Charlotte is a determined woman and when the man she wants to marry decides to join the Shakers she is in shock. Then his father brings home a new wife that is determined to get rid of Charlotte. She even replaces her mothers portriat with her own drawn by Adam a sketch artist.On the brink of war in her country and home Charlotte decides to escape to the Shaker community. She soon finds herself adapting to the rules of her community even though her heart belongs to Adam. They write letters to each other during the war and each suffer losses. Charlotte is chosen to help with nursing duties for those wounded. Adam turns out to be one of those in the hospital. They renew their love for each other and Charlotte agrees to marry him. ( )

57200

A story that shows you some of what went on in a peaceful Shaker village in Kentucky, during the Civil War. This series gives reader a glimpse of what it would have been like for those who chose to become a Shaker. It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the lifestyle and acceptance of their beliefs.

Charlotte Vance is a young woman who likes to be in control of what is happening around her, and who has a great love for her family home, Grayson. But in one night her future husband tells her he is joining the "Shaker" movement, her father comes home from a trip with a new, young and deceitful wife, and she kisses a stranger out in the garden.

With war beginning and her father away, Charlotte takes her slave friend and they flee to the Shaker community. But she can't get rid of thoughts of the man in the garden, Adam Wade (who follows the Civil War by drawing sketches for the newspaper). Adam finds out where Charlotte has gone and they start to write letters back and forth as the war rages on. Both Adam and Charlotte will grow in their understanding of what each of them want and will change for the better. A love story that shows both the value of freedom and forgiveness. ( )

Let’s start with the characters. A couple of people in The Seeker will bring out so much irritation in you that you will want to reach into the pages and slap them silly. Or at least I did. One of them redeemed herself; one of them did not. Some of the characters just made me smile any time they shared page-time with my eyes. Sister Martha, Landon, and Aunt Tish were some of those characters.

Now for the romance (because that can honestly make or break a book for me). Here on Goodreads, the author Ann Gabhart said that this book is her “most romantic Shaker book to date“, not an easy thing to do when the Shakers are celibate. Fortunately, the hero of our story – a sketch artist who is covering the Civil War for Harpers’ Weekly – isn’t a Shaker and neither is Charlotte really. She is living among them, though, and since the elders monitor all incoming and outgoing mail (don’t get me started!!) for anything they consider inappropriate it is a bit tricky for Adam to let her know how he feels and vice versa. I thought Ms. Gabhart came up with a very creative way to accomplish this though!! I’m not going to spoil it for you – you’re just going to have to find out on your own.

There were only a couple facets of The Seeker that I felt were less than stellar. First, the letters between Adam and Charlotte while he was embedded in the battles became a bit tedious at times – too much historical detail. I see what the author was trying to do but it just (in my opinion) took away from the story and dragged it on too long. The other thing that bothered me – and it’s a problem I have with the first two books in this series as well – is that, while a reader can clearly see how warped some of the Shakers’ views were, the truth of Jesus’ grace is either glossed over or given just a brief mention. I am not one for a lot of preaching in fiction books – even Christian ones. I figure that if I want some preaching I will listen to some – or read a nonfiction Christian book meant to help me grow in my walk with Jesus. BUT if such a messed-up view of the Bible and God is going to dominate a book as the WRONG way to believe, then I think readers need to see a strong emphasis on the TRUTH to counteract the hopelessness that such falsity leaves in your spirit.

Overall I give The Seeker 4 out of 5 stars! This is the 3rd book in the Shaker series but the books don’t really need to be read in order. Read more of my review here - https://readingismysuperpower.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/review-the-seeker-shaker-... ( )

Charlotte is a Southern belle living on a plantation in Kentucky just before the outbreak of the Civil war. Her world is turned upside down when her father remarries and her new Stepmother arrives--with an agenda that seeks to exclude Charlotte from her beloved home. Charlotte had hoped to marry a neighboring plantation heir and so secure her future, but he decides to join the Shaker community which forbids marriage. Frustrated Charlotte is forced to take drastic actions to protect her interests--and those she cares for--all the while wondering about the sudden attraction a visiting artist has shown in her.
While enjoyable enough, I found parts of this historical tale to be implausible, which annoyed me as I was reading it. I'm sure the description of the Shaker community was accurate enough, but the behavior of it's members, and even Charlotte and her father seemed unlikely. Read this one for a sweet romance that will take you away from reality for a while--just don't expect to feel like it's entirely authentic. ( )