Before the Larkspur Blooms (Prairie Hearts, #2) by Caroline Fyffe

Before the Larkspur Blooms (Prairie Hearts, #2) Reviews

• 
  Dawn

  Really good. I tried to read the first book a long time ago, actually dnf it. Gave it a bad rating due to subject matter I do not care for. You don't need to read the first book.
  
  Painfully sweet.
  
  Hero went to jail for a crime he was innocent of. He was 15. He has been released after 8 years and comes back to his home town to find his family gone and no place to go. He reunites with childhood friend who has always loved him (and he her),m but will the small town accept him or shun him?
  
  There is another story going on along with the romance, It is with an already married couple (probably from the first book) and it adds to the fullness of the story.
  
  Lots of great emotional conflict!! No cheating, no OW/OM, just fantastic good drama.
  
  Content concerns: Gambling, alcohol. Stealing.
• 
  Kathy

  I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to finally read this one. The author was very kind to send me a review copy awhile back, unfortunately with all my moving around it's now safely in storage. While updating my reading list the other day I realized I never reviewed this one. So I grabbed a copy from Amazon and curled up next to the fire and dived into the charming town of Logan Meadows.
  
  Thom Donovan has spent the past eight years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He is finally free and looking forward to returning home and starting new. Things are not quite how he left them and he's in for a few surprises, not all of them are good. I liked Thom's character quite a bit. He has grown a lot over the past eight years. I liked that he was strong and wanted to redeem his family name, prove himself. I also liked our heroine, Hannah. Also a strong character who doesn't put up with much. I liked that she wasn't afraid to show Thom how she felt, even when he was pushing her away. I felt their friendship and felt their love for each other. I thought they were a cute couple.
  
  There were two different stories woven into this one book. I admit, I wasn't a big fan of sharing page-time on another couple/story. Maybe if the second story had been told more from Thom/Hannah's POV somehow it wouldn't have bugged me so much. I guess I just wanted the focus to be on Thom and Hannah.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed this one. I liked the setting of Logan Meadows and the interesting people that live there. I look forward to checking out the rest of the series!
  
  Content
  Romance: Clean, mild kissing
  Language: None-Mild, seems like there might have been a couple
  Violence: Mild
  Religious: None
  
  Source: Originally review copy in storage so got mine via Amazon
• 
  Lori Tremain

  This series takes place in the late 1800's. Really it is a story like others except no communication (phones, computers) and only horses to get you there. A train does make its debut in this episode .
  
  
  8 years of prison for Thom but he finally comes home. But his family is dead or gone. He was wrongly accused and feels he must fine a way to clear his name to be able to move on. Hannah has loved Thom forever.
  This is their story.
• 
  Christy

  First off I recieved this book from Goodreads ARC Giveaway. Thanks
  
  Another great book By Caroline Fyffe.. I LOVED this one we got to see more of Jessie, Chase, Gabe, Jake and Sarah.
  
  This book is about Thom Donovan has been in jail for the past 8 years. For a crime he didn not do. He is finally released and decides to go back home to Logan Meadows. The town dislikes him except for Hannah Hoskins. Hannah has secretly loved Thom when they were younger. Hannah still loves Thom but Thom thinks that Hannah deserves nothing but the best. Not some ex-con with a bad reputation. Throw some friends in and cattle rustler. Old faces and some new ones.
  
  All in all it was a GREAT book.It was a quick read. I wonder if they will more in the series. If they will I will surly be looking for it. I love a good Historical Western Romance novel.
  
  Thanks again Goodreads for the Giveaway.. :)
• 
  Tonya Lucas

  Before The Larkspur Blooms is my 2nd book by Caroline Fyffe. This wonderful book picks up three years from where her debut book for this series begins, Where The Winds Blows. Ms. Fyffe is a natural at writing such sweet, embracing Historicals, with a bit of mystery and danger added to keep her fans on the edge of their seat. This book embraces the heart and soul of all the characters and pulls at your heartstrings. You will fall in love with all these wonderful people who make Logan Meadows such an amazing Wyoming community.
• 
  Angie Lester

  Great book and great series if you like classic novels with love stories without an overly sexual context.
• 
  Julie Morales

  A SECOND CHANCE at LOVE
  
  This is the second in the Prairie Hearts series. In this book, we see Chase and Jessie Logan from the first book, and we also meet more of the townspeople. This romance focuses on Hannah and Thom.
  Thom grew up next door to Hannah. She and his sister had been best friends, and he'd had a crush on her from an early age. What he didn't know was that she felt the same way about him.
  Life has a way of turning your plants upside-down though, and by the time Hannah and Thom meet again, Hannah is a widow with a young child and Thom has just been released from prison for a crime he didn't commit. Many of the townspeople believe otherwise, though. Is it worth trying to convince them of his innocence? Is it worth trying to pursue a relationship with Hannah? Thom's not sure. He thinks there might be too much at stake and he may never settle down anywhere, no matter how much he'd like to.
  But just as much as life has a way of turning your plans upside-down, life also has a way of bringing the impossible to pass, and seeing how this all came together was amazing. I finished this book in tears. A wonderful addition to the series, and I'm glad we were able to continue the story of Jessie and Chase, too.
• 
  Sandy M

  I always look forward to Caroline Fyffe’s books. She has this seemingly easy but emotional way of pulling readers into her stories, creating characters who are real, with life’s issues just like you and me, even if they live and breathe hundreds of years ago on the American frontier.
  
