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rayarriz's review
4.0
Summer is something of a metaphor. A woman who brings joy into the lives of a man and a boy, and warmth, just like summer.
debs4jc's review
summer's life does not reflect the brightness of her name. in route to oklahoma, her husband and children were all stricken with typhoid and died. now summer is all alone in the german/mennonite community of gaeddert, ks, where she doesn't even share the language or religon of her neighbors. yet she is an orphan and estraged from her other relations so she has no where else to go. besides, she still feels tied to the row of graves where her family lies. so when a local farmer offers to have her stay in his shariah (shed) and tutor his injured son she feels she has no choice but to take him up on his offer. the predictable romance between summer and the widowed father then runs its course throughout the rest of the novel, as well as the spiritual redemption of the main character. the best part of this book was the depiction of gaeddert and it's people, especially the bits of low german sprinkled throughout. the author was good about incorporating this but not making it hard to follow. as a kansasan who had at least heard of this community, it made it all the more interesting to learn more about it.
icygrl7's review against another edition
5.0
I have loved every book I have read by this author so far and this is no exception. I really enjoyed the plot and the charaters. It was a very sweet romance. I liked that it wasn't an instalove story. I liked that the characters had to learn and grow. The story was real and believable. I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical Christian romances.
rachel93's review against another edition
5.0
Waiting for Summer’s Return is the first book in both the Heart of the Praire and Ollenberger series’s.
Waiting for Summer’s Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer is an enthralling read. It’s the story of a widow named Summer who accepts an offer from a Mennonite widower named Peter to teach his injured son while he is healing from an accident, in exchange for a place to stay and food to eat. I loved how it showed that even in the darkest of times God is there and that though we don’t know them he has his reasons for things. Peter and Summer’s relationship throughout this story was excellent. I loved the closeness between Peter and Thomas. Grossmutter was my favorite character. Her acceptance and later love for Summer even though Summer was not Mennonite was so wholesome. This was such a great book that I finished it overnight. Mrs. Sawyer is an excellent writer and as a fellow Kansan I loved the setting of this book. I’m looking forward to book two.
This book is a great read for lovers of Christian fiction or just Historical fiction in general.
Waiting for Summer’s Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer is an enthralling read. It’s the story of a widow named Summer who accepts an offer from a Mennonite widower named Peter to teach his injured son while he is healing from an accident, in exchange for a place to stay and food to eat. I loved how it showed that even in the darkest of times God is there and that though we don’t know them he has his reasons for things. Peter and Summer’s relationship throughout this story was excellent. I loved the closeness between Peter and Thomas. Grossmutter was my favorite character. Her acceptance and later love for Summer even though Summer was not Mennonite was so wholesome. This was such a great book that I finished it overnight. Mrs. Sawyer is an excellent writer and as a fellow Kansan I loved the setting of this book. I’m looking forward to book two.
This book is a great read for lovers of Christian fiction or just Historical fiction in general.
tammywaggs's review
3.0
This is a light read and not something to read of you are looking for any kind of depth. I was overall disappointed in this book. It moved with emotion but there were times I thought I was reading a book on theology instead of a Christian romance. I liked the premise of the book but for me it fell short and the ending was rushed.
xakyr's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I could say I enjoyed this book, but in reality, I merely tolerated it. Seeing the early Mennonite settlements was what held my interest throughout the book, but I really wasn't forming a connection to the characters. Yes, it was a book filled with emotion, but I felt very disconnected from that emotion as I read it. The romantic build up was practically non-existent, which made the "I love you"s at the end seem rushed. This was my first trial of this author, but I believe it will be my last.
pixieauthoress's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, such a sweet, relaxing story. I think this is among my favourites from Kim Vogel Sawyer. I liked the historical details about the Mennonite settlers and Kim seemed to have got the dialect and speech patterns perfect, from my personal knowledge of the German language. There were a couple of times when the Christian elements of the story felt a little bit too preachy or fell into place too easily, and I felt that the end of the story was drawn out more than necessary, but otherwise this was a very enjoyable novel. I really felt Summer's pain at the loss of her family and not knowing how to move on with her life. But in spite of the sad occurrences that brought Summer in contact with Peter and his family, this was still a gentle, relaxing novel to read. Just what I needed this week while moving into my new house. I'll definitely be looking out for more of Kim's historical Mennonite novels. 4*
canary20's review against another edition
2.0
Dragged on and on. Really no depth of any of the characters.