Love's First Bloom by Delia Parr

Love's First Bloom is the latest novel by Delia Parr and it is so different from any book I've read before. I love it when an author surprises me with the unexpected. Ruth Livingstone has grown up in a protected home environment, taking care of her widowed minister father and all things on the homefront while he takes care of the city's less than desirables. His ministry reaches out into the lives of the prostitutes, he helps them escape their lives and find new identities in places far away. When one of them dies and leaves behind an infant, he asks Ruth to take the baby and pose as the baby's mother. The family that takes her in assumes that she is a prostitute looking for a better life.

When her father is arrested for murdering the dead woman Ruth has a hard time staying undercover. When news reaches her that her "disappearance" is under suspicion and that some are accusing her father of murdering her also the news nearly devastates her. She wants to return to him but there are too many newsmen looking for her. They descend on her town and she is able to keep them at bay with the help of her recovering-from-injury friend, Jake. But is Jake who he claims to be? What happens when everyone finds out the truth about Ruth?

Delia never lets her readers down, she's got a knack for grabbing your attention and keeping you on the edge of your seat. Check this one out, especially if you're looking for a historical that's out of the ordinary.

Thanks, Delia, for this CLEAN READ!

This book was provided for review by Bethany House.