Soaking in the enjoyment in Wildflowers from Winter

by Kristen Schmidt

July 20, 2012

Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert is not in my usual vein of reading; however, it is a book that I vastly enjoyed and left me eagerly looking forward to reading again. When I finished reading the book I even wrote down my immediate reaction. It was "So horribly, gut-wrenchingly sad, and yet I couldn't put it down. A very, very good read." My rule for reading books is to read books with good action, plot, romance, and comedy that are not sad, and yet not only did I read this book but I could not put it down. "For Ryan, my cute delivery guy turned husband. Who knew what God had in store for us when you delivered that first passage?" The dedication of this book seemed an apt one for the story line. A chance meeting between a delivery guy and the person he is delivering to does not often end in romance; however, theirs clearly did. The circumstances surrounding the lead characters in this book, Bethany Quinn and Evan Price, should make it even more unlikely that they would choose to meet again or even become friends, and yet the plot of the story shows that God has other plans.
One of the things I liked the most about this book is that it is a book where the God of the Christians can be seen to be present, but, like the gentleman He is, He doesn't force Himself on any of the characters. All of the interactions between the believers and non-believers in this book are done in such a way that it feels real enough to see in day to day life, though one hopes to avoid the tragedies in every day life. The book also deals with a distorted view of God that is used to imprison and put fear into people and the liberty of really meeting God.
Wildflowers from Winter is a beautiful piece that is well crafted and easy for the reader to slip into the world. This book, which was received as a reviewer's copy from Water Brook Press, was something completely outside of the my usual reads and it was a great read. I look forward to reading the next in its series.