Kentucky Chances

Cathy Marie Hake & Kelly Eileen Hake
Barbour Publishing (2005)
ISBN 1597893668
Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (9/06)

“Kentucky Chances” includes three romances that tell the stories of brothers from California and women from Salt Lick Holler, Kentucky. All three widowed women find love again when the Chance brothers come into their lives.

In “Last Chance” a young widow and healer, Lovejoy Spencer, takes three mail-order brides to Reliable, California. Concerned that her sister and the other two women not end up married to a mean husband like she experienced, Lovejoy remains in California to supervise the courtships. During her stay, her services as a healer are needed on the nearby Chance Ranch. Lovejoy spends much time nursing ill and pregnant members of the family and watching over widower Daniel Chance’s daughters. Neither Lovejoy nor Daniel were looking to remarry, but they take a last chance at love.

In “Chance Adventure” Logan and his brother, Bryce, travel to Salt Lick Holler so Logan can experience life away from the ranch before settling down. His sister-in-law, Lovejoy, arranges for him to stay with Willow, the healer that trained her, and Hattie, a young widow learning about herbs and natural ingredients used in healing. Hattie has accepted the disappointments and the way her life has turned out. But when the Chance brothers arrive, Logan’s adventure reveals God’s plan for this young couple.

In “Chance of a Lifetime” Bryce prepares to return home now that Logan and Hattie are pledged to each other. But he’s attracted to Daisy. When her house burned, the young widow and her son Jamie came to stay with Willow. Bryce, the quietest Chance brother, introduces young Jamie to many activities the crippled child couldn’t normally enjoy. Daisy thinks she has to solve her problems and find a new home. But Bryce can provide what she needs back at his ranch if she agrees to marry him.

All three stories are well-written by this mother-daughter team. The Chances and the women who love them are interesting, likeable characters. Despite the twangy dialect, the Hakes conveyed the dignity and ingenuity of the people who dwelled in the hollers of Kentucky in the late 1800s. The stories in this three-in-one book share the hope that despite past hurts, love is possible.

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