What do you think?
Rate this book
Sarah Agnes Prine #3
The Star Garden
From the bestselling author of These Is My Words comes this exhilarating follow-up to the beloved Sarah's Quilt . In the latest diary entries of pioneer woman Sarah Agnes Prine, Nancy E. Turner continues Sarah's extraordinary story as she struggles to make a home in the Arizona Territory.
It is winter 1906, and nearing bankruptcy after surviving drought, storms, and the rustling of her cattle, Sarah remains a stalwart pillar to her extended family. Then a stagecoach accident puts in her path three strangers who will change her life.
In sickness and in health, neighbor Udell Hanna remains a trusted friend, pressing for Sarah to marry. When he reveals a plan to grant Sarah her dearest wish, she is overwhelmed with passion and excitement. She soon discovers, however, that there is more to a formal education than she bargained for.
Behind the scenes, Sarah's old friend Maldonado has struck a deal with the very men who will become linchpins of the Mexican Revolution. Maldonado plots to coerce Sarah into partnership, but when she refuses, he devises a murderous plan to gain her land for building a railroad straight to Mexico. When Sarah's son Charlie unexpectedly returns from town with a new bride, the plot turns into an all-out range war between the two families.
Finally putting an end to Udell's constant kindnesses, Sarah describes herself as "an iron-boned woman." She wants more than to be merely a comfortable fill-in for his dead wife. It is only through a chance encounter that she discovers his true feelings, and only then can she believe that a selfless love has at last reached out to her. . . .
It is winter 1906, and nearing bankruptcy after surviving drought, storms, and the rustling of her cattle, Sarah remains a stalwart pillar to her extended family. Then a stagecoach accident puts in her path three strangers who will change her life.
In sickness and in health, neighbor Udell Hanna remains a trusted friend, pressing for Sarah to marry. When he reveals a plan to grant Sarah her dearest wish, she is overwhelmed with passion and excitement. She soon discovers, however, that there is more to a formal education than she bargained for.
Behind the scenes, Sarah's old friend Maldonado has struck a deal with the very men who will become linchpins of the Mexican Revolution. Maldonado plots to coerce Sarah into partnership, but when she refuses, he devises a murderous plan to gain her land for building a railroad straight to Mexico. When Sarah's son Charlie unexpectedly returns from town with a new bride, the plot turns into an all-out range war between the two families.
Finally putting an end to Udell's constant kindnesses, Sarah describes herself as "an iron-boned woman." She wants more than to be merely a comfortable fill-in for his dead wife. It is only through a chance encounter that she discovers his true feelings, and only then can she believe that a selfless love has at last reached out to her. . . .
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2007
192 people are currently reading
6858 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,408 reviews
October 18, 2007
I do not reward very many books with a 5-star rating. It has to be just that-amazing! That being said, one of my favorite books of all time is 'These Is My Words' despite the dumb title. The second book in the series, Sarah's Quilt, was good, but no comparison to the first. However, the third in the series is a contender to the first!
I didn't think it could be possible for me to give up my unique and sole-devotion to one Jack Elliot, but in The Star Garden I was able to make room to love one more man, Udell Hanna. As much as the first book is a love story between Sarah and Jack, this is a love story between Sarah and Udell. Somehow Turner has made it possible for the reader to love both men, wish happiness for Sarah even if it means a new love, while not forgetting Jack or the unique place he has.
True to the series there are deaths, births, marriages, calamities, and divisions, but Sarah still reigns supreme as one of literature's (and history's) greatest heroines. Inspiring and touching, I have to take at least a day of reverence before I begin a new book and leave this one behind until I begin the series anew, for the 3rd time.
In short, I place it 2nd place in the series, and wholly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed These is my Words.
I didn't think it could be possible for me to give up my unique and sole-devotion to one Jack Elliot, but in The Star Garden I was able to make room to love one more man, Udell Hanna. As much as the first book is a love story between Sarah and Jack, this is a love story between Sarah and Udell. Somehow Turner has made it possible for the reader to love both men, wish happiness for Sarah even if it means a new love, while not forgetting Jack or the unique place he has.
