Dear Lady

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Summary: Library Journal Review of DEAR LADY
Review: "In this rewrite of a previously released 1997 secular romance of the same name, Hatcher (The Shepherd's Voice) reaffirms her calling to the Christian market.

"In 1897, Lady Elizabeth "Beth" Wellington flees an arranged marriage in England to become a school teacher in New Prospects, Montana, the home of her young pen pal Janie Steele. Janie's father, Garrett, expects that Lady Beth will want to be waited on hand and foot, but Beth surprises him by moving into a tumbledown cabin. As Beth settles into her new life, her feelings for Garrett grow while she fends off the mayor's hot pursuit.

"With more emphasis on the role of the church in the developing West and deeper religious introspection for the main characters, Hatcher easily shifts to a new market with a title that will appeal to Tracie Peterson's fans. For all collections." (November 2000)

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Summary: An exciting trilogy debuts with DEAR LADY
Review:
In April 1897, three young women arrive in America aboard the RMS Teautonic, each of them with dreams for her future--and each will find more than she expects.

In the summer of 1994, I paid a visit to Ellis Island. I stood in a vast building that seemed to pulse with history. I read actual ships' logs with names of passengers who had come to America, seeking better lives. I read names like Malone and Johnson and Adams and Ashmore (from my own family tree), and I knew I wanted to tell the stories of immigrants, those strong and brave hearts who left everything they knew and started over again in a new land.

I chose to write the stories of women from England, Sweden, and Ireland because that is my own ethnic heritage. Creating and researching this series brought me close to my roots and to the anscestors I never knew.

I hope you enjoy Beth Wellington's story in DEAR LADY. Watch for Inga's story in PATTERNS OF LOVE, January 1998, and Mary's story in IN HIS ARMS, to be released in late 1998.

Rating:
Summary: Dear Lady
Review: Dear Lady is the story of Lady Elizabeth Wellington, an English woman in her twenties. She comes to America in 1897 to escape an arranged marriage to Perceval Griffith, Lord Altberry. Lady Elizabeth, having no family of her own, turns to the only good friend she has left, ten year old Janie, whom she had written to but never met. Janie lives in Montana with her father on his ranch.
Elizabeth becomes the schoolteacher for New Prospects, the nearby town, and begins a new life in the small town which is surrounded by mountains. As life goes on, the mayor shows a respectful interest in Beth, or Miss Wellington, as all but one of her students endearingly call her. Yet Beth finds herself falling in love with the mayor's friend; Janie's father. Their hidden pasts, which are brought to the present, and the often unthinkable actions of Beth's friends and enemies surprisingly expose who her heart really belongs to.
I really enjoyed this book because of all the emotions it activated in me. Dear Lady made me feel angry at some characters, shocked at many actions and situations, helpless to change a situation that I knew was wrong, although later on it turned out for good, and made me ache at both sad and joyful parts. Also, there is always some action going on; there are no boring sections anywhere in this book. This is probably the best book I've ever read, and I have read a fair share for one my age. Anyone who appreciates a good emotional romance about faith with action involved will relish this amazing story of unexpected love.

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Summary: Wonderful read!
Review: Determined not to marry a man she didn't love, Lady Elizabeth Wellington jumps a ship to America to run away from a marriage which her recently deceased father had arranged. Her lone friend in America is her young pen pal, Janie Garrett, in New Prospects, Montana. Remembering that Janie had recently said the town needed a new school teacher, Lady Elizabeth travels to New Prospects and applies for the job. The town's wealthy banker, Owen Simpson, immediately falls in love with Lady Elizabeth. She, however, has her eye on the widowed father of young Janie. Fast and enjoyable read. Get all your chores done, sit out on the swing, and lose yourself in New Prospects, Montana and love.

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Summary: Fast and Enjoyable Read
Review: Set in 1897, Lady Elizabeth Wellington leaves her native England for New Prospects, Montana, home of her ten-year old pen pal, Janie Steele. In one of her letters, Janie mentioned the town needed a schoolteacher. To avoid an arranged marriage, Beth arrives on the doorstep of Janie and her widowed father, Garret Steele. Garret loves his daughter, but is determined not to become emotionally involved with Beth because of unresolved feelings for his deceased wife. Parts of the book are letters to her friends, Mary Malone and Inga Linberg, with whom she traveled to America (Hatcher tells Mary's story in In His Arms and Inga's story in Patterns of Love.) The letters provide insight to Beth's feelings for handsome, but emotionally aloof, Garret Steele, and the persistent mayor, Owen Simpson.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a fast, and enjoyable read. I especially found Beth's letters to her friends a creative substitute for "girl talk." Because Beth is new in town, and English to boot, she is lacking female companionship throughout the story. Some events in the story were not given proper attention; for example, a marriage in the story felt underdeveloped and rushed. Despite this, I enjoyed reading Dear Lady enough to investigate the other books in the series. 4.25/5

Rating:
Summary: Fast and Enjoyable Read
Review: Set in 1897, Lady Elizabeth Wellington leaves her native England for New Prospects, Montana, home of her ten-year old pen pal, Janie Steele. In one of her letters, Janie mentioned the town needed a schoolteacher. To avoid an arranged marriage, Beth arrives on the doorstep of Janie and her widowed father, Garret Steele. Garret loves his daughter, but is determined not to become emotionally involved with Beth because of unresolved feelings for his deceased wife. Parts of the book are letters to her friends, Mary Malone and Inga Linberg, with whom she traveled to America (Hatcher tells Mary's story in In His Arms and Inga's story in Patterns of Love.) The letters provide insight to Beth's feelings for handsome, but emotionally aloof, Garret Steele, and the persistent mayor, Owen Simpson.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a fast, and enjoyable read. I especially found Beth's letters to her friends a creative substitute for "girl talk." Because Beth is new in town, and English to boot, she is lacking female companionship throughout the story. Some events in the story were not given proper attention; for example, a marriage in the story felt underdeveloped and rushed. Despite this, I enjoyed reading Dear Lady enough to investigate the other books in the series. 4.25/5

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Summary: A very highly recommended historical romance
Review: With Dear Lady, Robin Hatcher debuts her new "Coming to America" series of entertaining novels showcasing three different women who came to America to start new lives for themselves. Dear Lady is set in the big-sky country of Montana in the 1800s. Beth Wellington finds that the past she sought to flee, isn't easy to escape, even in a brand new country. Circumstances force secrets into the open, sometimes brining hearts together in unlikely ways, and sometimes tearing them apart. A very highly recommended historical romance, Dear Lady is wonderfully entertaining from first page to last and will leave the reader eagerly looking forward to the next book in this thrilling new series.