Ripples Along the Shore by Mona Hodgson

Can a War Widow Escape Her Grief—and Find God’s Promise—on a Wagon Train West? 
When Caroline Milburn steps off the boat and back into her hometown of St. Charles, MO, part of her wishes she could step right back on board and sail away. St. Charles, though home to her beloved friends and quilting circle, hasn’t felt like home since the death of her husband. And living with her sister, Jewell’s family hasn’t provided much balm for her grieving heart. Caroline knows something needs to change—but for now she’s stuck sharing her sister’s home, and enduring the anger and bitterness of her brother-in-law.
 
But change is brewing in St. Charles. A group of brave souls are preparing to head west on the Boones Lick Wagon Train, led by the mysterious and handsome Garrett Cowlishaw. Despite her dislike for Mr. Cowlishaw, who served as a Confederate soldier in the war that killed her husband, Caroline is tempted to join the wagon train and start fresh somewhere new.
 
When the lovely young widow makes her intentions to travel west known, Garrett Cowlishaw forbids her—a single woman—to travel with them. Will one man’s prejudice destroy Caroline’s hope for a new future? Or will the ripples of God’s love bring the answer she needs? -Amazon.com

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Ripples Along the Shore  written by Mona Hodgson is the third installment of her series The Quilted Heart.  This novella continues the story of Mrs. Bratenberg's quilting group and the ladies within it. The reader is given updates of Emilie Heinrich and Quaid McFarland featured in the second novella and other characters as well. This third novella; however, focuses more on Caroline Milburn who learns that her husband has died in the Civil War. She struggles to move on with her life and learns to cling to God's will for her future. 

This novella seemed shorter than the last one. The length of the story did not make it less worth reading, but it did make me eager to read Hodgson's upcoming book Prairie Song the first in her Hearts Seeking Home series which will come out in August of this year. Supposedly in this series, the lives of those in The Quilted Heart will continue. Especially the stories of those who are journeying west in Garrett Cowlishaw's wagon train (which was featured in Ripples Along the Shore. 

I enjoyed the budding relationship between Caroline Milburn and Garrett Cowlishaw which included more banter than heart-felt words in this novella. I hope they will be featured in a novel of their own to finish off their soon-to-be romance. From the novella I could ascertain that both characters have a lot of emotional baggage to work through before they can truly be together.

I hope that the novels will be even better than the novella series. I look forward to reading about these characters in more depth and length as only a novel can accommodate.