First Line: The morning sun shone brightly on the canvas of the covered wagon, promising an unseasonably warm day for mid-October. Marty fought for wakefulness, coming slowly out of a troubled and fitful sleep. 

My Thoughts: Janette Oke does a fantastic job of infusing her writing with rich description, and gives you right off the bat the needed who, what, where, and when information for us to keep reading. Marty's obvious bad mood has me wondering why she feels that way, and already gives me a peek into her character and personality. I also know that the setting is during the American pioneering days, and can't help but wonder where she's traveling to. Even in the first few lines, I can already tell that I will relate to her, despite coming from a different time and place. In short, this is an amazing and very well-written opening!

    I'm not sure if anyone has this problem, but whenever I try to flip to the 56th page of a book, usually the only sentences are either confusing or wouldn't make sense out of context. I was so glad that the line I found on page 56 of this book was perfect for this book meme, and spotlighted one of my favorite characters!

From Love Comes Softly: Marty breathed a short prayer that if there truly was a God up there somewhere, He'd see fit to send a special blessing upon this wonderful woman whom she had so quickly learned to love.

    Thanks for taking a look at this post! I hope you enjoyed the small excerpts of Love Comes Softly.

    What about you? Have you read Love Comes Softly? If so, what did you think about it? If not,  would you consider checking out the book? 

    Some of you might have noticed that there's no Book Blogger Hop question today. That's because there isn't one! I guess the blogger running the meme wanted to allow time off for people to gather with their families today and tomorrow. So, we get a little break from that. If you like reading my answers to Book Blogger Hop questions, though, don't worry...they'll be back in future Fridays! 😊

    Next week, I'm taking a break from book reviews, because I was nominated for the Liebster Award! Join me as I answer all of the questions from the blogger that tagged me, and share a little more about myself outside of book blogging.