In a world filled with formulaic romance novels, Sustaining Faith, by my very first favorite author, Janette Oke and her daughter, Laurel Oke Logan, is a refreshing change. A sequel to Unyielding Hope, Sustaining Faith continues the story of Lillian and Grace, sisters separated at the death of their parents.
In this novel, Lillian and Grace continue their work with orphans, striving to protect them from unscrupulous potential adoptive parents and to find them loving homes, all while they deal with the ramifications of a white lie told to protect the children in their care. Meanwhile, Ben Waldin is doing his part to protect an orphan he rescued in England and protected on the long journey to Canada by ship and then west by train, all while searching for his own family.
While there is a hint of romance between Lillian and Walter, the focus of the story is really the journey of faith that each character must take. It’s a slice of life that doesn’t really end with the end of the book.
It appears that the novels were written to go with the Hallmark series, which is a bit disappointing since Hallmark hopelessly mangled both the Love Comes Softly and the Canadian West series beyond recognition. It makes me wonder how the Oke duo would have handled the story without considering the guidelines of the show. That said, I did enjoy stepping into the lives of these characters and learning more about orphans and adoption in this time period.
The first book is available free from Kindle Unlimited, so grab it now so you can read it before Sustaining Faith is released June 1!
Karen
*I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.