  We revisit Logan Meadows when Thomas Donovan returns home, longing to see his family. But after eight years in prison, he finds his parents have died and his sister now married, living in another territory. With a good portion of the town looking down on him, the fact he’s innocent of the crimes he’s accused of makes their disdain that much more difficult to swallow. The one person whose support means everything is the woman he refuses to let into his life. She deserves so much more than a convict, who bears dire secrets, for a husband.
  
  But Hannah Hoskins isn’t about to let Thom’s outlook deter her. She’s always loved him, and nothing has changed, which she knows in her soul once she sees him again after so long. But there’s more than just Tom’s attitude she has to overcome to have the happiness she knows is waiting for them. The railroad is slated to come through Logan Meadows and the townsfolk are doing their best to make sure that happens. Which means more restaurants will open in town, and the slowdown in business is already affecting her diner.
  
  What Hannah – and most of the town – doesn’t know is the man who was responsible for Thom’s downfall is now in Logan Meadows. So Thom knows something nefarious is going on, and trying to keep his nose clean when the deputy sheriff is doing his best to trip Thom up and throw him back into jail isn’t easy to do. Fighting his desire for Hannah, as well as her steadfastness in making him see they belong together, is also taking a toll. Keeping his secret doesn’t help, and with more accusatory looks and gossip from people when rustling in the area picks up, suspicion falls on Thom.
  
  But as in life even today, there are those who keep an open mind and do what’s right. Those are friends you’ll keep for life, as Thom finds out when things finally come to a head. When he realizes that he’ll lose the love he’s been needing the last eight years, especially after such a life-and-death situation, Thom finally opens his heart for all to see. Though the emotional impact of this story is not as deep as in Ms. Fyffe’s previous stories, this book still packs a punch, testament to the author’s talent for weaving a heartwarming tale of life in early America.
  
  See my complete review at
  http://www.goodbadandunread.com
• 
  Jeene Hobbs

  just like watching a western on TV
  
  I grew up watching Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, and Big Valley, so reading this novel was a treat! It's got ranchers and rustlers, town folk, newcomers and old timers, saloons and gambling, and the train is coming to town.
  
  The story starts off 3 years after Where the Wind Blows. Jessie, Chase and their extended family are prospering along with the town of Logan Meadows. We meet a whole new cast do characters in the town folk. There are actually 2 romances going on, but the storylines of the cattle rustlers and the politics and growing pains of the train coming to town as well as a potential problem with Sarah's adoption make for a interesting and complicated story.
  
  I was born and raised in South Dakota. As a child, trips to Wonderful Wyo were my favorite. This is the first romance series set in the Wild West for me and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It was available with my Kindle Unlimited but also value priced at $1.99 without. These are not spicy novels but more like western sagas with a strong romance added in. Just like TV westerns in the 60's.
• 
  Bigedsgirl1

  A beautiful and haunting historical western romance by Caroline Fyffe! A story to be savored and read again and again.
• 
  Annie

  I absolutely loved this story. While all of the characters were wonderfully written, Ivan stole my heart. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a heartwarming tale.
• 
  Dawn Herbold

  Great read
  
  I love all of her books. This one is a tear jerker can't wait to read more of this series. Good Goodreads
  
• 
  Tamara

  Good western Love story
  
  My only trouble with the story was there were several plot lines for differing characters and it took until half way through book or a bit more for this reader to keep the story lines straight. I guess it might have helped if I had read book one in series first but not sure.
  
  It was a tender story of claiming freedom and clearing a family name of an injustice, along with two hearts coming back together after they both had traveled paths of heart ache and loss.
• 
  Nancy Wilkinson

  While I really enjoy Ms Fyffe's novels, I think this might be the best so far because of the way it integrates two substantial family stories into the book. While the story starts and ends worth the Hannah and Thom story, a large part off the story is about Jesus and Sally. That have the book a much fuller feel and I liked it even more.
• 
  Kathy Brickert

  Loved it!p
  
  Wonderful sweet story of redemption in real life! I am falling in love with this series! Great characters and a wonderful setting to put a whole town in! Wish there had been an epilogue of a bit down the road, but hopefully the next book will pick that up! Great read!
• 
  Terri Nelson

  Wonderful read!
  
  Thom and Hannah's story was a wonderful example of young and mature love, mixed with adventure, heartache, and new friends and family coming together. The plot was full of many twists and turns that kept me reading until the end. Just love reading this authors well crafted stories. Thank you again!
• 
  Cynthia Houser

  Parkland Blooms
  
  I really enjoyed this book. Caroline is a good storyteller. Her characters are interesting and engaging. I love a book that makes feel the emotions of the characters. Thom went through hell, but he found his place in life. Hannah and Thom got their a happy ever after.
• 
  Kristin Carmack

  From the Heart
  
  I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry! This is a really fantastic story. My heart is in my throat and I just can't stop reading! Excellent job! There are parts you can laugh at and there are parts you just hold your breath waiting to see what happens. I throughly enjoyed and recommend this book!
• 
  Lisa

  I really liked this book. I thought it would be very predictable given the premise but I was presently surprised by the twists and turns the book took. I am know reading the second book in the series.