Leah Otto has always admired Jude Shetler's good looks and talent as an auctioneer. When the widower asks her to marry him, it's like a dream come true. Despite the reservations of family and friends, the two enter their marriage with joy and optimism.
A few months later, Leah's twin step-daughters are acting out, her step-son keeps her at bay while mourning the loss of his mother, and Leah is struggling with running a household. Then a baby girl is abandoned on their doorstep and Leah must pull her family together, with Jude's support and God's will, to create a life filled with love, faith and unexpected blessings.
Every time I read a book by Charlotte Hubbard, I swear it's the best she could ever write. Then comes a new book and it's even better than the last one. This is an author who knows her genre well, but continues to keep it fresh every single time. Not every author can do that, so I admire Hubbard's ability to continually deliver top-notch stories that tug at the heartstrings and inspire a deeper more meaningful kind of love and faith.
In A Mother's Gift you have a woman who has never been at ease with housework. Leah is happiest tending to her goats and chickens. She's not prepared for all that goes into being a wife and mother. Jude doesn't care about that. He likes her non-traditional skills. That doesn't mean life will be easy for them. And it's not. This truly is a story where a husband and wife must stand strong in their faith as they deal with the challenges that being a new family entails...along with a few unexpected obstacles along the way.
A Mother's Gift is a story of love and faith. It is a story of one woman finding her place within her new family. It's a story of one man's dedication to the woman he loves. It's a story about blending families and having faith it will all work out. There really are so many elements to this story that you can't help but love it. Hubbard brings these characters to life in a special way and you'll be captivated by Leah and Jude's journey from the first page to the last. If you only read one book in this genre this year, it should be A Mother's Gift by Charlotte Hubbard.
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Kensington (March 27, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1496712188
ISBN-13: 978-1496712189
I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
Excerpt:
As Lenore Otto sat on the bed with Leah, wistfully watching the dusk of late November fill her daughter’s room, her heart was torn. The two of them had shared this evening ritual of talking and praying since Lenore’s husband, Raymond, had died last year. It had always brought her a comforting sense of peace, along with the certainty that she and her daughter would move forward with the plans God had for them. After all the cleaning they’d done and the preparations they’d made to host Leah’s wedding festivities the next day, she was ready to relax—but she needed to speak the words that weighed so heavily on her heart.
Tomorrow, when Leah got married, their lives would follow separate paths. Lenore knew she would be fine remaining on the small farm alone, making and selling her specialty quilts. She supposed some of her qualms about her daughter’s marriage plagued every mother . . .
Lord, I wish I could believe my Leah’s reaching toward happiness rather than heartache.
Before God’s still, small voice could respond to Lenore, Leah let out an ecstatic sigh. “Oh, Mama, it’s a dream come true,” she murmured. “Starting tomorrow, when I marry Jude, my life will finally be the way I’ve always wanted it. My waiting is over!”
Not for the first time, Lenore sighed inwardly at her daughter’s fantasy. As she returned Leah’s hug, savoring these precious moments in the room where her little girl had matured into a woman of twenty-eight, she didn’t have it in her to shatter Leah’s dreams. No mother wanted her daughter to forever remain a maidel, yet during these final hours before the wedding, Lenore thought she should try once again to point out the realities of marrying Jude Shetler. Jude was a fine, upstanding man any parent would be pleased to welcome as a son-in-law, but as a widower he carried a certain amount of . . . baggage.
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