Daughter of the Loom

I must admit I have not read a lot of Christian literature, not as much as I would like, so Tracie Peterson's BELLS OF LOWELL were a great introduction to the genre. Each book is beautifully written, and they flow on continously, however, if you were to read them out of sequence, you would not be too terribly behind. I Could NOT put these books down, and in the process of collecting more of this woman's wonderful work. This series is a must buy!

After her father passes, Lilly is determined that it is God's will to punish those she thinks is responsible, the mills. Her ex-fiancé, Matthew, is part of this group and she doesn't want to forgive him. When her revenge gets her friend injured, she realizes that her own hurt has been clouding her judgment. She also realizes that she still loves Matthew, but she's pushed him away for so long, will he ever take her back?This is an excellent book, I've grown to expect great things from Tracie Peterson, and she didn't let me down. Her teaming with Judith Miller is a complete success!!

Once I started reading "Daughter of the Loom", I couldn't put it down. I thought Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller were great, mixing romance and history into the book. I was never one for religion but after reading this book it all made more sense. The book had a great plot making it a real page turner. Lily Armbruster was a great character with strong beliefs and I liked that. I couldn't help going on the internet to see if Peterson and Miller had written any other books together. Once I found out it was part of a series I was thrilled and had to read the second, I'm still waiting for the 3rd one to come out. I hope Peterson and Miller write together again, I'd definatly read their books. The book was outstanding and exiting and in a way educating. I will look forward to reading more books by both authors.

Lilly Armbruster had lived on a farm all her life. She loved the land. She loved the outdoors. She loved all the beauty God created. She even loved the boy next door and dreamed of one day joining their two farms and working the land together for the rest of their lives. Then two things happened. Matthew Cheever, her love next door, went to Harvard and came back with different dreams of the future and the Corporation arrived, buying up all the farms in the area of East Chelmsford where Lilly lived, renamed the town Lowell and destroyed the beauty of the land by building textile mills. Lilly was heartbroken. Though Matthew still wanted to marry her, she viewed him as a traitor. He had gone from believing in her dream of farming to believing in the future of industry. He even went to work for one of the top men in the Corporation. Lilly made it her mission to destroy what the Corporation was doing to her small town. She was so passionate in her mission that she believed it was God's will that she put a stop to the mills. Her first step was to work in one of the mills and live in a boarding house with many of the girls who also worked twelve hour days in the deplorable conditions of the mill. The heat and noise inside the walls of the buildings convinced Lilly even more that she needed to put an end to the expansion of textiles in Lowell. Only, she didn't realize that many people liked the changes that were happening to their town. Many of the farmers had received a tidy sum for their small farms and were enjoying a freedom they had never known before. Many of the girls who worked in the mills had the independence that having their own paycheck provided and they were happy about that even though they had to work long hard hours to get it. Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller do a wonderful job of telling the struggle of letting go of the past and embracing the future. They take the reader through all of Lilly's fears, doubts and convictions. We see her grow in her faith and grow as a person. An easy, yet terrific read.

I found this book to be extremely enjoyable. I read it in one evening I couldn't put it down. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. 'I liked Lilly and Matthew and I was intrigued by their relationship. I felt the capture of the struggle between what we know and change was handled very well. I also like how they remind us that we need to be absolutely sure we are acting on the behalf of God.I usually don't read books from series, unless I have them all available - I hate the waiting. But I know Judy Miller, and I have loved her work in the past. So when given an opportunity to read this book - I took it.I have never read any of Tracy's work - for the life of me I don't know why, because I will be now.Judy - you are quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.