Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback 

I was a little worried going into this book. After all, some of my friends who loved the other two books didn't like some of the things in this one. I enjoyed it a lot. Don’t get me wrong, parts of it had me banging my head against a wall, wondering why some people (*ahem* Grace) did what they did. That isn’t to say I was confused about their motivations but, just frustrated. Yet, I totally understood why people were doing what they were doing.

Does that sound confusing to you? Well, Ruggieri writes complex stories with complex characters. You have to read her stories to truly understand them. When you have read the story, you feel as if you have met real people. They make mistakes, the sin, yet they also find the grace of God.

This story kept me reading, flipping the digital pages, and I was very happy with the ending. I was really worried until the end. A couple of times, I thought about giving up because I was worried about where the author was going. In the end, she wrapped everything up in a satisfying way, but also in a way that made it clear that the characters had growing and changing to do in the years to come.

The romance? It was sweet, clean, devoid of many elements that have made me give up on so many modern Christian fiction romance books. Are the character perfect? Without temptation? Not at all! They do choose to do what is right.

I highly recommend this book to those who have enjoyed the first two in the series, like realistic characters, and stories deeply rooted in God’s amazing grace.

I love books, both old and new. As a writer and as a reader, I'm always fascinated by what makes a book last. Jane Austen is an author that continues to be read, rewritten, and loved even these many years after her books are published. While I'm sure there are many books and articles that utilize a lot of research, here are just a few of my thoughts on the subject.

Whether it is Emma's well-meaning mistakes, Lizzie's quick judgments, or Fanny's seeming inability to speak up for herself and others, Jane Austen wrote characters with believable faults that many of us can identify with. It's always nice to have characters that are inspiring, but not so perfect we feel we could never emulate them.

Personally, I think Jane Austen's greatest skill (and the reason we still get so much from her books) was her insight into human emotions. All of her characters are complicated. Having recently reread Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility, I was once again struck with her complicated characters. They have emotional highs and lows. The longer I live, the more I realize how each character has depth and you can find people around you that are a lot like them.

While her writing was solid, I do think her setting made her books stand the test of time. The manners and beauty of the Regency era are captivating. Sometimes, I just read a passage that is steeped in the customs of the time and I sigh happily, soaking up the gentility. Other times, I laugh or poke fun at it. However, the time in which she wrote really adds to the charm of her stories.

While flawed, I think all her main characters were good people who you feel you can always root for. While I love a good redemption story, I sometimes get tired of books where the characters seem to be more flawed then good. Just as they have flaws we can relate to, I feel they also have goodness that we can aspire to.

Lastly, the struggles each of her characters face are normal but compelling. Anne chose to follow advice that could cost her marital happiness for her life, Lizzie struggles to navigate her life in a proper way despite how some of her family members act, Fanny wants to do what is right but struggles to communicate her deepest feelings, and Emma wants everyone to be happy but thinks she knows best how to do it.  While normal struggles, Austen presents them in a compelling way.

Why do you find Jane Austen compelling?

I started off my year with a minor cold (I came down with it on December 28th). However, I was happy that for the first time in a while, I was not sick on Christmas. The beginning of this year was packed!

My friend Kelsey came and spent the New Year with us. We took some long walks, stayed up and greeted 2020 while sharing stories of God's goodness, and recorded the second season of Classics with Kelsey and Sarah. It was a wonderful way to start off the New Year. I especially enjoyed getting to show Kelsey where I worked and all the wonderful, deep conversations we had. Perhaps my favorite conversation was on how important we both feel the Sabbath is.

I was very blessed that Kelsey came and spent time with me even though I had a cold and my coughing interrupted us a couple of times.

"It's historical - but not so far back in the past that it feels disconnected from the present (in other words, we're still reaping the results of what happened/decisions made/etc. from that time) - so I love the connection combined with the nostalgic feeling those books often have, too.
Additionally, the courage that the characters often display...girds up my own courage to face the troubles of today."
I loved these responses because I think they sum up why we love to read fiction set during the Great Depression so much. Perhaps you've read Emmeline or one of the other books in the Vintage Jane Austen series. Maybe you've enjoyed The Fragrance of Geraniums or a Grace Livingston Hill novel. Whether these or something else, the time of the Great Depression is fascinating to you.

You're not alone. Many of us find this time in history to be compelling. Why is that? While I think the answers I received on Facebook were eloquent, I'll go ahead and add a couple thoughts of my own.

We all go through times of hardship, big and small. Often, reading about something that is removed from us, yet similar, helps us to process things we have gone through ourselves. This can be true for all fiction, and it the main reason I write. I know that growing up in a family that struggled financially, I really appreciated stories about families that also struggled or lived through the Great Depression. I didn't feel as alone and it reminded me of how much I still had.

While all of life shows character, in extream situations like the Great Depression the best and worst in a person is brought out. Good, godly people rise up with courage,  faith, wisdom, and fortitude (I love that word, don't you?). In contrast, those people who are shady, or without morals descend to new depths. Hard times are a litmus test of character.

Of course, one of the more interesting things is the "what if" question. How would I have handled the Great Depression? How did my ancestors handle it? What if something like that happened again?

When writing Emmeline, I got to think about what not only I would have done, but what would Jane Austen's characters have done. How would Emma Woodhouse (Emmeline Wellington in my story) have dealt with the financial world collapsing?

Of course, there are a lot of reasons we find this time in history fascinating. Why do you? Leave a comment and tell me.

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback 

Okay, I’m ashamed to admit that it took me a while to read this book because I thought the end of the last book might end up being a quick and easy solution to the major problems with the Picoletti family. I was wrong. Once again, Ruggieri has written a story that reflects real-life struggles, hurts, and joys. Ultimately, this is a story about how God can fill and redeem the empty places in each of our lives.

All the characters have struggles they are facing. Nothing is easy or simple for them. Financial strain hits the Picoletti family hard. While a way out is provided, it comes with its own challenges. As in life, there is nothing that suddenly makes our life happily-ever-after. Yet Ruggieri shows that there is hope in Christ.

Ruggieri’s characters are vivid and all of them are complex, like in real life. You feel as if you have met real people who have their own motivations, pasts, and challenges. Yet, the thing that remains the same in all Ruggieri’s books is the amazing way all of it is brought to the foot of the cross.
As I don’t want to give anything about this story away, I’ll leave it at that.

This book is powerful. I highly recommend it to those who like life-like characters, faith-building stories, and solid historical fiction.