Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Book Review - A Most Unsuitable Match




Fannie Rousseau and I have something in common...a belief that we were not good enough to be a preacher’s wife.

Before Fannie met the man of her dreams who would be a preacher, we meet her in St. Charles, Missouri 1869.  She just lost her mother.  The strained relationship between the two only made her mother’s death more painful.  Some things would never would be resolved.  Fortunately, Fannie had Hannah who worked for her family.  Hannah was very much family to Fannie and gave her the mothering that she needed.

Fannie thought she was the only left in her family until she found letters in her mother’s things that let her know that she had an aunt.  Her hope that she is alive leads her to take a trip on a steamboat to find her.  She was escorted on this journey by Hannah.   

On the trip, she meets Samuel Beck who is more than just a hired hand on the steamboat.  He has a higher calling on his life and he is looking for someone, too.   Her search for her aunt leads her to an area of the country that is less “civilized” than she has known.  Being in the “wilderness” helps her to grow as a woman.  She has to do things that she did not do before in St. Charles.

This was a slow read for me and I was not completely caught up in the story at first.  I became more interested as I kept on reading.  I did want to find Fannie’s aunt and I also wanted to know if Samuel ever finds his sister.  The change in Fannie from a protected young woman to one who has to take care of herself was interesting.     The journey brings Samuel and Fannie closer, but Fannie believes that he is too good for her.  She realizes that he is called to be a preacher and she does not think she has what it takes to be a preacher’s wife.  She believed that they were an unsuitable match because of her flaws.   Samuel also had growing to do because he was preaching before he even accepted the fact that he was a preacher.  I felt like Fannie when I met my husband.  Both Fannie and I had to realize that if God calls us for the job that He will equip us with everything we need to do what He asks.

Overall this was a good read and I do recommend A Most Unsuitable Match.

A free copy of this book was given to me by Bethany House in exchange for my thoughts about this story.