Kirstin Hallberg arrives in Duluth, Minnesota, to find the city council intent on building a canal and ensuring the city's rise to greatness.
She's come to care for her elderly grandmother Lena Segerson only to discover Lena very full of life and full of secrets.
For when Kirstin opens their front door one day, she finds the brother she long thought dead on the other side.
Domar begs his sister to say nothing to their parents, viewing their grief as payment for falsely accusing him of bad behavior years prior and driving him from their Swedish village.
Caught between her brother's wishes and the chance to ease her family's pain, Kirstin doesn't know which decision is right.
When Domar's friend Ilian is hurt in an accident, Kirstin and her grandmother volunteer to care for him.
Ilian struggles with his own bitterness toward his estranged father, heightened by his injured leg, He can now never return to logging, but the only other thing he really knows and enjoys is making Mackinaw boatsbut that would force him to seek his father's help.
As he recovers, a natural attraction starts between Ilian and Kirstin, but both are dealing with problems without easy answers.
With no clear way forward, can love ever thrive
and the past be forgiven highly recommend shes a excellent story teller love her books Great story about the people and city of Duluth, MN at the start of city.
Railroad coming to the town and the canal being dug, Interesting look at how the people handled the weather and changes going on, Forever My Own had a lot of deep feeling to it, It wove together complex, emotional situations that had no immediate answer but taught a deeper lesson in the end.
The processes Kirstin and Ilian went through challenged them but also helped them to
discover a deeper truth and connection with the Lord.
This made for a great tale along with an eyeopening spiritual lesson, The changes going on in Duluth made for an intriguing setting, You were drawn into this harsh but beautiful environment, and the unique occurrences made for a setting that drew you into the story even more.
Kirstin was a likable main character, but her need to share her wisdom seemed very prideful and heavy handed at times.
She did mention having gone through times where she had been convicted of the the pride that can come from wanting to help others in this way, but it still seemed like she had a little too much audacity in this area.
Otherwise the story was an entertaining one, The ending brought everything together in a way that left you hopeful, happy, and complete, There was justice, but it was done so well because it left you feeling contemplative instead of puffed up.
I learned about Swedish immigrants that settled in Minnesota, The history of Duluth was interesting, I would have preferred to learn all of that without the sermonizing and flat characters, Preachiness permeated the book even when religion wasn't being discussed, Kirsten interfered too much in other people's business, She was nosy and meddlesome, She felt it was her religious duty to be wise and offer advice, In truth, she was prideful about it, Loved this story! Looking forward to Bookin this series!! Forever My Own
A lovely story of family, love, forgiveness and redemption.
A story that shows how God moves in the lives of His people creating good from bad, from mistakes, from mishaps.
This is a standalone in the series, There is a reference to Luke Carson from book one, but not until the end, This book takes place sometime after the first book, The thing I liked most was the weaving in the Norwegian culture! I have a friend from Norway and so many of the names and references made connections with me! Now I know why she was called Mormor.
I didn't like this book as much as the first, I felt like Kristin was honestly very selfrighteous, Taking it upon herself to FIX other people as if God gave her that commission, I kept hoping she'd get to the point where she just left people alone and realized it was between them and God and she had no business getting into other people's issues.
But sadly, it never was there, LOL!
The main idea of this book I think is that of forgiveness, Forgiveness when they don't deserve forgiveness, Forgiveness before they even apologize,
Even though I didn't like the main charactersI actually liked the grandmother the mostI will keep reading the series.
I like that they stand alone, I picked this up because I loved the cover and was interested in the history of Duluth, I didn't notice the author at the time, as it was covered by the library barcode, This was a good story of family and secrets, but I found some of the churchier parts tough to get through.
Overall, it was a feel good story, as these usually are, Title: Forever My Own Ladies of the Lake
Author: Tracie Peterson
Pages:
Year:
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
My rating isout ofstars.
Iliad Farstad is a young man filled with resentment and anger toward his father because of how he perceived the way his father treated his mother.
Iliad believes in God as Creator but doesnt believe in prayer or a personal relationship with God, He works as a logger, and his best friend is Domar Hallberg, who is also a logger, Domar is bitter also toward his family who still live in Sweden, but forced him to come to America due to an incident in Sweden.
Domar is a Christian but is still struggling with his feelings toward his family, The way things were left between them haunts him daily, With his sisters arrival from Sweden to live with his grandmother, he is given details with how his family has suffered in his absence.
His sister urges him to reconcile with them, She also advises reconciliation to Iliad, regarding his father,
Kirsten Hallberg is a young Swedish woman who has left her home country to travel to America to live with her widowed grandmother.
Upon her arrival, she gets the surprise of her life, She meets the handsome Iliad but wonders at the rift between father and son, She has spent most of her life listening to the advice and wisdom of older folks, She has a strong relationship with God and seeks his wisdom, When Iliad is injured, she and her grandmother offer to care for him, While bedbound, she has many conversations with him, She also talks with his father, She begins to have romantic feelings for Iliad and prays for him to realize his need for a relationship with God, as well as reconciliation with his earthly father.
The two families also must deal with a determined man who wants to buy their properties, as well as the others in the neighborhood in order to build a fancy hotel.
The families refuse to sell, and the town threatens to take their land via eminent domain,
While the story was slow in a few places for my taste, it was an entertaining read, The unconditional love depicted by Habram Farstad toward his son and wife was amazing! He was compassionate, generous, forgiving just like God.
I liked how God was a part of every aspect of these characters lives, even when things were tough.
Lena vowed that she would be joyful no matter the circumstances of life because God was always good, There are other themes woven into this historical romance, In this series, the author has provided a chance for me to learn about Swedish communities and lifestyles, I always appreciate the chance to learn, and this author never disappoints in that regard!
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility.
Another winner by Tracie Peterson!
I adored this complex story of family secrets and new beginnings.
It was fun to experience a wellwritten “enemies to friends to romance” storyline, This was one of the best of that trope Ive read, The way misunderstandings, lies, and secrets intertwined to create a couple of estrangements was wonderful, because it made for fantastic tension and plot twists as the characters attempted to detangle the web one thread at a time.
The canalbuilding angle was fascinating, I love how thorough Mrs, Peterson is in her research, That part of the story came alive vividly for me, I wonder what part of the lakes development will be featured next time!
Content: alcohol, replacement profanity, marital affairs mentioned
This touching story of family and faith set inis a wonderful addition to the Ladies of the Lake series.
The smoothly flowing, steady paced plot kept my interest from beginning to end, The wellcrafted characters are truetolife and relatable, The beautifully sketched Duluth, Minnesota, setting along with rich historical details regarding the development of the city and its effects on the community bring the story to life.
A double dose of sweet romance is endearing, The strong faith thread with themes of reconciliation and depending on God offers valuable life lessons, I totally enjoyed this book and highly recommend it and the series especially for historical romance fans, Note: Each book in the series is a standalone read, .