I have greatly enjoyed this series and was excited to see another sequel! After a long visit with her wealthy family Beth Thatcher excitedly returns to rural Coal Valley, the place that has stolen her heart and to her beloved teaching job with the miner’s children. She loves the simplicity, never missing the prosperous life she grew up with. She is in for a surprise! Nothing looks the same! Not only has the small town grown, but the beautiful trees have all been cut down to make way for more homes. She feels sick and hates the hideous stumps that dot the land.
If that isn’t bad enough, she has found they have hired another teacher to help with the increased number of children. Being accustomed to being in control and having the school to herself, Becky is upset to say the least. But that isn’t the worst of it. She also learns she will not be able to stay at her beloved Molly’s boarding house, the woman that is like a mother to her. There isn’t room plus somehow there is the assumption that she and her Mountie boyfriend, Jarrick, are going to be married! She must stay in the upstairs apartment the Grant’s used to inhabit. The family brings back so many bad memories. Their abusive attitudes, the husbands arrest and the wife’s attempted suicide there. The quarters are cramped, dingy, and cold! She has no idea how to cook or care for a household, plus she has never stayed alone! Poor Becky
Some sequels begin to fizzle out as they are added but this one did not. The plot is full of surprises and wonderful characters. Becky has always been one to jump to conclusions and think the worst of people and situations. God works on her in a big way to wait on Him and learn to trust His choices for her. She grows in leaps and bounds in her spiritual maturity and abilities. I hope there is another sequel after this one!
I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers.
.