THIMBLES AND THREADS - 4 LOVE STORIES QUILTED INTO BROKEN LIVES

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These are sweet little stories to pass the time. 
Barbour Publishing © July, 2019
The quilt graphics at the beginning of the chapters are charming. 3 stars overall / Netgalley and the publisher kindly sent me a review eBook in the hopes of a favorable review, with no further expectation or compensation. All opinions are my own. 

(1) Bygone by Mary Davis (4 stars)•*• Heartwarming •*•1884 Texas – Matilda (aka Tilly) Rockford has returned home from Baltimore, all grown up. She never expected Orion Dunbar to be the person meeting her at the station. “Would he squeeze her hand until she cried like when she was a child? No, he held it gently, helping her into the buggy. He laid a quilt across her lap to keep her warm on the ride.” Orion had arrived on the orphan train, a broken and angry little boy. He acted out and hurt people, especially little Tilly who was always kind to him. Now grown, he only wants to make up for his past mistakes. “His heart sped up at having her so close. She smelled of lavender and vanilla.” However, there is another man who also wishes to pay Matilda special attentions.
I enjoyed this sweet story, yet there are several incomplete sentences: e.g. 1. “Show her she could trust him.” 2. “The same place that had always hungered for her attention.” 3. “And smiled.” 

(2) The Bridal Shop, a Novella by Grace Hitchcok (5 stars) •*• Sweet Story of learning to trust in others•*•
1886 Charleston, South Carolina – Alice has been so hurt by men that she has resigned herself to a life without them and she now runs an up-and-coming bridal shop. “Giles lifted his faced heavenward and groaned. A bridal shop, Lord? Not to sound ungrateful, but You couldn’t have made it a tailor shop? And not some place full of women?” I enjoyed Giles very much. Clearly a good and Godly man with a sense of humor. Eustace is a total cad! And he deserves the brat of a wife he married. 
TEA MOMENT: “Alice couldn’t bring herself to go to bed quite yet. She decided to treat herself to a pot of herbal tea and the last of the oatmeal cookies from the bakery over a Harper’s Bazaar.”
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Psalm 147:3?”
I like Grace Hitchcock’s writing style. This is the second of her books that I have read.

(3) Mending Sarah’s Heart, a Novella by Suzanne Norquist (3 stars) •*•Learning to Trust God Again •*•
1884 Rockledge, CO – Sarah Anderson is a widow. She and her sons live in a CO mining town near family. She believes God has let her down and now she is forced to earn a living in her dress shop. Jack Taylor has a mission to accomplish. Turn over funds to his deceased partner’s widow and skedaddle. He does not expect to find a woman in desperate need of help with sons in need of guidance. 
This was a sweet story of learning to trust God again and feeling unworthy of God’s love, or anyone else’s. Not a lot of depth, but an easy afternoon read. I liked how Jack stepped in to guide the boys, even though he didn’t know them. However, the immediate desire for him to protect the widow did not click for me.

(4) Binding Up Wounds, a Novella by Liz Tolsma (3 stars) •*•A Decent Story of Acceptance•*•
1865 Regent, WI, - Lance Witherspoon fought for “the other side”. He carries a multihued patchwork quilt that saved his life. With nowhere left to go, he sets out from VA to find the woman who created it and thank her. Melissa Bainbridge is quiet, shy, private. She lives with her grandparents and creates dolls. Her town does not understand her. The young women either torment or shun her. “The three girls burst into a fresh round of laughter. Now would be the perfect time for the Second Coming. Anything to deliver Melissa from this misery. But no trumpets sounded from heaven.” Her grandparents adore her and strive to love all, including strangers considered by most to be “the enemy”. The two main characters spend weeks together, getting to know each other in the process. I appreciated that the author did not have them tripping into each other’s arms after a few days. Overall, I liked the idea of this story and what pulls Lance to Melissa. It is such a harsh thing he has to go through, being an outsider in his own country. Melissa was rather immature and for far longer than necessary, i.e. multiple times during the same day, which was nerve-wracking. Lance had such a pure heart. A decent enough story.

Until Next Time,
Hugs and a Cup of Tea ~ Heather Elizabeth