Christian

It’s 1886 in St. Cloud, Minnesota and seventeen year-old Emmalyne Knox was engaged to marry Tavin MacLachlan in a few weeks. But tragedy struck the town and her family especially and now because of an old family tradition, she is now the youngest daughter and is expected to remain living with her parents to care for them the rest of her life. There was no changing her father, Luthias Knox’s mind. He packed up and moved his remaining family away and for 11 long years all Emmalyne did was care for her parents and brother, Angus (the only bright spot in her life) and daily wonder about Tavin. Her heart breaking each time she thought of all she had lost.

Luthias Knox is a very hard, unyielding man. He has no love in him and it shows in the way he treats his wife, daughter and son. He ruined his daughter’s life, yet she felt like it was her duty to honor her parents as God had said in His Word. Now after 11 long years circumstances change and they move back to St. Cloud, Minnesota. Her father will be working with Robert MacLachlan, Tavin’s father. He now owns a quarry and has offered Luthias a job. But Emmalyne is scared. Will Tavin still be there? Will he be married and have children? Can she bare to see that and will her heart break into again?

But as with all things, God has a master plan and although this book is full of pain and heartache, it’s also full of love, redemption and restoration. I loved reading every word, even thought sometimes I got so mad at Mr. Knox! This is a wonderful book and anyone who loves historical romantic fiction that is not sappy, but gritty and tense and not always the “happily ever after for everyone story” will love this book. It keeps you wondering what will happen between Emmalyne and Tavin and there’s a new doctor in town that has his eyes on Emmalyne too. I highly recommend this book and series. This is not the type of series you have to read in order. Each book is separate, they are just all set in Minnesota. So just go pick one up and enjoy! ( )

With "The Quarryman's Bride", author Tracie Peterson returns readers to Minnesota of the late 1890's. As the twentieth century approaches, and modernization invades, many of those whose families work as manual laborers wonder what the future will bring. Emmalyne Knox has a father and brother who depend on the rock quarry trade to earn a living. Her father, Luthias, had begun as a laborer, but his way with figures led him to work as a bookkeeper and office manager. Emmalyne's brother, Angus, worked in the quarry itself. More than a decade had passed since a devastating storm had passed through their home area of St. Cloud, wreaking havoc and taking lives, including those of Emmalyne's two younger sisters. The Knox family was emotionally torn apart, and Luthias moved the remaining family to Minneapolis, forcibly ending Emmalyne's engagement to Tavin MacLachlan. Claiming an old Scottish tradition, Luthias declared that with his two oldest daughters married and living a distance away, and his two youngest daughters dead, it was Emmalyne's familial duty to remain with her parents and care for them as they grew older. Already a harsh and unyielding man, Luthias could not be dissuaded from this heartbreaking path. Tavin begged Emmalyne to elope with him, but she was a dutiful and devout daughter, and she would not go against her father's wishes. Tavin bitterly let her go, leaving Emmalyne in despair. Now the Knox family has returned to St. Cloud, and this time her father and brother will work for Tavin's father, Robert, who has his own quarry business. Tavin had left St. Cloud not long after the Knox family moved away, and he and Emmalyne had not seen each other or had contact in all those long years. Tavin has traveled and worked all around the country, and when word reaches him that his father had been ill, he returns to St. Cloud to help his father with the quarry business. He is unprepared to be working with Luthias, the man who ruined his life, and when he sees Emmalyne again, he knows that he loves her still. Emmalyne is overjoyed to see Tavin again, but his bitter attitude is still very much in evidence. As circumstances bring them more and more into each other's company, the longing for what should have been grows deeper and deeper. Emmalyne's father is just as dictatorial and demanding as ever, and her mother has grown weaker and more melancholy as the years have passed. Is there hope that abiding faith and true love can change the hardest of hearts? Can the future leave the hurt of the past behind? When threats to the safety of the quarry and their families force them to fight side-by-side, will old wounds be healed? A stirring addition to Tracie Peterson's "Land of Shining Water" series.

Book Copy Gratis Bethany House Books ( )

I enjoyed the historical setting, and Tracie's research applied to the era.
The dialogue was frustrating: telling things that the people in the plot would already know, just so I would know.
I also struggled with the doctor's lack of confidentiality with his patients. (I know HIPAA wasn't around then, but there still would have been confidentiality with his patients...the hipocratic oath and all that sort of stuff.)
Some of the plot was not believable...would the doctor really bow out gracefully and actually encourage the reunion?
I appreciated the escape into another time, but it came with a lot of frustrations. ( )

This book was really different in a way of a Romance book. You some what learn to keep faith along with hope. Some things really happen once tragically happen to one particular family. Things begin to change though out the book. Doe god start to heal their hearts and wounds? ( )