Sunday, July 29, 2012

Belonging - Robin Lee Hatcher

Felicia Kristofferson has been looking for a family to belong to for most of her life.  Shipped west on an orphan train after the death of her mother, her siblings and she were given to separate families.  Upon the death of the parents who raised her, she finds that she was never truly adopted and has no inheritance, to claim.  Rather than accept the marriage proposal of her "cousin," she strikes out on her own, vowing to live as an independent woman and hoping to continue the search for her siblings.  She takes a job as a schoolteacher in a small town, determined to make a difference in the lives of her students.  Unbeknownst to her, her acceptance to the job was opposed by both her landlord, who fears that every woman is out to get a husband and so will not last long as a teacher for his daughter, and Helen, the rich woman on the school board, who is the mother-in-law of the woman who could become Felicia's good friend.

I enjoyed this book as a light read.  I admired Felicia's independent spirit, and her refusal to take the "easy" way out by marriage.  The search for her siblings seems like a storyline that will continue on, as this is the first book in a series.  Although the love story between Felicia and Colin was a given, I enjoyed the secondary story of Kathleen as she realized that she "should" love Colin, but also found her independence and courage to stand up to her mother-in-law and found love of her own.  Helen, the mother-in-law, was almost too overbearing for me to enjoy as a character.  There was no real growth or resolution on her meanness; even Kathleen's rebellion and the town's refusal to bow to her wishes didn't seem to change her or give her a wake-up call to the reality that she couldn't control people.  I know that in real life people don't always, or even often, change, but in my books, I like to think that they should.

I give this book 3 stars.  It was an enjoyable read, and I would like to follow the characters through another book or two.  I hope that we will continue to see growth in their relationships and personal lives through the extended story.

You can find the author's website HERE.
You can read an excerpt or purchase the book HERE.

I received this book for free from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

2 comments:

  1. That looks like a good one I love some
    History!

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  2. This sounds like a multilayered story which means that there will be plenty of material for future books. Great review!


    Kate @ Ex Libris

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