Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings

I  chose Sixty Acres and a Bride because we’re moving to Oklahoma--Regina Jennings territory. She’s the author, and this is her debut novel. I don’t read or review a lot of historicals. Honestly, I feel intimidated by the amount of research historical authors do so I feel guilty if I don’t fully appreciate their hard work. Can I be honest and say how much I dreaded the day Sixty Acres and a Bride showed up in my mail box? I was so worried: Would I like it? Could I finish it? Would the author have a style I could read with ease? If her first page didn’t yank me in, could I force myself to keep reading? I have a short attention span and I don’t finish books I don’t like. Time is just too precious and short for that.

The first page yanked so hard, I don’t think I put the book down all day. In a rush, I read and then I slowed my reading because I didn’t want to leave those characters. I wanted to savor their delicious predicaments. I liked Rosa, the main character. A lot. I read with a pen in hand so I could underline some of her beautiful thoughts and innocent wisdom: You can sit around and wait for gifts to fall off the tree into your lap, or you can climb the tree and get your gifts yourself. Overtime you’ll find God leaves most of His gifts in the tree.

Rosa doesn't believe in sitting and waiting. She's a do-er.

And this: Rosa didn’t mind the anonymity. She’d rather have gold in her pocket than praise in her ears.

And Weston, the hero with his over-active feelings of responsibility--and guilt--came across real, not a wish-crafted hero. I adored how he looked at Rosa, amazed at some of her observations; taken aback by the way she stood up to him.

New author Regina Jennings is already at the top of her game. Her writing is excellent. Her plotting and characterization are the best I’ve read in a long time. Her pacing is comfortable. It dawned on me while reading Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings that this is what we wannabes should aspire to.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Sixty Acres and a Bride Bethany House (February 1, 2012) by Regina JenningsA Word from Regina:
See me laughing. That’s what I do when someone calls me an author. Yes, it’s always been my dream, but I still can’t keep from giggling over it.
Other things I am – a Christ-follower, a wife, a homeschooling mother of four, a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, and a voracious reader.

Getting reading time isn’t easy. Seems like my family does more than our share of traveling. My husband is an insurance adjuster (I know, save the hate mail) and travels with the catastrophe team often. That’s allowed us to see a lot of the United States. True many times it’s in the middle of a hurricane or blizzard, but after spending three weeks in a hotel room with six people, you’ll brave anything to get out and see the sights – no matter how damaged they might be.

We also serve on the Missions Team at an amazing church, so we break out the passports frequently. Highlights include singing at a leper colony in India, holding church inside a Mexican prison and showing the Jesus film to a tribe in Senegal who’d never heard the gospel.

But I don’t have to go far away for unusual. My family provides plenty of colorful material with their love for practical jokes, pithy observations and strong agricultural roots. Because of the family business, a significant chunk of my life has been spent at sale barns and auctions – often behind the scales where I weigh pigs. I like to think of myself as a “redneck bluestocking” but I brought an entire marketing team’s discussion to a screeching halt when I said those words, so you didn’t hear it from me.

When I have spare time I love to talk books and quirky characters (real and fictional).

ABOUT THE BOOK   

With nothing to their names, young widow Rosa Garner and her mother-in-law return to Texas and the family ranch. Only now the county is demanding back taxes and the women have only three months to pay.

Though facing eviction, Rosa can't keep herself from falling in love with the countryside and the wonderful extended family who want only her best. Learning the American customs is not easy, however, and this beautiful young widow can't help but catch wandering eyes. Where some offer help with dangerous strings attached, only one man seems honorable. But when Weston Garner, still grieving his own lost love, is unprepared to give his heart, to what lengths will Rosa go to save her future?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Sixty Acres and a Bride, go HERE.