Thursday, November 1, 2012

Christmas at Holly Hill, Winds Across the Prairie Series #6 by Martha Rogers

About Book

 Can Clayton Barlow prove he has changed his ways in time for Christmas? 

 It is October 1898, and Clayton Barlow has just returned home after serving time in prison for his part in a bank robbery. His family welcomes him, but the townspeople are skeptical. Bored with life in the small town but determined to make a new start, he goes to work with his father, hoping to regain the town’s trust.  

 Clayton recognizes the schoolteacher at the Prairie Grove School as his childhood friend, Merry Lee Warner, and old feelings surface. Still, he doubts that he could ever get a woman like Merry to love him.

 As the townspeople prepare for Christmas, their suspicions about Clayton lead to trouble. Will the trusting heart of an unlikely new friend be enough to restore Clayton’s relationships with his neighbors and reunite him with God and Merry?


About Martha

Martha Rogers is a former schoolteacher and English instructor. She served as a newsletter editor for the writer's organization, Inspirational Writers Alive! for six years and is the state president. She is also the director for the annual Texas Christian Writer's Conference and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

Her first novel Not on the Menu (May 2007) is a part of Sugar and Grits, a novella collection with DiAnn Mills, Janice Thompson, and Kathleen Y'Barbo. Rogers has a Master's Degree in Education, worked for twenty-eight years as a secondary teacher, and has worked as a supervisory teacher at University of Houston Clear Lake and as an instructor of English Composition at Houston Community College. Martha and her husband live in Houston, Texas and have worked with teenagers at First Baptist Church for twenty-four years.

Visit Martha's Website here


My Thoughts

Clayton Barlow arrives at his father's store not sure what kind of welcome if any he will receive.   You see he has been in prison for the past five years of his life for bank robbery.
To his surprise and great pleasure his parent's welcomed him back with open arms.  His father did advise him to keep on the straight and narrow and stay away from bad company.
But not everyone was as glad to see him back home.   When Merry Lee Warner, the new Prairie Grove school teacher caught sight of Clayton standing in the door of his father's store she ran to him throwing her arms around him.   Merry was his sweetheart when she was sixteen years old.  But he must not let on how much he is still in love with her for fear of destroying her reputation with the school board.  He has to prove to this community that he is a changed man before he let's her know how he really feels.  If not he might have to leave town.

Merry was so glad to see him but he did not seem to have the same feelings.  This really hurt and confused her.  She would not give up, she would come and talk to him everyday until she figured out where her school sweetheart was under this man's tough exterior.

Has Clayton turned his life around?  Does he trust God enough to ask for help?  He feels as if God had turned His back on him when he went to prison.  

Many of us feel at times that God may have abandoned us when in reality we abandoned Him.  God is constant He never leaves us.   Clayton's character learned this lesson the hard way and then God Blessed Clayton Abundantly with a Very Merry Christmas.

Martha always entertains me with her writing.  The characters are bold, heroic, soldiers of God ready to do His bidding.    I always come away feeling as if I have learned a great lesson after reading one of her books.  

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book  5 out of 5.

Disclosure
I received a free copy of this book from Charisma/Realms for review.  I was not compensated in any way for this review.  It is my own opinion.

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