True to the series there are deaths, births, marriages, calamities, and divisions, but Sarah still reigns supreme as one of literature's (and history's) greatest heroines. Inspiring and touching, I have to take at least a day of reverence before I begin a new book and leave this one behind until I begin the series anew, for the 3rd time.
In short, I place it 2nd place in the series, and wholly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed These is my Words.
May 31, 2022
The final book in the three book series of the Sarah Prine saga puts a nice finish on the tale. Not quite as moving as the previous novels, this one still packs an emotional punch, because you have already invested so much into these characters and care so much about what happens to them from here.
I love the way Nancy Turner spins out the story with so much humor and caring. It is a little over the top to think that all these events would happen to one person, but that is the nature of pioneer life, I suppose, a lot of disasters heaped upon disasters, natural and manmade.
There was one particular passage in the novel that felt as if it were written for me, since I have been the object of a shunning for some time now by someone who handles her problems by refusing to address them. Sarah’s reaction was perfect–how do you get “over and done with your fussing” like that?
I don’t understand this nor cotton to it in any way. I can see being angry with folks. Shoot, I’d about hang Chess on the laundry line any day of the week, but I don't shun him. Shunning’s
no way to get over and done with your fussing. It just drives in a sword that won’t come out unless the person holding it pulls first.
I am a bit sad to say goodbye to Sarah and her family. I am delighted I read the books. I enjoyed them immensely.
I love the way Nancy Turner spins out the story with so much humor and caring. It is a little over the top to think that all these events would happen to one person, but that is the nature of pioneer life, I suppose, a lot of disasters heaped upon disasters, natural and manmade.
There was one particular passage in the novel that felt as if it were written for me, since I have been the object of a shunning for some time now by someone who handles her problems by refusing to address them. Sarah’s reaction was perfect–how do you get “over and done with your fussing” like that?
I don’t understand this nor cotton to it in any way. I can see being angry with folks. Shoot, I’d about hang Chess on the laundry line any day of the week, but I don't shun him. Shunning’s
no way to get over and done with your fussing. It just drives in a sword that won’t come out unless the person holding it pulls first.
I am a bit sad to say goodbye to Sarah and her family. I am delighted I read the books. I enjoyed them immensely.
August 1, 2008
I think I became enmeshed with the whole Prine family, reading these 3 novels. I cried buckets with each of them...by the second book my childrend stopped asking what was wrong and my husband just looked at me and shook his head. I really liked the main character, Sarah Agnes Prine, and identified with her in many ways. I think the first book in this series, These is My Words, remains my favorite, but I surely did want to know what happened to everyone. These novels make you glad to be alive in 2008 and I frequently wondered whether I could have made it in the Arizona territories back in the late 19th, early 20th century. I reckon I don't rightly know.....
February 4, 2013
I'm going to try not to gush here. The Star Garden is the third book Nancy Turner has written about Sarah Agnes Prine, basing the character on her own great grandmother. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that Sarah is almost my very favorite heroine ever. Of course, I will always love Elizabeth Bennett and Ann Elliot, among others. But Sarah sure is up there. Now, neither this book nor its predecessor, Sarah's Quilt, were as wonderful as These Is My Words, the first Sarah book. But I love them almost as much, partly just because I long for more of Sarah's story at the end of each book. Sarah is just such an awesome woman, so real, so full of the faults we all have, yet so strong. Now, I have always loved Louis L'amour novels, and this sure is a western story like that, so maybe not everyone will love them like I do. I found the ending very satisfying. That doesn't mean that I'm not hoping for a fourth....
