It's hard to imagine the hardships some people have had to endure. My life is a cozy bubble. Certainly I know what it's like to be short on money, but so desperate I'd give up my children? Beyond imagination.
"With You Always" was a sweet romantic tale of a young woman doing all she can to look after her younger sisters and a few other children after her own parents died. Unfortunately she lived in a time when jobs were scarce and help even more so. Thankfully, there's a well to do railroad baron to save the day.
I enjoyed reading "With You Always". There was enough drama to keep you interested but not so intense as to distress the reader. The characters, including the villains, were written well; they drew out a cathartic response. The plot moved a long at a good speed and the author did a great job of not having the main characters go over the same problem again and again. Well done Ms. Hedlund!
Perhaps the following criticism isn't so much directed at the book as it is at the genre of Christian romance. Perhaps it's more of a pet peeve of mine than anything else but all the same, when I read the main characters "never having felt a love like this before" right before they passionately kiss, knowing it could get them into trouble, it irks me. That is not love. That's lust. To call it love is doing the young women of this generation a disservice. You know what love is? Doing the hard thing for the sake of the other person. Certainly in "With You Always" we see some wonderful examples of true love - not only in a romantic sense but also in family settings. Please, call that love. That's the truly romantic part. Otherwise you're feeding the lie that says feeling all hot and bothered is what you should base your decisions on. Please don't get me wrong. I enjoyed this book and I'll let my teen daughter read it. But... we will have a friendly discussion about what is wrong with it afterwards.
Over all, I definitely recommend this book. I know I might have made it out to seem like it's promoting lust. Not at all. In fact, quite the opposite. The characters time and again chose the well being of others at personal expense. Plus, it was hard to put down. My one eye gives me terrible headaches if I read too much. I finished reading "With You Always" two days ago and it's still achy so you know how long I happily sat there reading.
"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."
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