Search This Blog








2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (5)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (2)
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (3)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (3)
- Canada (6)
- England (12)
- France (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Scotland (1)
- South Korea (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Monday, December 31, 2018
Sweet, Wholesome Heart Land An Enjoyable Read
3:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Grace Klaren has always been a small town girl with a big city dream.
Just when it seems she's finally getting somewhere in the New York City fashion world after six years of grunt work, Grace finds herself jobless and unable to afford the exorbitant rent on her apartment in the city. With little other choice, she returns to the tiny farming town where she grew up to wallow in the arms of Gigi, the loving grandmother who raised her. Silver Creek, Iowa, might be her home, but it's still the boring, backwards place it's always been; as soon as Grace can save up enough money, she'll flee it once again.
In the meantime, Grace spends her days trying to help Gigi sell hopelessly unfashionable clothing at a flea market stall. It's here that inspiration strikes. When Grace sells a dress she remakes using her own designs for $200 online, she realizes that—despite what some snooty designer in New York City might say—she can make money creating her own clothing. Soon, the enterprise has turned into a booming business, one that turns heads in The Big Apple. An old colleague calls with a lucrative offer of his own and suddenly, Grace faces a surprisingly difficult choice—New York City or Silver Creek, Iowa?
Heart Land by Kimberly Stuart is a warm, wholesome novel about one woman's quest to find her place in the world. Sweet and clean, it focuses on the power of family, friendship, and faith. Although Heart Land is technically a Christian novel, it treads lightly in the God department. The subject shows up enough that we know religion is important to several of the book's characters, but not so much that it feels fake or cheesy. Grace comes off as a little flaky, but she's a likable heroine, even if she's not all that well developed. This description fits most of the book's cast, in fact. Although not everything in the novel rings true (Silver Creek is economically depressed, but people can still afford new construction and expensive dresses?), but overall, it's a light, enjoyable read that reminds the reader of what's most important in life. I liked it and am definitely up for reading more from Kimberly Stuart.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of a million other down-on-her-luck-woman-retreats-to-the-small-town-to-which-she-swore-she'd-never-return-only-to-discover-she-never-wants-to-leave novels, although no specific title is coming to mind.)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for mild innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of Heart Land from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Zero Days by Ruth Ware

Listening
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
-
Spell the Month in Books ~ June8 hours ago
-
-
-
Friday Fives - June TBR10 hours ago
-
A Blind Eye by Marion Todd11 hours ago
-
Friday Favorites – OwnVoices LGBTQIA+ Books13 hours ago
-
-
Bookcover Spotlight 3051 day ago
-
Books read in May1 day ago
-
Reading Wrap-Up: May 20231 day ago
-
-
Randomness...1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Monthly Round-Up: May 20232 days ago
-
May Reflections2 days ago
-
-
-
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin3 days ago
-
Review: Time After Time by Karly Lane3 days ago
-
-
How I Select Books to Read3 days ago
-
cleaning wins!3 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
5/20/20231 week ago
-
A Couple of Recipes!2 weeks ago
-
-
This feed has moved and will be deleted soon. Please update your subscription now.2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears4 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?7 months ago
-
-
HEARTS OF BRIARWALL by Krista Jensen9 months ago
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
-
▼
2018
(223)
-
▼
December
(48)
-
▼
Dec 31
(12)
- Sweet, Heartfelt YA Novel a Happy Way to End 2018
- Despite Excited Buzz, The Library Book Is A Little...
- Loosey-Goosey Structure Makes New Thriller Not So ...
- Appalachian Midwife Novel Interesting, But Sluggish
- Second Installment As Enjoyable As First in Divert...
- Twisty Psychological Thriller Is Thoroughly Engaging
- Sweet, Wholesome Heart Land An Enjoyable Read
- Moriarty's Newest Another Disappointing Non-Charmer
- Despite Predictability, Small-Town Murder Mystery ...
- Handwriting Analysis Mystery a Meh Kind of Read
- Taut, Tense Game Warden Mystery Launches Intriguin...
- Intriguing Dark Park Mystery a Thrilling Page Turner
-
▼
Dec 31
(12)
-
▼
December
(48)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
0 bookworm(s) said...:
Post a Comment
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!