Category Archives: Robin Lee Hatcher

The Shepherd’s Voice – From The Archives

The Shepherd’s Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher – From the archives – this is a repeat of an old book review. I read this novel several years ago and recall really enjoying this story by Robin Lee Hatcher. I encourage you to give this book a try! Download it onto your e-reader today!

Convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, Gabe Talmadge returns to his hometown of Ransom, seeking the love denied to him by his father Hudson Talmadge. Instead of finding the love of his forsaken father, he finds the love of Akira Macauley, owner of the sheep farm, Dundreggan. Gabe also discovers the love of another father, his Heavenly Father. Akira teaches Gabe about love and faith, and he realizes his biggest mistake was forsaking the Lord, several years ago. When he’s again mistakenly arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, his faith in God is tested, and he learns that it’s imperative to always lean on the Lord.

Have you ever read any novels by Robin Lee Hatcher? If so, which one was your favorite?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Catching Katie By Robin Lee Hatcher – From The Blog Archives

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Yesterday’s review of A Great Catch

made me think about another title that I read a long time ago. If you think the storyline of A Great Catch is appealing because of the woman’s suffrage issue, then you should read Robin Lee Hatcher’s

Catching Katie. It was recently re-released as an e-book, but I reviewed it on my blog back in 2007.

Have you read Catching Katie? If so, did you like it?

Here’s a brief summary of the Catching Katie:
Katie Jones is committed to fighting for the cause of women’s suffrage. She has no time for romance, especially not with her best friend Ben Rafferty. But when Katie’s column in Ben’s newspaper, The Homestead Herald, stirs things up, sparks begin to fly. Ben is set on winning Katie over, but Katie is just as determined to stay true to her 1916 feminist ideals. With such strong obstacles in the way, their relationship can’t possibly progress. Unless somehow love finds a way…

~Cecelia Dowdy~

A Vote Of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher

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A Vote Of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (May 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310258057
ISBN-13: 978-0310258056

From Amazon.com:
In A Vote of Confidence, the stage is set for some intriguing insight into what it was like during 1915 to be a woman in a “man’s world.”

Guinevere Arlington is a beautiful young woman determined to remain in charge of her own life. For seven years, Gwen has carved out a full life in the bustling town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, where she teaches piano and writes for the local newspaper. Her passion for the town, its people, and the surrounding land prompt Gwen to run for mayor. After all, who says a woman can’t do a man’s job?

But stepping outside the boundaries of convention can get messy. A shady lawyer backs Gwen, believing he can control her once she’s in office. A wealthy newcomer throws his hat into the ring in an effort to overcome opposition to the health resort he’s building north of town. When the opponents fall in love, everything changes, forcing Gwen to face what she may have to lose in order to win.

This book was a nice cozy read. It was suspenseful, but not too suspenseful. Gwen has been living in Bethlehem Springs for seven years. She lives close to her father and her fraternal twin sister Cleo. Due to a parental separation, Gwen and Cleo have been raised apart, and now Gwen has taken the last seven years to get acquainted with her father and her sister. Gwen gives piano lessons to the children in the town, and she also writes for the paper. In the few years she’s been in Bethlehem Springs, Gwen has come to care for the town and its inhabitants, she cares so much that she wants to become the new mayor. The current mayor is an alcoholic who has no affection for the town.

Meanwhile, wealthy Morgan Mckinley breezes into town, and starts constructing a new day spa. However, this spa is not only for the rich – he wants to make the spa affordable for the poor and middle-class citizens of Bethlehem Springs. He volunteers to run for mayor, throwing Gwen’s campaign into a tizzy!

This was a fun book. It was great to see the attaction grow between Morgan and Gwen and it was heartwarming to see Morgan build the spa. Morgan builds the spa in memory of his deceased mother. He cares for others and it’s apparant in his actions.

Well-developed characters, romance, and a bit of suspense make this a fine story.

Robin Lee Hatcher likes to write about women and politics. This novel reminded me a little of her novel, Catching Katie, which I reviewed a few years ago.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher

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The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher
Paperback: 302 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595541489
ISBN-13: 978-1595541482

Product Description – from Amazon.com

Katherine Clarkson has the perfect life. Married to Brad, a loving and handsome husband, respected in their church and the community. Two grown daughters on the verge of starting families of their own. A thriving ministry. Good friends. A comfortable life.

