Litfuse Blog Tour - Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond

About the book:

With the death of her parents still fresh, Susannah Underhill agrees to become a mail-order bride, and marry her preacher's older brother, Jesse, a homesteader in the the rough Dakota Territory.
 
Susannah is very shy, and has suffered numerous hurts. Yet, despite her petite size Susannah proves herself in valuable time and time again, but she lives in constant fear of Jesse sending her back to Detroit. But Jesse is kind and far better than Susannah believes she deserves, she struggles with questions of doubt and self worth. But Jesse's confidence in her-and his faith in God's perfect plan-slowly begin to chip away at the wall she hides behind.
 
When she miscarries in the brutal Dakota winter, Susannah's fledgling faith in herself and in God begins to crumble. Still, Jesse's love is unwavering. Just when it seems like winter will never end, Susannah finally sees the first tentative evidence of spring. And with it, the realization that more than the landscape has changed.
She looks to the future with a renewed heart. Yet in her wildest dreams, she couldn't predict all that awaits her.


What the critics said: Booklist says, "Inspired by [folk] lyrics, Richmond arrives on the inspirational fiction scene with a moving debut novel. Readers will be filled with hope that Susannah will learn the true meaning of love. Highly recommended where inspiring, romantic historical fiction is in demand."

What other authors said: “I devoured Spring for Susannah in one lovely gulp. Richmond is an author to watch. Highly recommended!” -Colleen Coble, author of the Mercy Falls Series

"Filled with history and well-researched, Spring for Susannah kept me cheering for these well-developed characters until the very last page."
-Beth Wiseman, best-selling author of Seek Me with All Your Heart

"A stunning debut that will capture your heart and never let go."
-Julie Lessman, best-selling author of A Hope Undaunted



About the author:


Catherine Richmond was focused on her career as an occupational therapist till a special song planted a story idea in her mind. That idea would ultimately become Spring for Susannah, her first novel. She is also a founder and moderator of Nebraska Novelist critique group and lives in Nebraska with her husband.


For more about Catherine, please visit http://www.catherinerichmond.com/.

My review: Catherine Richmond is a gifted writer. She made me fall in love with her characters, they fairly danced across the page. Susannah draws you into her plight, and makes you genuinely feel for her. Susannah's character development throughout this book was excellently executed, Ms. Richmond had me cheering for her the whole way!
The other characters are also well done, Jesse was the spotlight to Susannah's star, they complemented each other nicely. I especially loved their Norwegian neighbors, they were some of the best secondary characters that I've read in awhile. They were absolutely delightful, and made this story all the richer because of them. I don't really have much to say about Jesse, because honestly, I can't really pin down how I felt about him. I didn't fall head over heels in love with him, but I didn't really dislike him either. His character was well written, but I personally don't have much to say about him.

 But I feel that I should warn readers that,this is a very romantic book, and at times I felt that in the intimate scenes between Jesse and Susannah that the bedroom door could have been closed a tad sooner, but that's mostly my personal preference. Even though they were married I felt that less detail could have been given.  Also, in the story a doctor talks very crudely about birth control, just so you are warned. And for this reason I would recommend it to mature readers, say sixteen and up.

But overall this was a really well written book, that captivated my attention from page one, I especially enjoyed the second half of the book when we see Susannah's fledgling faith really grow, and mature. I read  this book in just one day! This is an excellent debut novel from Catherine Richmond, and I'm hoping that we'll see a lot from her in the future!

Buy the book Here!

Be sure to enter the giveaway:

To celebrate her debut novel, Catherine and her publisher, Thomas Nelson,
have teamed up to give away a Spring For Susannah Prize Package worth over $150!

One grand prize winner will receive:

* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen

* Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond (for KINDLE)

To enter just click one of the icons below and then tell your friends! But hurry,
giveaway ends on June 27th. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 28th at 5
PM (6PM MST, 7PM CST, & 8PM EST) during Catherine's Spring for Susannah Book
Club Party on Facebook! Catherine is rustling up some fun for the party - she'll
be chatting about the story behind her novel, hosting a book club chat, testing your mail-
order bride trivia skills, and giving away some GREAT prizes! Don't miss the fun and tell
your friends!

                                                           

And be sure to check out other reviews this month! Check out this blog tour calendar!


*To avoid a conflict of interest I must, in order to comply with the FTC, inform you that I received this book for free in exchange for my help promoting this book and my honest opinion. I was not required to give a positive review. So this is my honest opinion. Thanks!

And special thanks to Litfuse Publicity  and Thomas Nelson Publishing for my complimentary copy of Spring for Susannah.