Fair Are the Meadows: Christian Historical Fiction with Small Town Romance Set on the Frontier of Midwestern America by Lauraine Snelling


I borrowed this book from my local library. I requested it as soon as I found out it would be relased soon because I read the first two books in the trilogy. I enjoy the stories of these pioneers.
There were sections of the book when verses of hymns were added in the story. Perhaps this would have been more effective in an audiobook. To this reader, it felt more like page-filler.
I still recommend this book to readers of this genre and fans of books by these authors.

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At Morning's Light by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book of Snelling's recent series set in Iowa.
I read these books for comforting entertainment: things don't work out, and then they do.

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Land of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I borrowed this book from my local library on the Hoopla app. It was only available as an audiobook from my library.
I am glad that books by Lauraine Snelling and Kiersti Giron continue telling me stories about the immigrants who settle in Iowa in the 1890s because those stories tell me about what farm life may have been like for my great-grandparents who lived in Ohio (and were not immigrants.)

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Fields of Bounty by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a fan of books by Lauraine Snelling for years. I especially enjoy the details she puts in her historical fiction collections. I enjoy reading what's for dinner, what's been cooking all day, and what chores need to be done. She is excellent at building the alternate world and populating it with people I might recognize.


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A Time to Bloom by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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The Seeds of Change by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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The Healing Quilt by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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A Blessing to Cherish by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I looked forward to reading another story about Ingeborg, and this is not the story I expected. In my imagination, based on all the stories from all the novels, Ingeborg was much older than the 55 years that she is in this book. Surely, she must be older than I am by now. I had been sharing this series with my 93-year old father who had been raised by his grandmother who was also born around 1858. The stories of life on the farm and the town of Blessing reminded him of his childhood. In chapter 8, I was uncomfortable with how disconnected David was with his own children and how he judged them as harshly as he did his board of directors, with an inability to separate family from business. I was uncomfortable because it seemed to reinforce my own father's judgements and righteousness at the end of his life when he could not understand nor respect the difficulties of decisions made in the time of a pandemic. I recommend it to fans of the series because it cannot be read as a stand-alone. .


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The Long Way Home by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the last book in Snelling's "A Secret Refuge" series.
I am a fan of Snelling's historical fiction.


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 Sisters of the Confederacy by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a fan of books by Lauraine Snelling.


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The Brushstroke Legacy by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoy this author's historical novel series.
This combines both present day restoration and the story of her ancestor who came to this house as a housekeeper.
I recommend it for all readers.


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Daughter of Twin Oaks by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was able to read it for free with my subscription to Amazon Prime.
I wanted to read it to assess the level of violence in it before recommending it to my 92-year old father who expressed an aversion to books with killing in it. This is is favorite author so I may ask how he feels about books where the wounded are treated and the dead are buried.
I take 1 star away because this book ends with "WAIT, THERE'S MORE-style ending" and this is just the beginning of a trilogy. If Dad decides he wants to read this Civil War era book, he will want all 3 in the series.


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Half Finished by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the book after my father was finished with this latest Snelling book.
Sometimes when Snelling gives as much detail to the chores and tasks that modern women do that she does to the chores and tasks of historical women, I can get a bit eager to get on with the story because I am as busy as these characters are. I know that I never would be as good a friend to Ginny as Amalia is.
I may not have unfinished craft projects; but, I do have many books on my to-read shelf and my currently-reading shelf. Thank you, Goodreads for giving me a place celebrate books finished and to hold myself accountable for books already in my home library, for those I borrow from town library, for those I download when they are free, and for the purchases I make.


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A Song of Joy by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I purchased this book for my father who enjoys Snelling's stories of frontier life with minimal violence. I enjoy them too. Her books give my father and I something to talk about on which we can agree.


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Dakota Destiny by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This completes the Dakota series that I have been reading with my 92-year old father. He was born after this time period, and still this book triggers some stories of his own life on a farm in rural southwest Ohio.


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Dakota December by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I mentioned before this author is the only one that my 92-year old father and I currently agree writes a good story with characters he respects because the characters are hard workers who build a community; hard workers who help those who need assistance; and Christians who are temperate. I enjoy the stories of pioneers in historical settings. I enjoy the romance in the story as it builds to a courtship.


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Dakota Dusk by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book as a Kindle matchbook because I purchased the Dakota series for my Dad's gift for his 92nd birthday. I am as entertained by Snelling's books as much as he is, and this author is the only one we both enjoy. While the books are set in a different state and in an earlier time than when he lived, the lives of these Dakota settlers remind him of living on a farm in rural Ohio where he was part of an extended family, a family who lived with the strong-willed grandmother who raised my father and his siblings after Dad's mother died shortly after childbirth of her fifth living child. Dad went to one-room township schoolhouses, and this book opened up some memories about the school teachers he had.
In the afterword, Snelling tells a story of how she was informed about a mistake she made in this book. The mistake does not keep it from being entertaining.


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 Dakota Dream by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received this book as a Kindle matchbook because I purchased the Dakota series for my Dad's gift for his 92nd birthday. I am as entertained by Snelling's books as much as he is, and this author is the only one we both enjoy. While the books are set in a different state and in an earlier time than when he lived, the lives of these Dakota settlers remind him of living on a farm in rural Ohio where he was part of an extended family, a family who lived with the strong-willed grandmother who raised my father and his siblings after Dad's mother died shortly after childbirth of her fifth living child.



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Dakota Dawn by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book as a Kindle Matchbook because I purchased the paperback version for my father's birthday. We both finished this book quickly because it was hard to leave at the end of a chapter.
I recommend it to all readers who enjoy the books about Snelling's immigrants to the Dakotas and Minnesota.


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A Season of Grace by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it as much as I did Snelling's previous books.


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