Books by Kim Sawyer
It has been several months since I've done a review of books by one of my favorite authors--Kim Sawyer. I met Kim at our first ACFW conference in Kansas City in 2002. She had already self-pubbed the first in a series of books at that time, but in the past few years she has had 10 books contracted by Barbour and Bethany House! And two more are getting ready to come out this fall and next spring!
Besides being so successful, Kim is as sweet and genuine a person as you can find. And her stories are as sweet as she is! If you love heart-tugging tales of characters who seem so real you find yourself thinking about them after you finish the book, hurry out and buy, beg or borrow one of her books. Sorry, but since her books are so special to me, you'll have to get your own copy, because I don't give them away in my monthly drawing.
The three books I am reviewing today make up her Sommerfeld Trilogy. In BYGONES (Book 1) Widower Marie Koeppler Quinn and her grown daughter Beth return to the Mennonite community Marie abandoned twenty-three years ago. Soon after their arrival in Sommerfeld, a series of mysterious thefts raises the community's suspicions against the "outsiders." Can Marie prove their innocence or will she be forced to flee once more? Henry Braun, who has loved her since they were teenagers, soon begins to wonder if she's stolen more than his heart. When all is said and done, can Henry and Marie let bygones be bygones, or has their love been doomed from the start?
BEGINNINGS (Book 2 ) This book centers on Beth, Marie's daughter. Beth is starting over...in her place of residence, her occupation, and her relationships. Two men vie for her affection--Andrew Braun, a steadfast and helpful Old Order Mennonite who expects traditional roles between men and women; and Sean McCauley, a man with Christian convictions but who is seemingly more business-minded than people-minded. In which world does Beth's heart belong? With so many choices in front of her, how can she know what God has planned?
BLESSINGS (Book 3) Trina Muller who was a minor character in the first two books finally has one of her own, although we do get to catch up on happenings in Marie and Beth's lives, also. Trina has been blessed with the gift of healing God’s creatures. Desiring to use that gift, she seeks the opportunity for education but is met with resistance from her family. Graham Ortmann loves Trina, but he can't understand her desire to be more than wife and mother. Will this Old Order Mennonite girl be able to spread the wings she believes God has designed for her?
I wondered how Kim had written so realistically about these young Mennonite women, even down to the details of how their cap strings tickled their faces, so I asked her. She told me that her mother was from a Mennonite family and her dad had joined the Mennonite faith when they married. So Kim was raised in a conservative Mennonite home, giving her first-hand research on these books! That gives these books an authentic look at the Mennonite faith.
I hope you will also check out Kim's website at http://www.kimvogelsawyer.com/ for more info about this talented, yet humble, author and her other books. You will find your own Blessing!
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