Book Review: Rosemary Opens Her Heart by Naomi King

The Lambrights, the Grabers, and all the folks from Cedar Creek, Missouri welcome you back in this second installment of Naomi King's Home at Cedar Creek series, Rosemary Opens Her Heart.

Zanna Lambright and Johnny Ropp are finally getting married. Friends and family are arriving in Cedar Creek to celebrate. Among them is Rosemary Yutzy, a young widow and mother of toddler Katie. After the tragic death of her husband last fall, Rosemary took over the running of her in-laws' house. But life with her father-in-law Titus and sister-in-law Beth Ann doesn't keep her from mourning the loss of Joe.

When Titus decides he wants to merge his lamb-raising business with Matt Lambright's, it might mean a move to Cedar Creek for the Yutzy family. Rosemary isn't sure how she feels about that, especially with Matt making it well known he has set his cap for her. Can Rosemary open her heart to the love and new life awaiting her in Cedar Creek?

I enjoyed the first book in the Cedar Creek series. When I heard the author was touring with the next book, I signed up right away. I wish I had received an actual copy of the book instead of an ARC, because the cover looks beautiful in the picture. I wanted to see if it looks even more stunning up close.

Rosemary Opens Her Heart is a superbly written, engaging Amish novel that will tug at your heartstrings. It's beautiful to watch Matt and Rosemary's relationship blossom. You can't help but sympathize with Rosemary's confusion. Joe and Matt are so different in how they approach romance. In addition, Rosemary dealt with Joe's death by forgetting her needs and focusing on taking care of Joe's father and sister. She has a small baked goods business that she runs out of Titus's home, but her entire life is dedicated to taking care of everyone else. She's scared to consider what she needs.

King does a fine job of continuing to create that small town feel by sharing how the entire community pitches in when a person is in need. While Matt and Rosemary are the main focus of this novel, the reader sees how Zanna and Johnny are getting along. She also catches up on the close friendship of Abby Lambright and James Graber. And if Titus decides to move his family back to Cedar Creek so he can partner with Matt and be closer to his brother, Ezra, the addition of the Yutzy family will bring changes to the community. King has definitely paved the way for another great book in this series. I can't wait to read it!


Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade (November 6, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451237978
ISBN-13: 978-0451237972
SRP: $14.00 (Also available in electronic formats)

I received an ARC of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

You've Got Mail Monday

Lately I feel like I can't keep up with anything--even mail. Luckily, last week was not an overwhelming mail week.

I received a kid's catalog from Land's End and a seasonal catalog from Oriental Trading. The latter one reminded me that I need to order my Christmas cards soon. Do you still send Christmas cards? Do you order them online or buy them in a store? Do you include personalized notes?

Since I send out so many cards, and because some of them go overseas, I usually order them with my family's name on them inside. I also have been known to order matching envelopes with our return address on them. One thing I do, though, is write a short Christmas letter to let everyone know how we are doing.

The only other item of mention is the latest book by Naomi King, Rosemary Opens Her Heart. This is the second book in her Home at Cedar Creek series. I was disappointed to receive an ARC with a plain cover instead of the finished cover art, but I really wanted to read this book after enjoying the first one of the series.

It's already a crazy week around here, so hopefully I can keep up with everything. I'm preparing for two writers conferences next month. I'm going to pitch a project to an agent and see what happens.

Hope you have a great week.