Faith Blum

I Love To Tell the Story is the second book in the Librarians of Willow Hollow series, and while it can be read on its own, it's better read in series order to gain a better idea of the relationships among both the librarians and the people they serve.
The pacing is a bit slow, and it took a while for all the new characters to be introduced and everything to be situated, but after that the story picks up and unfolds character dynamics, giving readers a glimpse of the four librarians that each have a book to themselves. That scene in particular is a favorite.
Lillian's kind heart is evident in her treatment of those around her, and she reached out to those who needed it, even when they were cantankerous (ahem, Crow).
I felt that some scenes dragged on a bit, and I would have liked to see more of her relationships with some of the characters, but overall this was a sweet addition to the Horseback Librarians of Willow Hollow series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. A positive review was not required.… (altro)

3.5-3.75 stars:

I seem to have jumped into this series with what (at the time it was written at least) is the last book in the series. For the most part, I was able to read the story without being lost.

There's a long-term investigation that takes place (over 10 years or so). It's hard to believe that it took that many years to put this together but . . . perhaps I'm just used to our modern day technology that makes it easier to gather evidence.

As it is, this process takes one amateur sleuth and two Pinkerton detectives, two of whom are abducted and kept drugged for a number of days and one who has to go undercover before the case is finally broken. Along with the help of 2 women and a few men of the town.

The Pinkerton detective who finally breaks the case, Joshua, is struggling with a career decision--he likes being a detective when it doesn't involve undercover work (due to a variety of factors--the lies he has to tell, the things he has to hear about). He also misses his family in Montana.

I was glad to see that the author allows us to see Joshua's struggles, but I also have to agree with another reviewer that I'm not sure what it says about Joshua's faith that a month and a half undercover without a Bible shakes it so much.… (altro)

This was a beautiful addition to the Librarians of Willow Hollow collection! Even though I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as some of the other stories, I still enjoyed reading it and getting to know Lillian a bit better.

I can relate to Lillian’s struggles to some extent; I, too, am a fairly shy person, and I’m sure I’d perform worse than she did in the tasks she was forced to do. However, it was good to see how the light of Christ can move and change people—whether in fiction or real life, it’s encouraging to see!

As I said, this book wasn’t my favorite of the collection, partly because it didn’t feel like it had quite as much depth as some of the others, but if you enjoy historical fiction, or are interested in books about horseback librarians, this is a worthwhile clean read.… (altro)