Book Tour: Lily of the Valley

Happy Cyber Monday! In honor of the biggest internet shopping day of the year, or at least one of them, Faith Blum decided to do a blog tour release of her newest novel, Lily of the Valley. There are two giveaway opportunities and lots of fun interviews and excerpts.

About the Book

Howdy, Teacher! You don’t know me, but my kids talk bout you a lot. I been lookin fer a wife and mother fer a few years and was wonderin iffen we cood meet and get to no each other a bit. I’ll come after skool to git yer answer. Grover Miller

Unruly schoolchildren, three suitors, and too many things to do. When Ruth Brookings rejects one of the suitors, he refuses to accept no for an answer. To make matters worse, when she prays for guidance, she’s answered with a challenge instead: To encourage her friend to find a wife—whether he wants one or not. Will she lose her friend just when she needs a friend the most? Will she be able to weather the storms she’s about to face?

Amazon

About the Author

Faith Blum started writing at an early age. She started even before she could read! She even thought she could write better than Dr. Seuss. (The picture doesn't show it well, but there are scribblings on the page of Green Eggs and Ham). Now that she's grown up a little more, she knows she will probably never reach the success of Dr. Seuss, but that doesn't stop her from trying. When she isn't writing, Faith enjoys doing many right-brained activities such as reading, crafting, writing, playing piano, and playing games with her family. One of her dreams is to visit Castle City, Montana someday to see the ghost town she chose for her characters to live in. She currently lives on a hobby farm with her family in Wisconsin.



Review

Lily of the Valley, by Faith Blum, was a lovely historical romance.  The fifth book in the Hymns of the West Series, this book is set in the same western town as the previous novels and tells the story of several other young couples, friends or family members of those in the previous novels.  I enjoyed the adventures of Ruth, Micah, Annabel, and William as they sought to know God and each other better.  The danger created by the antagonist added to my interest in the story as I wondered what would happen to the main characters and the children.

It was easy to see some of the growth that took place in the characters' lives.  Each one of them had struggles to overcome.  Although they did not always succeed on the first try, their ultimate successes were an encouragement.

I could hardly believe the extent the town leaders went to on account of an unverifiable rumor.  I cannot say any more on the matter without revealing something, however.

The restrictions that Ruth and her parents made for her courtship were interesting to say the least.  She was asked not to form an emotional attachment to her beau until they were engaged, among other things.  She struggled, of course, but I could not help thinking that it might be a smart way to date someone in the present, because it would allow a dating couple to see each other a little more objectively at first and to make marriage or break-up decisions without so much heartache.  But without real-life testimonies, it is hard to know if it is even possible in the non-fictional world, besides the fact that dating/courting relationships have changed dramatically since the nineteenth century.  All that to say, I admired their way of courting somewhat.

Lily of the Valley was interesting on a number of levels and I enjoyed it because of that.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys clean historical romance or inspirational fiction.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Free Book

 Today is the last day to get Be Thou My Vision (Hymns of the West #2) free! Here is the link: Amazon

Giveaway

Faith has a Goodreads giveaway going on through November 30th! Be sure to check it out and enter to win one of two signed paperback copies of Lily of the Valley.  

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Lily of the Valley

by Faith Blum

Giveaway ends November 30, 2015. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/161619 In addition to the Goodreads giveaway, Faith is also giving away all four of her paperback novels to one lucky winner!


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Bloggers involved

 
November 29: Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections-Tour introduction Shanna Hatfield-Book 

November 30: Musings of Inspiration-Author Interview/Book Spotlight C.K.Rich-Book Spotlight Singing Librarian Books-Book Review/Author Interview Writing Dreams-Author Interview/Character Interview/Book Spotlight Tara Ellis - Wife. Mother, Indie Author and Photographer-Book Spotlight Christa Reads & Writes-Book Spotlight Rebekah Lyn Books-Book Spotlight The Overactive Imagination-Author Interview Wildflower Acres-Book Review/Spotlight Jaye L. Knight-Book Spotlight Zerina Blossom's Books-Book Review/Spotlight God's Peculiar Treasure Rae-Book Spotlight Tamie Dearen’s Blog-Book Review/Spotlight Clean Indie Reads