"Waves of Mercy"

by Lynn Austin!
Review & GIVEAWAY!

Description

Austin Returns with a Multi-Generational Historical Novel

Geesje de Jonge crossed the ocean at age seventeen with her parents and a small group of immigrants from the Netherlands to settle in the Michigan wilderness. Fifty years later, in 1897, she's asked to write a memoir of her early experiences as the town celebrates its anniversary. Reluctant at first, she soon uncovers memories and emotions hidden all these years, including the story of her one true love.

At the nearby Hotel Ottawa Resort on the shore of Lake Michigan, twenty-three-year-old Anna Nicholson is trying to ease the pain of a broken engagement to a wealthy Chicago banker. But her time of introspection is disturbed after a violent storm aboard a steamship stirs up memories of a childhood nightmare. As more memories and dreams surface, Anna begins to question who she is and whether she wants to return to her wealthy life in Chicago. When she befriends a young seminary student who is working at the hotel for the summer, she finds herself asking him all the questions that have been troubling her.

Neither Geesje nor Anna, who are different in every possible way, can foresee the life-altering surprises awaiting them before the summer ends.

Biography

Award winning author Lynn Austin was a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time, has won six Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.
Favorite Verse: Isaiah 40:31 -"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as EAGLES they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."






My thoughts ~

Waves of Mercy is reminiscent of a very significant family history regarding my own ancestors. Every aspect of this book is filled with memories of my own family who immigrated to West Michigan from The Netherlands. 

Lynn Austin has done a spectacular job of recreating the plight of those immigrants and their very difficult encounters both during the immigration process, and starting anew in an underdeveloped locale. I had a little trouble keeping timelines and characters straight at the beginning of the book, but with the development of those characters I began to feel a part of their story. Names mentioned throughout the book are still familiar to this locale.

The setting for this novel is very familiar, and it was an early journey through my own lifelong home in Michigan. Description was a highlight, as well as the development of each of the characters. The research for this book is very well done. The locations described are accurate and particularly sentimental.

I highly recommend this latest release from Lynn Austin. Her previous novels are some of my favorites, and this one was no disappointment.   

Disclaimer: I purchased a copy of this book, and was pleasantly surprised when I received a gift copy from the publisher. My expressed opinions are my own, and I was not expected to post a positive review.

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