This novel takes its theme from 2 Kings 4:1-7, the
story of the widow who owed a great debt after her husband’s death. She went to Elisha for help, and he told her
to collect all the empty vessels she could from her neighbors and pour out her
remaining oil into all of the vessels. Once the vessels were full, the flow of
oil ceased. He told her to sell the oil,
pay off her debt, and for her and her son to live on the rest. Lorna Seilstad tells a story of relying on
God to use what we have, and to trust Him to fill our empty vessels. A message most of us need to be reminded of
from time to time.
The
story is set in the early 1900s.
Charlotte Gregory has trained in the science of cookery under the tutelage
of Fannie Farmer. After finding it difficult
to locate someone who would allow a female chef in their kitchen, Charlotte
accepts a position giving cooking demonstrations to promote the use of gas
ovens. Most homes had coal or wood
burning ovens. She also, to the greatest
degree possible, educated nurses in nutrition’s role in the healing process,
frequently going head-to-head with Dr. Joel Brooks. Sparks of all kinds fly whenever Charlotte
and Joel are together, and as if they were “cooking with gas,” those sparks
cause one explosion after another in their relationship.
This
book is sweet and romantic, the kind of story Hallmark movies are made of. While there is a bit of intrigue, it
definitely takes a backseat in this second story of the Gregory sisters. The first book concentrated on the oldest
sister, Hannah, and I imagine the next will reveal more of the life of the
youngest sister, Tessa. Charlotte, the
middle sister’s story was easy to follow, and there were no real spoilers for
going back to book one at a later time. This
story moves at rather a slow pace, but there is enough tension between the main
characters to hold the reader’s interest.
If historical romantic fiction is your genre of choice, I predict that
you will be pleased with this selection.
If your preferences run in a different direction, this won’t be the book
to sway you into becoming a fan of the genre.
Thank you to Revell for providing this book in
exchange for my honest opinion.
