Wishing on Buttercups
By Miralee Ferrell
Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko
Book Description:
Can Love Survive When Secrets Collide? She’d kept her secrets safely hidden—those from her past, and those in the present. Some things, Beth Roberts knows, a lady simply doesn’t share, even in the 1880’s West. The townspeople would never understand. No one ever has. Jeffery Tucker, a handsome young writer, has kept his own secrets. He doesn’t have a right to pry into Beth’s affairs but finds himself strangely drawn to her and intrigued by the whiff of mystery surrounding her. Beth knows that one day someone will unravel the threads of her past. And when two men from her past arrive, the truth might just hurt . . . Beth’s future and her heart. As shadowy memories surface, Beth sketches the scenes she sees and is shocked by what—and who—her illustrations reveal. Dare she risk her heart again?
My Review:
Beth is a talented artist that struggles to accept that she is valuable while Jeffery is a writer that believes he is not any good. I found it interesting that they both did not know that they were drawn to each other, in spite of their insecurities or maybe even because of them. Beth also has hidden scars that she believes will make anyone hate her. In her past, there were mean adults and children that tormented her because of them.
I found that I related to the insecurities that Beth faced. We all have scars that are hidden, but to us, they feel very visible. Today, I was standing in church facing some of my own “scars”. Mine are not visible to the naked eye, but just as painful at times as a real scar.
The message that Ms. Ferrell talks to us throughout this story is it is how we deal with our past, our scars and our insecurities. We may handle it like Mr. Lansing handles in the book (badly) or we may learn that we are valuable and special with our scars. They will always be a part of our lives, but they do not have to define us.
Another lesson this book can teach us is how often we are much harder on ourselves than we should be. Aunt Wilma, Beth, Jeffery, Beth’s mother, all of them were much harder on themselves than they needed to be. The lesson of grace and extending charity to others is a very important part of life.
(This book was giving me to review by NetGalley. The opinions contained therein are my own)