Really enjoyed this engaging love story between Lilly and Matthew, woven around interesting historical era of the development of milling in America in the early 1800s. Great characters and pace, and fascinating commentary on the complexities of modernisation and its effect on people's lives. ( )

Very good story of finding self and recognizing that our ways are not God's ways. The authors weave a story of the horrid working conditions of early industrialization and how bitterness and anger can cloud our vision of God's will for our life. Lilly loses nearly everything and becomes bitter and vindictive. Through a very loving friend she learns that what she thought was God was only her selfish ways. She soon learns to break through the anger and listen to God. A few loose ends points to a series but a very good book by itself. ( )

Lilly's parents sold their property in East Chelmsford, Massachusetts to the companies starting the mills and renaming the community Lowell. They died; her brother squandered the fortune. Lilly must go to work in the mills she despises. She even feels abandoned by her former boyfriend who went to work for them in management. The novel is about forgiveness. Lilly has a lot of it to do. Some works of Christian fiction seem to be able to weave Christianity better into the characters' lives without becoming preachy. This is not one of them. While I am a Christian and appreciate the lack of profanity in the novel, I would have liked to have had stronger characterization of some of the characters. I would have liked to have seen Lilly's path to forgiveness be a bit more gradual than it was. Ultimately my biggest gripe was with the historical elements of the narrative. The author needed to create an afterward describing where she took liberties that deviated from an accurate portrayal of the early history of the mills. ( )