When I began reading the tale, I simply couldn't put it down until the very end as there is a mystery woven within the learning to wait on God. The main female character, Florence, has a physical ailment that not only brings pain but emotional hardship as she cannot imagine being able to handle the duties of being a wife. Will continues to assure her of his love and his choosing her to be his wife and the mother of their children.

Will asks Florence to wait to be married. Then, after they are married, it seems Will disappears for long hours. When he comes home in the evening, she is overjoyed as her illness keeps her from doing normal chores. Now, there is a threat to their married life and Will must leave without knowing when he will return.

I found the story really interesting and spellbinding for many reasons. First, is the love the couple has for each other. Then, there is Will loving Florence even when he knows her health at times may mean she will need care. Above all is the learning to draw near to God and believe even when there is no communication between the couple for several months. My heart was deeply touched by the foresight Florence's mother had before she was even born. Florence's mother leaves behind written treasures that speak to Florence about her mother's heart and faith. The quilt in the story was especially touching along with how it was passed from generation to generation, sometimes for the next one to complete or do as much work as possible on the piece. The quilt in this story speaks of life, faith and life. I hope you grab a copy, read and enjoy. This is a great story not to be kept to oneself, but to shared and remembered.

Eva Gibson in her new book, "A Stitch And A Prayers" Book Eighteen in the Quilts of Love Series published by Abingdon Press brings us into the life of Florence Harms.

From the back cover: The frontier life isn't easy—especially when you're alone and with child.

After her fiance returns from the Klondike gold rush in 1897, Florence Harms sets about building a new life in her new marriage even though the lingering effects of illness have left her weak and vulnerable. She and her young husband, Will, work tirelessly to clear the land around their Northwest cabin, content with their modest life.

But then a stranger comes knocking and Florence suddenly senses a restlessness in Will s spirit that she had never seen before. When he leaves her with only a note that tells her he will return before their baby s birth, she is devastated, and the illness that stiffened her joints returns. Counting the days until Will walks back through her door, Florence busies herself with a Tree of Life quilt displaying a map of the farm they call home. Doubts claw at her heart as Florence struggles to believe Will s promise to return to her. Will her labor of love and faith in God sustain her as she waits to see her beloved once again?"

This book is all about family and love and how love lets you see the person on the inside and not how they are physically. Ms. Gibson is a wonderful story teller. I fell in love with Florence and suffered with her through every moment not really knowing what would happen next. Will is terrific—he's a good guy, he's a bad guy, you want to hurt him, you want him to succeed. This story affected me. It has its up and downs and moments of real darkness but Ms. Gibson has a skillful hand and pulls everything off just perfectly. There is a lot in this book, much to think about and it just interesting and exciting as well.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. 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."

This is a wonderfully sweet story. It is not a very fast-paced story, and I found it a little hard to keep the time line straight as I was reading it, but overall it was well written and interesting. The characters are well-written. Florence is a relatable character, and her friends and aunt make the story more interesting. I wish we would have gotten to know what Will was doing while he was away, but you can tell he loves his wife very much when he is home. Florence and Will show very human like characteristics in their marriage and life. The little nuggets of Truth sprinkled throughout this book make it the best! I have little post-it note tabs throughout the book so I can go back and re-read some of them!

Overall, I enjoyed the story, even though the time line was a little hard to follow. It was interesting to see how Florence learned to cope with her husband leaving and how she kept her Faith intact while he was gone. If you want a sweet story about trials and testing your faith, this is it!

A Stitch and A Prayer had very good values that I enjoyed reading about. One of them is that earthly possessions should not overcome your day to day life and control you. This is one of the things that one of the main characters has to deal with and only overcomes it through Scripture.

The story itself was a little slow, but reading about the characters was engaging. This book is geared more to an elderly audience, and although I enjoyed it, I believe younger ladies might not enjoy it as much.

*Note: I actually requested this book with my Nana in mind, she is a seamstress and I thought she would really enjoy this book series which is called Quilts of Love. There is no order to this series and each book is written by a different author, I will be reviewing one more book to this series soon called Rival Hearts. Thanks for reading!

"I received this book from the publisher via Litfuse blogger program. All comments and opinions are my own."

I love quilts and the fact that each truly does tell a story intrigues me. Always has. This short novel, was a quick read. There were times I thought Florence seemed a little childish, but who isn't in their first year of marriage, right? I did like how her faith in God grew and how she started learning to trust Him to take care of her rather than focus solely on her husband for comfort. I was more than a little irritated that Will left her - pregnant and living alone - with just a note and no explanation. As a wife without an illness like Florence's, I'd be beside myself with worry and stress and probably less forgiving than she was at his return.

There were times I wondered if this was part of a series and I got the second book by mistake. I did have a hard time connecting with the characters. It felt the story was rushed and they weren't as developed as they could have been.

Overall, I did like the faith aspect of this story.

*My thanks to the publisher and LitFuse for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not required it be positive.*