Some weeks ago I saw Robin Lee Hatcher offering advance copies of her book When Love Blooms in exchange for reviews. Sounded like a good deal to me!

When Love Blooms is set in Idaho in the latter 1800s. Emily Harris has been caring for her sister and nephew and their household during a serious illness, but everything is back to normal now, and she is at a restless crossroads in her life, wondering what to do next. She sees an ad in a newspaper for a governess for two young children at a mountain ranch.

The ad has been placed by Drucilla Blake, who is dying of cancer. Emily sees that she is not well, but the full extent of her illness is not yet made known. Also unknown to anyone else is Dru’s ulterior motive: to find someone to take her place when she is gone, someone that her husband and children could love.

Even Dru’s husband, Gavin Blake, is unaware of the real reason Dru wants to hire someone to help with the children, but he knows, with her illness, she could use the assistance. However, he is unimpressed with her choice of Emily: he doesn’t believe the wealthy, high-society young woman will last until spring in the harsher conditions of mountain ranch life.

A city woman proving herself in the country, a dying wife and mother seeking for someone to care for her family…it may seem like these story lines have been explored before, and they have — yet Robin weaves them together with unexpected backgrounds and underlying feelings and motives of the characters to make it all seem new.

Though I would describe the book as an easy read, it deals with weightier themes: Gavin’s lack of faith in God and his bitterness over his own mother’s actions; Dru’s illness and her daughters’ adjustments; Emily’s fortitude in dealing with difficultulties she encounters; each character’s seeking God for direction, help, and comfort.

Overall I enjoyed the book, though I did wince a little at the line, “[Emily] wanted to do something before she got married. She wanted to make some sort of difference in the world.” Having been married for nearly 30 years, I do understand that being a wife and mother takes priority and can often preclude other endevaors, so I can understand wanting to accomplish certain things befiore marriage, but this line almost makes it sound like getting married is a lesser goal, a lack of “doing something” worthwhile in the world. And Emily’s and Gavin’s feelings for each other are awkward and uncomfortable to read about at first, though their actions are honorable and they fight against those feelings until it is proper. But I think the rest of the story overrides these two uncomfortable areas, and everything is brought to rights at the end. I am happy to recommend it.