DiscoverChristian Fiction

Bluebird on the Prairie

By

Loved it! 😍

A grieving widow and a lonely traveler meet under embarrassing circumstances in a 19th century Nebraskan town. Will God bring them together?

In the town of Ockelbo, Nebraska, 1879, Eloise is a grieving widow who feels responsible for her late husband’s death.  Zeke is a lonely and weary traveler who is passing through, running out of money, and looking for temporary work on his way to California. A chance meeting at the creek under embarrassing circumstances is only the first time they are thrown together, and they continue to run into each other in this very small town.  Are the sparks between them anger, annoyance, embarrassment, or something else? Will they find romance, and is Eloise ready to find love again?


This is a sweet Christian historical romance with themes of grief, guilt, loneliness, and starting over anew. There is also a very judgmental and legalistic character who adds great depth to the story. The book is well written, engaging, and hard to put down. The characters are nicely developed and the story was so interesting I finished it in one day. The 19th Century town of Ockelbo came alive and was well described.  I very much enjoyed Zeke's knowledge of scripture and the way God's Grace was expertly woven into the story. The means of death of Eloise’s late husband is also discussed and could possibly be triggering for some readers.


The only criticism I have is that the two main conflicts in the story are the result of misunderstandings that could have been easily cleared up with one conversation. I would have liked the conflicts to be a bit more complicated.  Overall, I enjoyed this story very much and was pleased to meet the friendly and engaging people of Ockelbo. I hope to meet them again in later books, as this is the first book in the Hearts of the Midwest series. I can’t wait to read the second book. I received a free copy of this book via Reedsy Discovery. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

Reviewed by

I review Historical Fiction plus many other genres. I do member reviews for Historical Novels Review, the magazine of Historical Novel Society, plus blog tour sites, and I have over 200 reviews on Netgalley. I am autoapproved with 9 publishers on Netgalley. I have 376 reviews on Goodreads.

Prologue

About the author

I’m fueled by sunshine or hot chocolate, whichever is more readily available. I write to entertain and encourage women. Most of my time is spent with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband. They give me the kind of love people write books about. view profile

Published on May 11, 2021

Published by Electric Moon

80000 words

Genre: Christian Fiction

Reviewed by