She has it all–until the day a reporter appears with shocking allegations. Splashed across the local news are accusations of Brad’s financial impropriety at his foundation and worse, an affair with a former employee. Without warning, Katherine’s marriage is shattered and her family torn apart. The reassuring words she’s spoken to many brokenhearted women over the years offer little comfort now.

Her world spinning, Katherine wonders if she can find the truth in the chaos that consumes her. How can she survive the loss of what she thought was the perfect life?

For those interested. I’m giving away this novel.

Robin Lee is one of my favorite authors. One thing she did in this book, which I wasn’t used to seeing her do in other novels, was use the first person point of view for one of the characters. If you read this book, I highly recommend you finish it. Something happens at the end that surprises you, making you stop and wonder when people are accused of something, whom should you believe is telling the truth? The subject of adultery is dealt with in this novel, however, based upon the outcome, I feel that it’s dealt with in a very different, yet believable manner. This book was a good, quick read. I read it on the plane while I was on my way home from Chicago!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Catching Katie By Robin Lee Hatcher

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Hardcover
Publisher: Tyndale (2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0739440012
ISBN-13: 978-0739440018

Re-released as a paperback:
Paperback: 300 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers; Reprint edition (January 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0842360999
ISBN-13: 978-0842360999

From the inside cover:

Katie Jones is committed to fighting for the cause of women’s suffrage. She has no time for romance, especially not with her best friend Ben Rafferty. But when Katie’s column in Ben’s newspaper, The Homestead Herald, stirs things up, sparks begin to fly. Ben is set on winning Katie over, but Katie is just as determined to stay true to her 1916 feminist ideals. With such strong obstacles in the way, their relationship can’t possibly progress. Unless somehow love finds a way…

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I purchased this book from Crossings a few years ago, but just got around to reading it. I loved this book! The romance was heartwarming, tender, and oh, so good! Not too long ago, I was talking about building believable characters. Robin Lee Hatcher has built a believable character when she created Katie Jones. Katie is educated, smart, determined, and stubborn. She is passionate about the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and feels that God has called her to make a huge difference by helping to provide equal rights for women.

However, she feels that she should not get married in order to properly heed this call. Her desire to not marry, in order to heed her calling provides a perfect conflict for a romance novel.

Ben Rafferty falls in love with Katie when she breezes back into town, demanding he allow her to have a weekly column in his newspaper. All he wants is to see Katie happy, but he finds himself sacrificing his own dreams in order to provide Katie with the happiness that she thinks she wants. Katie soon discovers that she’s unsure of what she wants in order to be happy. Although she fiercly believes in the movement, she’s unsure if this is what God has called her to do.

I was so into this book that it almost made me want to go out and read more about Susan B. Anthony and the Woman’s Suffrage Movement on my own. The book is so good and well-written that I think it could prove to be a useful tool in the classroom when a history class studies women’s suffrage.

Also, this was kind of strange. In the version I was reading from Crossings, Katie is described in the book as having black hair. However, the cover shows her hair as more of a light brown. Since she looks this way on the cover, the mental image I had of Katie in my mind while reading the story was of Kate Winslet (Rose) in the movie Titanic. I don’t think Kate Winslet’s hair was light brown? I think it was red, however, I pictured Kate Winslet with light brown hair whenver I read about Katie Jones. It appears that the cover was fixed for the re-released paperback version. As you can see above, the cover for the paperback version has Katie with dark hair.

I love Robin Lee Hatcher’s books and below, I’ve listed a few others that I’ve read and enjoyed. I can’t give full-blown summaries as I’ve done for the one above since I read them so long ago. However, I just want to recommend these titles. These titles are also good examples to read if you’re trying to break into the Christian romance market with your own work:

Speak To Me Of Love
ISBN: 0842360980
Pub. Date: August 2003

The Forgiving Hour
Series: Heartquest Series
Paperback
ISBN: 1578562775
Pub. Date: February 1999

There are two others I’ve read (maybe more) but the titles escape me. I scrolled through amazon, but there are a lot of titles under her name, too many for me to sort through with my limited time! If memory serves me correctly, I read one of her novels in the Coming To America series! Also I read another that I believe took place on a sheep farm and it’s a historical? I also recall the hero had served time for a crime he did not commit? If anybody can tell me the title of the sheep farm book, let me know, and I’ll gladly add them to this blog entry.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com