Becoming Bea is about a girl and family. It looks into the relationship of Bea and Ben. They both have trouble communicating with one another. Bea hears Nan has just had triplets from a member of her community.

She wants to help out and so offers. There is matchmaking going on. Will Bea lean to communicate or will she not. She believes she made to be a spinner or old maid as the Amish like to call it.

The author does a decent job. Thought the plot of the story make me wonder what it really about. We do know that Molly is married. Bea does not want to move and be with her older sister and her husband.

Like I stated the author is good. It just do not know what the main plot of the story is about other than Ben and Bea have problems with communications. You figure that out early enough. Now if the author plot is to see the couple can figure it out and finally get together. Maybe what it was about. But to me it was unclear exactly what the plot was about.

The author does wonderfully for Minding Molly and Courting Cate and their plots. It not so confusing as Becoming Bea. Maybe it to see how Bea grows from a girl to a young woman.

You have the option to read it and decide yourselves. I believe this is an okay book. My only problem with the story and book is the plot nothing more.

I started reading this book during a busy month. Any other time, I would've devoured this wonderful tale of loss, chance, family secrets, and finding one's way home despite the obstacles. There are those books that one reads and it is just that - reading. Whilst the story may be somewhat entertaining, it ceases to draw you in and fails to connect oneself to place or protagonist. Just another book you quickly want to finish. Then, there's that lovely, lively book that finds its way to your hands and once you've lost yourself in its pages you never want to leave it behind. Secrets of Nanreath Hall is the latter and exactly why I love historical fiction. Set between alternating periods of WWI and WWII, two women struggle to define themselves within a distinguished family that has hidden their secrets well inside the walls of Nanreath Hall.

Another fabulous read of 2016. I fell in love with ALL of the characters, each one growing closer to my heart as the story gained momentum. While the plot is not altogether original, I never felt as if I'd read this before. The scenes of war are vivid and I could hear the engines of airplanes screaming across the British skies. I could sense the fear and feel the heartbreak when letters brought news of lost loved ones, another casualty of war that changed lives in an instant. I ached for the young soldiers dashing off to war, imagining himself a hero but returning as a broken weary veteran, a constant battle inside the war between remembering and forgetting. It felt as if I was at the train depot standing among the women who kissed their soldier's lips for the very last time. Nanreath Hall came to life and I could smell the salty sea air, picture the transformation of the once great home now being used as hospital for the wounded and dying. Yes! Strong characters lived and breathed between the pages and captured my imagination until the very end. Superbly written. Five shiny gold stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


"Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love." - Shakespeare



*I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to William Morrow for sponsoring the giveaway and to Alix Rickloff for writing a story that I'll always remember.

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