This book was a good ensemble cast sort of read. We follow the lives of the heroine, her children, her lodgers, and the vicar who moves from Oxford into town, and I felt as if I was reading-watching a BBC period mini-series.

A good read, not too heavy-handed with the inspirational aspect, but also nothing that super inspired me to write myself, which I was hoping for.

This was a solid read for me, the characters were well-rounded enough and the mystery was such that I didn't guess what was happening until only just before the characters. I felt the setting was well-done and I got a feel for the time period without it beind shoved down my throat.

In terms of the inspirational aspect, the heroine is very steadfast in her faith and the hero finds himself wishing he had her "simple trust," which... we never really see him develop this. He kind of goes from "Oh I wish I had that simple faith/trust," to suddenly he has it. I wanted to see more of his struggles.

The characters appear in the second and third books as well, but we don't get a glimpse of their inner struggles anymore. So it made me wonder why the author even brought up the hero's struggle at all; it fell a little flat for me.

That said, I am reading the entire trilogy, and I'm not a fan of series.

This book was better than the first in the trilogy, in that the heroine was less Mary Sue and more independent stubborn girl. The inspirational aspect was light; it appeared when natural for the characters to need to turn to God, which I appreciate. I felt the hero/heroine relationship was one of the more typical bickering a la Beatrice and Benedick... That the heroine latches onto the mystery child so quickly was a little difficult to believe, for me.

But, it was an entertaining read with a better mystery than the first book, and I'm in the middle of reading the third. That's a big deal for me because I tend to shy away from series.

I loved the history of reading about the Chicago World's Fair; it's not a period of American history often taught, thought, or written about, which I appreciated. The author's attention to detail, while not information dumping, is a great example for any historical fiction writer attempting to educate and entertain.

The inspirational aspect wasn't heavy-handed at all. In fact, it felt very natural, especially for the time period. God was brought up when the characters felt they needed Him, or were puzzling things through while asking for guidance.

My only critique was that neither the hero nor heroine were ever truly in danger themselves. The financial worries of the hero were a guilt-trip at most, and I never felt true pressure for the heroine.

All in all, a good read, and I'll be looking for more Deanne Gist soon.

I picked up this book because of its cover, and was surprised to find it was inspired by a real-life family who helped slaves in the Underground Railroad in an existing suburb of my hometown! This was a well-written book that had me exclaiming out loud during chase scenes; characters get hurt, there is real danger involved, people are conflicted with moral ambiguities and emotional decisions.

This is one of the better historical fiction books I've read in a while. It was my first inspirational read in years, and I was happy to find this is part of a trend where the religion included in the book is natural, i.e. only when necessary from the character viewpoint. Not preachy at all. This book has great historical details, well-rounded characters, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Homg. Ok. So I know the author, and I've avoided reading the book precisely because I know her. Not well, we've commented on each other's blogs before....

Anyway. I'm pissed I didn't read this sooner. Holy crap. Somehow Susan jumped into my high school head and pulled out all my memories of my high school bully. I'm not much like the heroine, but that's beside the point. She got the feelings of a person who has been bullied and the torment that comes from deciding whether or not to stand up to them. Susan's ability to channel young adult concerns, needs, dreams, drew me in and had me reading far into the night.

The supernatural element of the story only highlighted existing and compelling moments in everyone's teenage years. I have not read such a great young adult book in SUCH a long time. The story is told in first person from the hero and heroine's perspectives, allowing us to jump around locations, question motives, understand conflicts. Such an engaging narrative.

Very much looking forward to the next book in the series.

Holy cow talk about suspenseful! I loved this book. I read it late into the night even though I should have been grading student papers. I began reading it digitally, but after the first two chapters wanted the feel of the book in my hands.