When Dru Blake discovers she's dying, she fears for her husband and daughters. She wants to make sure Gavin doesn't have to raise two girls alone. Then Emily Harris becomes their governess---she may be the answer to Dru's prayers! How can Dru set the stage for Gavin to find true love before the Lord calls her home? 304 pages, softcover from Zondervan.
When Emily Harris takes a job in the rugged high country of Idaho, she’s about to discover that changing the heart of one man may be the destiny she’s been in search of all her life. A heartwarming historical romance by bestselling author Robin Lee Hatcher.
1. What drives Emily to apply for a job as a governess? How do her family and friends react? Have you ever made a decision that was met with a similar reaction?
2. What is Gavin’s first impression of Emily? What assumptions does he make about her? Did you make assumptions about any of the characters in the novel? Did they prove to be true or false?
3. Both Emily and Gavin faced difficult situations growing up. How did each cope with these difficulties? What did Emily have growing up that Gavin did not? How does this affect her character differently?
4. Compare Gavin and Dru. What are their attitudes toward Dru’s illness? Toward Emily? How do their attitudes reflect the state of their hearts?
5. Though we never meet her character in person, Gavin’s mother deeply affects his relationship with Emily. How does Gavin compare his mother to Emily? To himself? Are any of his comparisons justified?
6.Emily and Gavin both repress their feelings for each other because of Dru, even though she continuously tries to fan the flames. How do you feel about what Dru is doing? Could she have taken a different approach? Are there other factors that cause Gavin and Emily to repress their feelings besides Dru’s presence?
7. Emily is unsure if she is following God’s will after her hasty acceptance of Patrick’s proposal. What is the reason she gives for her uncertainty? Have you ever experienced a time when you were not able to discern God’s will? Were you eventually able to recognize it? How?
8. What event causes Gavin to finally surrender to the Lord? Have you or someone you know ever experienced a spiritual conversion in the face of hardship? How does Gavin’s perspective change after his conversion?
9. Emily is finally able to see the importance of her role in working for the Blakes at the end of the novel. How is it different than what she originally set out to achieve? What does this show about the nature of God’s will?
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
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5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jill Williamson (Oregon), October 14, 2009
Emily Harris is looking for a life change. She loves her sister's family, but she needs to get out on her own. She wants to be more than just a society wife. She interviews as a governess for a ranching family far away from city life. She is determined to prove that there is more to her than a pretty face.
Gavin Blake doesn't think his wife made the right choice in hiring Emily Harris. The work is hard in the rugged high country, and this refined lady has no business teaching two young girls on a ranch miles from nowhere.
But Dru Blake knows what she's doing. Emily Harris is the perfect person to love her daughters and her husband. For Dru has a plan she hopes the Good Lord will help her out with. A plan that will not only take care of her daughters once she's gone, but will take care of Gavin, too.
What a hard, yet heartwarming, story! I started this at about 10:30 one night and stayed up until 2:30 am because I couldn't stop reading it. I was enthralled by the characters and their conflict that Robin Lee Hatcher created. She transported me into 1883. Her characters tugged at my heart and wouldn't let me rest until I knew how everything worked out. This was the first book of Robin's that I've read. Now I know why she is so successful. What a storyteller!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Carla Wood (Boise, ID), September 13, 2009
Robin Lee Hatcher restored my passion for reading pioneer novels. Despite my busy life, I couldn’t put down this uniquely touching tale set in the mountains of beautiful Idaho, where we see a vision of pioneer struggles mixed with sadness, hope, and honor. Gavin and Dru Blake, in the wake of her cancer, find it necessary to hire a governess in Boise. Emily Harris is an answer to Dru’s prayers for a woman who loves the Lord and will nurture her girls and husband after she passes on. She appears to be a bit refined in Gavin’s eyes and the dare is set before her to prove she can survive an outback life.
Gavin and Dru Blake’s perseverance in their lives as ranchers is inspiring. Gavin married Dru following her husband and his best friend’s death. Because of her illness, they made this necessary choice, as many pioneers did in that day, to protect the precious girls. This dedication to children, giving up personal desires, is a convicting sacrifice in our “all about me” culture.
Emily, unaware of the gravity of Dru’s health, proves to be of the same stock as her employers stepping right in, working more than her expected share with tenderness and compassion towards the family, despite Gavin’s gruff doubts about her stamina.
Integrity is even more evident in Emily’s life as she eventually feels drawn toward Gavin, embarrassed and confused, not understanding God’s and Dru’s future hopes for her. She and Gavin both feel a tugging in their hearts and temptation but flee from the attraction with honor. Both find the need to turn and examine where they are with God in their grief and temptation.
