Title: The Wonder of Your Love **
Author: Beth Wiseman
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011
Kindle edition
In The Wonder of Your Love we find not one, but two romances. The one purporting to be the main storyline involves Katie Ann, whom we know from Wiseman’s Plain Pursuit. In that story, Katie Ann’s husband of many years had left her for an Englisch woman. Only after he had gone did Katie Ann discover that she was carrying their first child, after many years of marriage.
Wonder picks up a few months after the birth of Katie Ann’s son. And we find that Martha, another character from Seek Me with All Your Heart and Plain Pursuit, has forged a close relationship with Katie Ann since the close of the previous story. Martha is one of the two characters in what is supposedly the subplot, or sub-storyline. In my actual reading of the book, neither Katie Ann’s nor Martha’s storyline seemed dominant, but more as if they were “co-stories.” Martha is also the character who ties the title into the story, by her references to the wonder of God’s love. Primarily through Martha, too, we see God’s love working in its transforming power to change lives, both Martha’s and Danielle's (a new character--hmm...will the next story be about Danielle?).
Katie Ann does not expect ever to marry, again, and continues denying the possibility through much of the book. Martha, being much older than Katie Ann, does not expect to marry again, either. Her first husband, whom she had loved deeply, had died; Arnold, her second love, had moved away when he heard that his son was very ill. Martha had not allowed Arnold to come visit her, because his leaving had been very painful, and she didn’t want to go through that, again.
Katie Ann’s life takes an unexpected turn when Eli shows up for his nephew’s wedding. His wife had died 17 years earlier, leaving him to raise their six kinner (children). He is a new empty-nester who fully intends to enjoy his new freedom by working hard on his farm and traveling—a most unusual plan, for an Amish man. By tradition, he should have remarried within two or three years, at most, after his wife died. But here he is, plopped down in front of Katie Ann as an eligible bachelor. Naturally, as their friendship progresses, much match-making occurs, despite the protests of both that they are “just friends,” and that a marriage between them is “impossible.”
The resolution to Martha’s romance comes as a natural progression of Arnold’s personal situation. The resolution to Katie Ann’s and Eli’s “friendship” does not seem natural. Given all the denial from both, any reader of romance fiction knows early on that they will get together, and the only question is how it will work out. I found the solution unbelievable, or at least, difficult to believe. So I wonder: Was the author tired of the book and just wanting to wrap it up? Was she frustrated, unable to form any better resolution to the dilemmas presented by the couple? Did she wrap up both romances in one book because she didn’t have enough material for two (which is okay, I guess)?
Ms. Wiseman can do better, in my opinion, than she has done in this book—and she has done better. Seek Me With All Your Heart and Plain Pursuit were both much better stories than this one. I had looked forward to the book focusing on Katie Ann, but I am very disappointed in this one. In fact, it proved so forgettable, for me, that after I first read it, I utterly forgot to write my review. Two or three weeks later, I re-read it in order to refresh it in my mind. And then I forgot, again, to write my review. That has never happened, before. I realize most reviewers have given Wonder… high ratings, but I cannot join them. I give it two stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. TN did not require me to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
