Review: Lord's Love by Sophie Dawson
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2013
Lord's Love by Sophie Dawson is the second book in the Cottonwood series and deals with the romance between Maggie and the new man in town. Lord St. John Lytton arrives in Cottonwood, Iowa, from England in 1875. Because of his enormous amount of debts and his lack of even trying to pay them, his father gives St. John the choice of going to America or debtor's prison. When St. John, nicknamed Sinjon, arrived in Cottonwood he was so obnoxious that no one wanted anything to do with him. He felt that since he was of the British aristocracy that he was above everyone in the town. His father sent him to live and work for a former servant. To say that working for a former servant galled Sinjon is putting it mildly. And the job he was given was working in the livery where his main job was to muck out the stalls. Fortunately, pretty soon Sinjon realized that people are all the same and he was no better than anyone else and when he came down off his high horse he began to make friends. Magdelina Taylor, who preferred to be called Maggie, finally got up enough nerve to get a job working for the community newspaper. When her boss got married and moved out of the apartment above the newspaper office, he offered the apartment to Maggie and she quickly accepted his offer. Her mother was mortified that her daughter would stoop so low as to take a job and then to move out of a beautiful home to a small apartment. Maggie's mother refused to let her learn any skills that would help her in keeping a home but fortunately, several of Maggie's friends helped her to learn what she needed to know.Sinjon is smitten with Maggie the first time he sees her but she is enjoying the freedom from her domineering mother too much to even think about a relationship with a man. Most of the story deals with their relationship and all the obstacles that both must overcome. Maggie is a Christian and lives her beliefs and Sinjon thinks he is a Christian just because he has gone to church his entire life. When Sinjon proposes to Maggie will she accept or decline? And will the story have a happy ending or will there be sadness? I will say no more for do not want to spoil the ending.All elements of the story were very well developed and again the characters in Cottonwood, Iowa, came to life on the pages of the book. At the beginning of the book, Sinjon was extremely unlikeable but the author developed his character so well that he became a most likeable young man and was accepted by the people of the town. All the characters were great but Maggie became an exceptional young woman with a knack for work, an independent spirit, and a new approach to life that was filled with joy. There was some suspense in the story when Maggie was injured and was unconscious for quite a while. The author did a wonderful job of writing the discussion between Sinjon and Peter, the pastor of the community church. I like that God and his love are a very important part of the book. Now I am looking forward to reading the third book in the series. Maybe the author will even write a fourth and even a fifth.I highly recommend this second book in the Cottonwood series for it is just as good as the first book. It continues the lives of characters introduced in the first book with lots of romance. And important to me is that the author has a God centered message in this second book also.A big thank you to the author, Sophie Dawson, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.