The Widow of Larkspur Inn, Lawana Blackwell

I couldn't find a usable picture for this one.

This was an enjoyable book to read. Not a page turner the whole way through, but a nice, thoughtful and thought provoking book. It is a Christian author, so there are many thoughts from the main character, Julia Hollis, that are directed towards God. Through very difficult circumstances, Julia must come to terms with her faith and what she's made of. She has good friends who also help her to see things in a better or different light. For instance, there is a time when she is putting the Larkspur Inn together and wishes she had better silverware to use for service when she has lodgers. Her maid and closest friend, Fiona, suggests she pray for silver. At first the notion seems silly. When she had already been blessed so much, why pray to God for something that seems almost frivolous? But she reasons that she might as well, because if it's not right, then obviously God would know and would let her know or at the least not let a set of silverware fall into her path. Not much later, one of her other new found friends offers her a set of silverware, it's not a coincidence! And some people might say it was just luck. That's fine. Others might say that sort of thing doesn't happen in real life. But it does. Let me tell you. Twice in my life I've had to sell a home. Twice I've had a home sell in two weeks. And this current one we're in the process of is nothing short of a miracle because we listed on our own with just a sign in the yard and an ad on craigslist. I believe in God and I believe that when you are following His will, He makes a way. Sometimes that way is not always easy; ease of the way is not always evidence of His hand. But I believe when things REALLY matter, they have a way of working out. And when they DON'T, there's a reason.

There are some things that happen with other characters in the book that didn't need to have happened, but because of the mistake of another, vital information did not reach its intended target and there was a lot of anguish that might have been avoided. But there's also the chance that had those things NOT taken place, none of the characters could have turned out the way they did having NOT suffered a certain hardship.

Though this book is part of a series, each of the books (I'm told) are not a chronological continuation of the same people. They follow story lines of other people who live in the same town. I've got a stack of other books I need to read (all my holds from the library came at once!), but I do look forward to reading more of these books. There were times when I thought it was a little eye rolling with the Christianity, but then as I read more, I kept thinking about how different my daily life might be if I were more mindful of God and if I conversed with him in my thoughts throughout the day rather than just in formal prayer. It'd probably do me some good, to be honest.....