Waiting for Spring is the second book in the Westward Winds series by Amanda Cabot. The main character, Charlotte, was a decent part of the first book in the series, Summer of Promise. Here’s a bit about the book:
After the loss of her husband and the birth of her baby, Charlotte has had a long, hard year. But when a notorious robber believes she knows the location of a long-lost treasure, she flees to Cheyenne and opens a dressmaker’s shop to lie low and make a living. When wealthy cattle baron and political hopeful Barrett Landry enters the shop to visit her best customer, Charlotte feels drawn to him.
If Barrett is to be a senator of the soon-to-be state of Wyoming, he must make a sensible match, and Miriam has all the right connections. Yet he can’t shake the feeling that Charlotte holds the key to his heart and his future.
Soon the past comes to call, and Barrett’s plans crumble around him. Will Charlotte and Barrett find the courage to look love in the face? Or will their fears blot out any chance for happiness?
I really enjoyed this book. I liked reading about Charlotte’s trade and enjoyment of making dresses. You can really tell that Ms. Cabot did a lot of research of this craft so she could accurately describe the dress designs. I only wish that some pictures of dresses of that time would have been included so I could have understood more of what she was talking about.
I also appreciated that Cabot included a blind child in the story. It’s not nearly as much of a stigma now but I’m sure there are plenty of blind people that are discriminated against in various ways, over 100 years after the setting of this novel. Since I did read the first book in the series in which Charlotte is pregnant with David while under extreme stress, I wonder if events that she dealt with then would have caused the child to be born blind.
This book had what I think of as an “early happy ending”. This means there are happy circumstances but you know that something bad is going to happen to either test the couple’s relationship or threaten one of their lives. But there was a real happy ending to this book and I finished it with a smile.
If you’re at all into fashion, you’ll enjoy Waiting for Spring. Also, if you’re not a huge fan of Christian fiction, you won’t be turned off by this book. The mentions of God were not overly pushy or at all out of place. If anything, I enjoyed this book more for its Christian fiction label because that kept sex out of the book. Sometimes a nice, clean romance is wonderful to read.
You can purchase Waiting for Spring by Amanda Cabot in both paperback and ebook versions on various different book retailer sites, including Amazon and Christianbook.com. If you pick up this book, also pick up the first book in the series, Summer of Promise. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the third book in the series!
Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
3 comments
Amanda Cabot
January 24, 2013 at 5:31 pm (UTC -4)
I’m so glad you enjoyed the story! Since I enjoy sewing and make most of my own clothes, I had a lot of fun having Charlotte be a dressmaker. And being able to choose the gown for the cover model was a huge thrill. Revell creates gorgeous covers, but I think they outdid themselves this time. I absolutely love this cover!
Donna Hausler
January 23, 2013 at 2:09 pm (UTC -4)
Here is the story behind the cover of her book, including the dress designer!
http://www.sff.net/people/amanda.cabot/index_files/behind-spring.htm
http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com/2013/01/behind-cover-waiting-for-spring.html
And here are more period dresses by the designer:
http://www.sallycdesigns.com/
Enjoy!
Maxie Anderson
January 20, 2013 at 12:16 am (UTC -4)
This book sounds good and I love the cover. I used to live in WYO. and I loved it there in Jackson Hole. I would love to win Amanda Cabot’s book. Thanks for the chance. Maxie