About the Book

Book: Katherine’s Arrangement

Author: Blossom Turner

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: August 4, 2020

Marrying him is her only choice to save her family, but Josiah Richardson isn’t at all the man she expected.

Katherine William’s family was left destitute when their home was burned to the ground by Yankee soldiers, so the ready solution presented by the prominent Mr. Josiah Richardson seems almost too good to believe. He’ll provide a home, work for her pa, and a new beginning for her family…if only Katherine will accept his proposal. A marriage of convenience is the last thing she wants, but there doesn’t seem to be a better option for her family or herself. Setting aside her dreams of love, Katherine agrees to the arrangement.

The gentleman in Josiah Richardson can no more force his frightened bride into his bed, than he can force her into loving him, so he sets out to gently woo her. He works hard to befriend her, to earn her trust and win her love.

Katherine is pleasantly surprised to find herself drawn to the man she thought she would never love, until an unexpected friendship tears apart all they’ve worked for. Where once the promise of love had budded between Josiah and Katherine, now they wonder what to do with their so-called marriage. Is love strong enough to weave its healing power through two broken hearts?

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MY REVIEW

I’m not sure where to begin with this review. I have so much emotions stirring inside me right now that I am about to burst. The author has written a story so touching and faith filled that I don’t know whether to cry or jump for joy. I knew this was a story about an arranged marriage so I had already figured I knew what was to come. To my utter surprise this story is so laden with characters that will forever me part of my life. Some stories just stick with you and this is one of them.

Katie is more than just a character to me. She represents the scripture about laying your life down for another. I know I paraphrased that but I hope you get the meaning. Her unyielding love for her family makes her decision a little easier for her. Marrying someone you don’t love in order to help your mother and father have a better life is a great sacrifice. I could feel her tears as she said those words that sealed the marriage. Now what was she to do?

Josiah is a wealthy man and has his eyes only for Katie. His willingness to help her family will come at a cost for Katie. I admired his gentle ways with Katie and his patience as she tried to learn how to be a wife. I did like how the author used the story of Ruth to loosely explain Katie’s marriage. There are definitely similarities and helped see where the author was going with the plot.

I won’t go into much detail because then I would spoil the book. I will say that I loved Katie’s father and found him to be a kind and honest man. He has a secret that will be discovered but oh how his heart is opened to God. It is probably one of the best parts of the book when Katie’s father confesses knowing the hurt it will cost many. It also explains the relationship between Katie and her mother. There are so many treasures in this story that I could gush all day about them.

I loved the history in the story and how the author explores a subject that even today is still on people’s minds. The way she describes the closeness that Josiah and Katie experience is done with grace and love. The theme of forgiveness and drawing close to God is like a diamond sparkling in the sun. It is beautiful and flawless. The ending is beautiful and a reminder that “God never leaves us nor forsakes us.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

I About the Author

Blossom Turner is a freelance writer published in Chicken Soup and Kernels of Hope anthologies, former newspaper columnist on health and fitness, an avid blogger, and author. Her authentic understanding of the power of love is woven through the pages of Book One in the Shenandoah Bride series—Katherine’s Arrangement. She and her husband, David, have two grown children and live in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. Read more at blossomturner.com.

More from Blossom

From the time I was a little girl I had a love for reading, a wild imagination, and the desire to write. At twelve, I received my first Bible and read all the way through a King James Version. My love for Jesus was cemented. I day-dreamed of a Cinderella happily-ever-after story. The traumatic childhood I was living in was gentled by the dream of being whisked away by a handsome prince and truly loved. Put that all together, and the building blocks for writing romantic fiction are all in place.

But how did I get to writing historical romance? Well that was for one reason only…I loved reading stories of arranged marriages and wanted to write one. The drama, the tension, the love that can flourish out of nothing, I just loved the concept but…the scenario had to be believable to me. Thus, the wheels of imagination started turning. What better than right after the Civil War, in the Shenandoah Valley where houses were burned and people left destitute? I’m Canadian and had a smattering of knowledge of that time period, so had to do extensive research to pull it off. To be historically accurate was much more difficult than writing my first novel, Anna’s Secret, set in today’s era. Now I am hooked on writing historical romance. I’m both a sensitive and an old soul and it fits my personality perfectly. Who knew? God did.

I think when you read Katherine’s Arrangement, you will agree that the drama that brings this couple together is both believable and engaging. I am so excited to write this five-book series on five sisters and their love stories, as I come from a large family with six sisters and one brother. I write from family dynamics I know all about.

The reason I write is two-fold. I believe when writing fiction that one must deliver a love story that touches the heart, that draws people in, that makes them both laugh and cry. The entertainment value must be there. Then, I weave in my love for Jesus in a non-preachy, realistic way, with the hopes and failures of everyday people. The resounding theme in Katherine’s Arrangementis that God can work all things for good when we choose to place our life in His trustworthy hands. It is uncanny how love can grow in the fertile soil of good choices. But don’t be fooled, as with most of us, Katherine had to go through her gamut of bad choices before she surrendered.

I pray you will find a little bit of your story in Katherine’s story, and that, above all, you will enjoy the read.