Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Book Review: The Chapel Car Bride

The Chapel Car Bride. Judith Miller. 2017. Bethany House. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Hope Irvine clutched a handful of leaflets and picked her way toward the rear of the swaying train.

Premise/plot: Hope travels with her father, a preacher, in a chapel car. They travel by rail and stopover at various communities in need of ministry. Her father does the preaching and leads the services; Hope does the teaching of the children. For most of this novel, the two are located in the mining community of Finch.

The community is shy of strangers--usually. But Luke Hughes takes a liking to them. He wants to be a preacher himself, not a miner. And Hope, well, he definitely wants to get to know her better. With Luke's friendship, the two settle down into the community.

They aren't the only "new" people in town. Kirby Finch has also arrived. He's the disgraced son of the mine's owner. The town doesn't know he's in disgrace and that he's been sent to the town as punishment. Kirby also takes a liking to Hope--as much as Kirby is capable of liking anyone. He is looking for a way to get rich quick--a way apart from actual work. Will he find a way in Finch?

My thoughts: I liked this one. It is set in 1913 in Pennsylvania. I enjoyed the characters, particularly Luke and Hope. The other characters aren't as well developed, perhaps. But as a romance that hardly matters when all is said and done.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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