The Flower Brides

What a treasure!  This is my first exposure to Grace Livingston Hill's words and it has been profound. Each story is so ennobling and resonates over generations with a clear message of love and faith.  The purity of this message should be gratefully received in a world so different than the time it was first written, but is so greatly needed now.  It is just so touching.  Thank you.

These stories are well written and capture your attention. I can't wait for it to be released, so I can have my friends read it. Marigold was my favorite by far and glad it was the first story in the book. It made me want to read the next two. White orchids was also close to being my favorite. The first paragraph captured your attention and made you want to keep reading.

This is a wonderful collection of inspiring love stories that are certainly worth cherishing as a reader. I found these stories to be slightly inspiring because of the lessons that each story possessed. The lesson was a simple one and that was learning to overcome struggles. Each woman in this collection of stories had a struggle that they had to overcome before they were able to reach their happy endings. I thought this was a solid, foundation for the plot.
   As for the romance I think it might surprise some readers that a Christian romance books can be equally enriched as fellow novels. For me this collection of stories contained romances that were worth remembering and in the end that's all I am really concerned about.
   The writing was a little different than what I am use to. This is because this group of stories was written quite sometime ago. It was a real treat to discover Hill as author because I had never been introduced to the writer before. I love discovering new authors and even better falling in love with their timeless tales. So this collection was such a win for me.
   Lastly I would recommend to any reader to give Christian romances a try. Put aside religion especially if you are a romance reader and give such stories as try. I promise you will discover new favorites just as I have.

Thoughts:

THE FLOWER BRIDES by Grace Livingston Hill introduces readers to three old-world stories with a date in charm, sensibility, and storytelling having His presence ingrained throughout Marigold, Mystery Flowers, and White Orchids.

In reading these stories by Grace Livingston Hill, we escape the contemporary times and travel back to the style of each tale in thoughts, speech, proprieties, expectations, and dress as we meet amazing characters where many are good but a few surprise us in their cunning, manipulative, and deceptive ways!

Although contemporary writing has changed, these sweetened stories illustrate many of the same flaws, schemes, dangerous people, and foolhardy traits that existed beforehand are still around today, albeit some formats may change with reasons, the problems still coexist with humanity.

***This opinion is my own.***

Preview:

Grace Livingston Hill was a past generation's first with His message in fiction. but she's still as relevant today as in her day.

Readers look into a woman's life while she is facing choices and dangers, realizing what might come from the wrong direction inside Marigold.

Mystery Flowers takes us into the life of a young woman suffering still from the loss of her mother. Diana hasn’t moved on as far as one might even though her father has went forward. His new marriage is disastrous, flawed, and bankrupt, but it is also quite dangerous.

Meanwhile, a crisis forms the beginning of White Orchids and takes us on Camilla's journey in the aftermath, but once life returns to normal, threats and exploits are forged to force a split through a bond already established.

Timeless romance!
As a teenager, Grace Livingston Hill was one of my first favorite authors. I started collecting her books where ever I could find them. I remembered reading one of the books in this set, but not the other two, so reading this was like coming home to me. 

I just love the grace of the characters in her books (no pun intended). There is always one character who has a strong Christian background, and usually their mothers are involved one way or another. Something that she felt very strongly about was the mode of dress and wayward way of life of the "modern" society, and those things are still very much true today. One thing is for sure, you will feel comforting love come through in each story. I highly recommend this book set for women of all ages, but especially for young adults.

From the publishers:
Beloved author Grace Livingston Hill has been delighting romance readers for generations. This collection of three full-length novels is sure to sweetly satisfy. In Marigold, the lovely Marigold Brooke travels to Washington, DC, where one man sweeps her off her feet, but another helps her see what real love—and faith—are all about. In Mystery Flowers, Diana Disston is heartbroken and comforted only by anonymous and mysterious gifts of flowers. In White Orchids, Camilla Chrystie is joined by a handsome stranger in a desperate effort to save her mother’s life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Barbour Publishing - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required 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.” http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html

I did the reviews as 3 separate posts.  Marigold -  http://www.hottbooks.com/review-the-flower-brides-part-1-marigold/ posted 8/17/2015
​What I love most about Marigold is the things her mother tells her about life, falling in love, and about God’s love for us.
I believe this book is perfect for Christian teens. The romance they desire is shown within Marigold’s pages while still reminding readers that we need to be patient for God’s gifts – they can’t be forced.

Mystery Flowers -  http://www.hottbooks.com/review-the-flower-brides-part-2-mystery-flowers/ post date 8/18/2015 What I liked: I thoroughly enjoyed Mystery Flowers! It was completely about trusting the Lord with our lives and letting go of pride and worldly things.
Diana is one of my favorite characters in all of the Grace Livingston Hill books I’ve read. She’s a strong person who, even when she’s not familiar with God, has a strong knowledge of right and wrong, and who refuses to compromise even for someone she loves.
What I didn’t like: It’s a great lesson, but may be misinterpreted…

White Orchids post date 8/20/2015 http://www.hottbooks.com/review-the-flower-brides-part-3-white-orchids/
I believe this is my favorite. Even though I've read White Orchids previously, I loved every word. There is so much in this book to make you feel like God's speaking to your heart that you just can't put it down. Plus, it's just a great story & romance!

Overall I LOVED these ;)

Grace Livingston Hill is beloved around the world for her beautifully written Christian love stories. I first read her books more than forty years ago as a fairly young girl. At the time, I didn’t realize when they had been written (as she passed away in 1947) but I knew that the stories meant a lot to me and gave a wonderful message as well as a lovely story.

In “The Flower Brides”, three of her books are brought together: “Marigold”, “Mystery Flowers” and “White Orchids”. In re-reading them recently and as an adult, I realized that the stories are indeed quite dated. For me, that added to their charm. I read a number of older books and also enjoy historical fiction. What isn’t dated is the Christian message that comes across loud and clear in all of Ms. Hill’s novels.

It is interesting that some readers complain about the out of date language and attitudes. I wonder if in the late 1800’s, some readers complained about the language, clothes, and attitudes of Jane Austen’s books. It may be that a certain amount of time must pass before readers can accept a novel written in an earlier time without comparing it unfavorably to today. Or it may be that the complaint has to do with the issues of morality that are dealt with in Ms. Hill’s works.

In any case, the stories were fun to re-read many years later and the messages were still relevant.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Barbour Books, via Netgalley.

I read and am reviewing this as the e-book version only. I haven't seen the paper back copy, though I would love to. I feel I am pretty well qualified to rate and review Grace Livingston Hill books as I have been collecting her Hardbound as well as Paperback books for 34 years. Receiving the bulk of the collection from my Grandmother who started it and gave it to me.  Now I also have a growing set of G.L.H.  on e-book also for convenience, but I will always prefer the real book to hold in my hands and smell when reading a classic like Mrs. Hill.
As expected, since these books are all hers, each has her special little ways of drawing you into the very simply written yet very moving story line and giving you a look back at a different time in our history.  I love how, yes there are often Prince's &Princesses, but there are also poor and teachers, labor's, waitresses and preachers, students and jobless.
They all live, love, laugh, cry, and these are just a few great books to read to help us remember that.

I found this to be an enjoyable group of stories that are both romantic but also uphold the Christian faith.   Even though these are older stories, these are so typical Grace Livingston Hill that they remain 'readable' today.

I found the characters compelling and a writing style that is easy to read.   I read many of her books as a teenager and loved them then.  So it is no surprise that I liked this collection as well.