When the Meadow Blooms ~ Review

When the Meadow Blooms

Ann H. Gabhart

Rose Meadows finds herself in a sanatorium in hopes that she'll recover from tuberculosis and the weakness it has left her with. Her daughters Calla and Sienna have been left in the care of Louisville's West Side Home for Girls, a most miserable and uncaring place, during her recovery. But a plea for rescue to an unknown uncle is soon answered when Dirk Meadows arrives to bring them to his family home - Meadowland.

Twenty years ago Dirk Meadows lost his future when he was scarred in a fire, with scars that are both visible and invisible he has walled off his heart. Dirk is opening his home to Rose, Calla, Sienna but he doesn't want to open his heart. Open hearts are vulnerable and he doesn't want to be hurt again. But the only way he can close himself off is to avoid them as much as possible. 

When the Meadow Blooms is split between Dirk, Rose, and Calla's viewpoint. Though we get to know Sienna we never get inside her head. We feel Calla's fears as she and Sienna live through their difficulties at the Home for Girls. Her joy at getting to Meadowlands and her fears that it won't last. Rose is still struggling with her TB and the weakness that continues to curtail her activities. And then there is the whole mystery of Dirk's past that has sparked Calla's curiosity.  

This book is both sweet and tragic and well worth the time spent reading it. As a standalone title it is well developed and ends satisfactorily, though I wouldn't mind revisiting these characters at a later date because I can definitely say I felt a connection with them. I also wouldn't mind getting a story from Sienna's viewpoint - she's an intriguing character who was not your average child. 

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

About the Book:

If any place on God's earth was designed to help one heal, it is Meadowland. Surely here, at her brother-in-law's Kentucky farm, Rose and her daughters can recover from the events of the recent past--the loss of her husband during the 1918 influenza epidemic, her struggle with tuberculosis that required a stay at a sanatorium, and her girls' experience in an orphanage during her illness. At Meadowland, hope blooms as their past troubles become rich soil in which their faith can grow.

Dirk Meadows may have opened his home to his late brother's widow and her girls, but he keeps his heart tightly closed. The roots of his pain run deep, and the evidence of it is written across his face. Badly scarred by a fire and abandoned by the woman he loved, Dirk fiercely guards his heart from being hurt again. But it may be that his visitors will bring light back into his world and unlock the secret to true healing.

Bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart explores the tender places within the human heart in this character-driven story of trusting God to turn our burdens into something beautiful.