Love finds a home (by Janette Oke)

(Amazon UK link)

Having read the others in the 'Love Comes Softly' series by Janette Oke recently - in particular the seventh, 'Love Takes Wing' - I decided to read the eighth and last immediately afterwards.

In 'Love finds a home', Marty and Clark's youngest daughter Belinda is now well established as nurse/companion to a wealthy woman in Boston. She manages to visit her home town for a few weeks, where she renews old friendships and catches up with her beloved family. She wonders if there is something wrong with her, since she seems to have no desire to marry, even though her two similar aged nieces now have homes and families of their own.

I thought there was very good character development in Belinda. As she goes home, she looks forward to spending time where she belongs, and wonders if she will ever want to return to Boston. But she soon discovers that she is no longer the naive young woman who left home. 

She realises how pampered she has become, and how much she has got used to fashionable clothes and a life where servants (albeit loved ones) do most of the hard work. She has to make some difficult decisions, which help her as she matures further and discovers where her long-term future lies.

There are some quite moving sections of this book, before the satisfying (if somewhat predictable) conclusion. The strong Christian theme is emphasised perhaps a little more than in the earlier books, but even so I didn't find it too pushy or preachy.

The whole 'Love comes softly' series is very light fiction, based in the early settler days in the USA. It's suitable for adults or teens, or even older children, although it probably wouldn't appeal to many of today's young people who prefer thrilling or shocking novels. 

But for anyone who enjoys the gentle style of novels such as 'Anne of Green Gables', I'd recommend it in a low-key way. 'Love Finds a Home' makes a good conclusion.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 8th November 2009