REVIEW: “Love Comes Softly” by Janette Oke

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About the Book:

✦ Title: Love Comes Softly

✦ Author: Janette Oke


✦ Genre: Christian Historical Romance


✦ Series: Book #1 of the Love Comes Softly series


✦ Recommend for: Ages 15+


My Personal Rating

3.5/4 ⭐️

📖 Synopsis

She ventured west with the man she loved, but in one day her whole world crumbled around her . . .

Nineteen-year-old Marty Claridge starts west with her adventurous, boyish husband, Clem, seeking to claim land and hoping for good fortune. But when the venture turns suddenly to tragedy, Marty is left alone with her great loss. And coupled with her grief and heartache is the grim reality that there is no way to return home.

Clark Davis and his little girl, Missie, are also in great need. Clark's wife has died, leaving him to care to Missie and the farm at the same time. His offer to Marty comes with good intention, but will courage and faith be enough to bring them to true love?

💭 My Thoughts 

I wanted a short, simple book that I could read in a day, so I decided to pick up a reread that I remember enjoying several years ago. I still found it very sweet 🥰

Like when I first read it, I was a little taken aback at Clark mentioning marriage to Marty only a few minutes after introducing himself as a perfect stranger, but times were different back then and he was quite desperate— his Missie needed a mama. So yes, it was a heavy marriage of convenience, but with the cozy, sweet, wholesome style of Janette Oke that I love. The way they talked still tripped me up a little at times, but it was easier to understand that he first time I read it 😅 I don’t know that Marty’s grief was dealt with very throughly/deeply, but I suppose that’s not the focal point of the story.

I will say that I’ve never liked a certain event towards the very end, and that is why it might be better for slightly older readers, but I still enjoyed the book overall. I am excited to continue rereading up to the later ones because I remember loving those ones even more than the first few. I’m not certain if I like the Canadian West series or the Love Comes Softly series more…right now I might say the former, but I’ll have to see after rereading these books :)

⚠️ Some broad content notes

Intense grief over tragic loss of loved one; no language stronger than “Godforsaken”, “Dad-burn” (x8), and “Dad-blame it” (x6); someone is called a little demon; at one point Marty says she hates Clark & at another that she wishes that she had died; labor & giving birth (semi-descriptive); killing a chicken for meat (semi-descriptive); a character marries a man her parents don't approve of and...bad things happen. ***Spoiler*** she ends up dying.

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Bookishly yours, 


Lottie M

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