Book Review: Amorelle by Grace Livingston Hill

BLURB: Amorelle Dean is tired. Sick and tired of the string of well-wishers meddling in her future. Ever since her father died only days before, every woman in town has a piece of advice. On a visit to her uncle’s, Amorelle finds solace in the company of handsome George Horton, but just as she begins to embrace their whirlwind engagement, she meets another man and knows what true love feels like. Is it too late to alter love’s course?

Amorelle Dean is a minister’s daughter. She is capable, lovely and strong with a strong faith and a good Christian upbringing. However, she is quite naive about the ways of the world. With the death of her father, she now has to face the world on her own.

This book is not so much a romance as a women's fiction. The title of the book is quite fitting. It is all about Amorelle and her life once her father died, her growth personally and spiritually, mistakes she made and the happiness only God can provide in granting her a happily ever after. 

It is a story of great characters and a plot filled with mild intrigue. Most times Grace Livingston Hill doesn't just write a cute romance about boy and girl. There is something else going on in the external plot that drives the story just as much as the falling in love part.
From the moment her father dies, Amorelle is at the mercy of other people whether they are
trying to match her up for marriage or turning her into a servant or forcing her into a horrid engagement. Then enters Russell Garrison and finally she has a protector, someone who understands her and appreciates her. Of course, this merely increases the conflict in other areas of Amorelle's life.

It's almost like a Cinderella story. She is the poor orphan girl who comes to live in her uncle’s house with his new wife and her grown daughter. They don't appreciate her and turn her into a servant and later allow an imprudent engagement that Amorelle does not want. When wealthy Garrison arrives, he is like the prince come to rescue her from her trials.

There are parts of the book which were slow and at times it was agonizing to read how terribly Amorelle was put upon and preyed upon. Once Garrison came into the picture, the story flowed and it became much more interesting. It was a well written book and as always GLH presents the gospel and God's affirming love. A good book not to be missed.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.