Pearl is a Chicago-born heiress whose father inexplicably begins a campaign to marry her off to a man she doesn't like. To escape her father, Pearl goes out west to teach in a frontier town, encountering characters from the previous novel.

While I enjoyed Pearl, I admit I wanted to read more about her and a little less about Ruby and Opal, and *Gasp* Rand. Unfortunately the author divides this book into several different narratives each from a different character's point of view. Also, we still must endure the Rand/Ruby romance in this book, which I find rather generic and boring.

There were two things I didn't care for in the book. One, it was a tad preachy. I realize this is Inspirational fiction, but its quite easy to show the characters acting Christian without having God talk to the characters on a regular basis. Secondly, I didn't like how the author treated the attempted rape of Ruby by Jed Black, and Ruby's agonizing about whether she 'truly forgives' him or not. Please sister. The man tried to rape you. Why do you still have him hanging around the hotel? While I can appreciate the Bible's message on forgiving those who trespass against you, that doesn't mean you have to allow people who assault you put you in danger again. At the very least, Jed Black should've been thrown out of town and his crime made public so other women could be wary- Not telling the other women of the household that the guy tried to rape her, is doing a disservice to her employees, but especially her little sister. Sorry, forgiveness is nice, but being safe is more important, and people who try to rape, usually do it again. Drinking or no.

Overall, a great book, except for the Jed Black subplot. I particularly liked Pearl and Karl. A+++

As someone else has already said, Ms. Snelling does a fantastic job of describing everything so well that it is like you are really there. The people and places really drew me in so that I couldn't wait to see what another day would be like at Dove House. I honestly felt like I was part of their everyday lives, and I loved it!

The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because the ending was a bit too abrupt. I feel like the love story of Pearl and Carl wasn't developed quite enough. However, I was able to forgive that, since I felt that the story was more about the goings-on at Dove House rather than just the one main character.

Pearl is a wonderful book. As things are running smoothly at Dove House, Pearl's homelife is becoming a train wreck. She escapes to the West and Dove House. She is welcomed and friends are made all around. The characters are developed well and you become attached quickly. The only bad part is the ending. It's too abrupt and the book just kind of stops - it doesn't end.