March 2011

Award winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and their five children make their home in Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor.

Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts (winner of the 2012 Clash of the Titles Award in two categories), and Promised to Another. The Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love (finalist for the 2013 Christian Retail Awards). Surrendered Love and Awakened Love followed by her first Christmas novel, A White Christmas in Webster County, as well as the Amish of Jamesport series, The Snow Globe, The Postcard, and The Birdhouse. Other credits include Swept Away from Abingdon Press’ Quilts of Love series. Laura is contracted for another three book Amish series set in the Jamesport area, with the first book, The Amish Firefighter releasing in May 2016, followed by two more Amish books and a Christmas story releasing in Fall 2016, Spring 2017 and Fall 2017 respectively.

She has self-published a Christmas novella, Christmas Mittens.

Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer and blogs for Putting on the New and Seriously Write.

 

Read more about Laura Hilton.

Title: The Seeker
Author:Ann H. Gabhart
Publisher: Revell
Genre: Historical / Shaker
Date:July 2010
ISBN: 978-0800733636
Reviewed by: Laura Hilton

Charlotte is a realistic heroine, strong and courageous, willing to face difficulty for the sake of those she loves.

Charlotte Vance is a southern belle used to slaves, a plantation, and being the apple of her father’s eye. But when her senator father comes home with his new wife, Selena, Charlotte quickly feels unwelcome. Selena makes it clear Grayson is her home now, and she will be ruling it.

Charlotte has long planned to marry Edwin, a neighbor boy, but when Edwin joins the Shakers, Charlotte isn’t quite sure what to do. Especially when a man, commissioned to paint her stepmother’s portrait, waylays her in the garden and steals a kiss.

When Selena makes it plain all the slaves will be sold down river and replaced with new slaves, Charlotte takes her personal slave and runs away to the Shakers. She plans to give Melly her freedom and talk Edwin into marrying her and giving up his foolish ideas. But things change, quickly. And with the country at the beginning of the War Between the States, Charlotte’s actions have unforeseen consequences.

The Seeker is the first book I’ve read in Ann Gabbart’s Shaker series. It is the third book in the series, preceded by The Outsider and The Believer, though it can stand on its own. I wasn’t sure what to expect fromThe Seeker, since it is a historical romance set in a community that believes marriage is a sin. So I was interested to see how this would work out.

The story does drag at times, but there was enough happening to keep my interest. Charlotte is a realistic heroine, strong and courageous, willing to face difficulty for the sake of those she loves. The Seeker is an excellent story with a sweet ending.