This respectful attitude towards marriage, even an unconsummated marriage, is a challenge to our society. I found Robin’s book to be filled with grace and accountability in areas we all have or will face in our lives. A well written pleasant read, and a book that will bring growth to your walk with Jesus as you journey through this family’s struggles, joys, and challenges.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Claudette Kleckner (Meridian, Idaho), September 12, 2009
I just finished reading When Love Blooms. Oh how I loved that book. Reading a great christian book things happen so differently, what a blessing. I loved how she took care of and loved those children that weren't hers, and loved their Mother too. I love how you use the words in your books to show others how God would be involved in our lives if we just let him. And oh how he showed you the words. It was a great read, about the early lives of families, their struggles, faith and love for each other.
thank you,
Claudette Kleckner
2.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Lynn (Great Falls, MT), August 29, 2009
I love Christian Fiction books and when I received this I was initially excited about reading a book by Robin Lee Hatcher as I've heard such great things about her book. For this one, I had mixed emotions on. The storyline of the dying wife and the help and love of her governess was very touching but the romantic feelings she had for the wife's husband really bothered me. The governess didn't know that the other two had a marriage of convienience but continued to have the feelings she did and the husband also did. I love storylines that depict history and I loved that aspect of the story but was disappointed that the romance didn't follow God's law..
0.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Phyllis (Tallahassee, FL), August 28, 2009
I enjoy Christian fiction especially romance. I have read this author's books before and have enjoyed them. However, I have a problem with this one. Emily and Gavin have romantic feelings for each other even before Dru dies. The author writes this as if it is OK. However, it is not OK. Having romantic feelings for someone who is married or a married person having feelings for someone other than their spouse is wrong; it says so in the Bible (10 Commandments, to name one place). Even though the marriage was "in name only" it was a marriage, and all marriage vows incuding "forsaking all others" are to be taken seriously. I ususally share my books with others. However, I'm not sharing this one. I don't want people to wonder about me and the books I read. I completed reading the book just to see what happened. However, I will not be reading it again and will be getting rid of it.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Michelle (Philippines), July 12, 2009
When Love Blooms, a romance novel written by multi-awarded author Robin Lee Hatcher, is the story of a young Christian lady, Emily Harris, who found work as a governess for the two young daughters of Gavin and Dru Blake. Little did she know that Dru, also a Christian herself and terminally ill, had been praying for a long time for a woman like her to come along.
Having grown up in a family with a privileged lifestyle, Emily Harris, had to prove to her wards’ father, Gavin Blake, that she can perform her job excellently and also live on a farm in the country. Despite not being used to performing house work and living in the country, Emily proves herself more than capable of life with the Blake family.
As Emily learns to love the Blake family and becomes a friend to Dru, she also finds herself strangely attracted to Gavin, Dru’s husband. Knowing that what she feels is wrong, she does everything to suppress her emotions while staying true to her commitment to the Blake family and to her Christian faith.
This is the first time that I have read a Christian romance novel by Robin Lee Hatcher and I have enjoyed the book immensely. She writes the novel beautifully, describing the places well, with the emotions jumping out of the book. I appreciate the ways that the characters have developed throughout the book. The way they struggled to live the Christian life is written realistically. All in all, a beautifully written romance novel.
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Diane (Fuquay-Varina, NC), July 01, 2009
I do enjoy a good, clean romance for a quick, light read. The best part is the predictability of a romance novel and the guaranteed happy ending. However, even in the "relaxing light reading"category I tend to be choosy. The characters need to be developed to a certain level, the Christian witness needs to be realistic, not cliche or moralistic, and story line can't be saccharine.
When Love Blooms meets all those standards and then some.
I've never read Robin Hatcher's books before; but I find that I like her writing style very much. Her characters were interesting and realistic in their emotions and reactions. The plot of this book has a typical conflict, with a little bit of a twist that held my interest. I wasn't tempted to skim through just to get done; rather, I read at a more savoring pace and enjoyed the dialogue and characterizations.
This was a very enjoyable read and not so convoluted that I had to keep going back to remember who did what. In other words -- you'll enjoy this book by the pool or on the beach while you are keeping your children in one eye! The characters face their problems with integrity and demonstrate their faith in compelling and realistic ways.
I'll be looking for more of Ms. Hatcher's books in the future.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by emily mccanless (springtown,tx), June 25, 2009
o my word i love this book it took me 2 days to read it i love it!!!!! its absolutly amazing ...
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