Reviews

Blessing by Lyn Cote

verydazedragon's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Listen. It is not often that I give romance novels five star reviews, because generally speaking they tend to be just fast fiction. I absolutely loved the twists and turns. And I love the way Blessing never compromised her identity, not even once. Lynn Cote is just simply a good author. 

daphself's review against another edition

3.0

I've always been interested in Quakers (especially since my ancestors were Quakers) and I had looked forward to this story. It was quite in depth and historically sound. The author did a tremendous job with her research and accurately portrayed the characters, scenery, political scenes, and way of life with minute detail. The book started slow and it took a while to lose myself into the words, but once it happened it flowed with a fast current, dragging me along from one twist to another. The only times that I was jolted out of the story and needed to re-read the passages were when the scenes changed from one character to another without warning.

If you like historical novels with a strong, budding romance and that revealed history that shows we have never really changed from what we used to be, then Blessing by Lynn Cote is a great novel to read.

**I received this book from Tyndale courtesy of BookFun.org in exchange for my honest review**

jlrmac's review against another edition

2.0

The characters were a bit flat for me, with a lot of melodrama. I consider this book young adult Christian, although I don't believe it is listed as such. I was hoping to learn more about Quakers but was disappointed. It was more preachy than educational. So fortunate an attractive widow just happened to have been heir to her husband's fortune and is able to privately finance her charity to aid unfortunate women and children! I wanted to feel warmly about the angst of the would-be love affair but I didn't care about the characters.

sirlancelot2021's review

adventurous lighthearted relaxing

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

readingqueen's review against another edition

5.0

I finished this book in about three hours of nonstop reading. Blessing was an interesting look at the life of a young, unconventional Quaker widow. She is often referred to by others as a radical suffragist, as her views on women and their rights were seen as appalling to society and men in general. Still struggling from the hard memories of her marriage to a non-Quaker she married when she was young and naïve, Blessing strives to use her newfound freedom to rescue and take care of orphans, many of them being unwanted children of prostitutes. Not only that, but she is also involved with helping runaway slaves looking for safety.

Gerard Ramsay is a society man from Boston. He has little to nothing in common with Blessing, but finds himself at first annoyed and then intrigued by this Quaker woman. Running away from a difficult family life, he attempts to make his own fortune in Cincinnati and instead finds something completely unexpected. I really admired his character for all that he had gone through.

I was hooked from the start, so I would highly recommend Blessing. While Blessing can be read as a standalone, don’t forget to check out the first book Honor and the third book Faith coming out in Spring 2016.