February 23, 2012
I had such high hopes after reading all the reviews of this book. I really liked These Is My Words, and I actually liked the first part of Sarah's Quilt even better. But towards the end of that book--and most of this book--I felt like Turner was trying to just pack in as much dreadful occurrences as possible. By the end of the story, she'd focused so much on these events--many of which didn't really feel fleshed out (
June 15, 2009
This is the third and final book in the Sarah Agnes Prine trilogy (These Is My Words, Sarah's Quilt). I feel like Nancy Turner redeemed herself with this book. I did not care much for Sarah's Quilt, and I think you could skip right over it and go from These Is my Words to this one. I felt like the former, gritty Sarah was back in this installment. Too many disasters and hardships befell her in Sarah's Quilt--to the point where it bordered on ridiculous. This novel, however, was more realistic, and I felt more connected to Sarah like in These Is My Words. The action starts right away, and there is never a dull moment in this story. Sarah is trying to stay afloat after losing her entire herd of cattle. She has no money, and it's a struggle trying to keep her family fed. She has a houseful with Granny, Chess, her two sons, as well as her brother Harland and his 3 children living with her. She still has her battle with the railroad and neighbor Maldanado to fight as well. Her love-interest, Udell, is no replacement for Jack but supplies a satisfying, more mature love story. Udell is a truly likeable man, and provides Sarah what Jack never could--a stable, dependable presence. I enjoyed Turner's descriptive writing, and all of Sarah's home-timey axioms. Some passages were so touchingly beautiful that they almost moved me to tears ("I dream of land, cut only where streams glistened with birdsong wander through quiet hills burnt hard by the scrape of wind, and of a porch from which a single road leads only homeward"). Although These Is My Words remains my favorite, this novel offers a satisfying conclusion to the life of Sarah Prine.
January 14, 2010
I wonder if I could go back in time and have Sarah Prine Elliott adopt me. Maybe I would be Mary Pearl, the niece that's a bit too feisty for her times. I'm not sure I'd be feisty or strong enough to be Sarah herself.
The Star Garden is the third of this series, a welcome respite from the dark, dreary year chronicled in Sarah's Quilt. I realize that the life of a frontier woman was difficult at best, but the hardships visited upon the Prine family that year were almost too much to bear. The Star Garden is a bit more optimistic; Sarah is pulling herself up by her boot straps to recapture the relative affluence she had enjoyed before her erstwhile nephew Willie arrived in Arizona, and she manages to make some good strides towards that goal.
I have to say that while this book earns every one of its five stars, it still cannot touch These Is My Words, the first in this season. That book was so very compelling, weaving its web around the reader and sucking her into the late 1800s so much so that hearing one's dryer buzzer sound is a harsh jolt back into the 21st century. The Star Garden is almost as good, however, with a much happier ending than is expected. I just wish that Ms Turner had let go of the diary format. After the first book, it just didn't work anymore.
Based on these three novels, I am now counting Nancy E. Turner as one of my favorite authors. I am currently reading her book The Water and the Blood, and it doesn't disappoint either, though I was very sad to bid Sarah Prine goodbye. I only wish Ms Turner were a better known author so that everyone would be able to enjoy her writing.
The Star Garden is the third of this series, a welcome respite from the dark, dreary year chronicled in Sarah's Quilt. I realize that the life of a frontier woman was difficult at best, but the hardships visited upon the Prine family that year were almost too much to bear. The Star Garden is a bit more optimistic; Sarah is pulling herself up by her boot straps to recapture the relative affluence she had enjoyed before her erstwhile nephew Willie arrived in Arizona, and she manages to make some good strides towards that goal.
I have to say that while this book earns every one of its five stars, it still cannot touch These Is My Words, the first in this season. That book was so very compelling, weaving its web around the reader and sucking her into the late 1800s so much so that hearing one's dryer buzzer sound is a harsh jolt back into the 21st century. The Star Garden is almost as good, however, with a much happier ending than is expected. I just wish that Ms Turner had let go of the diary format. After the first book, it just didn't work anymore.
Based on these three novels, I am now counting Nancy E. Turner as one of my favorite authors. I am currently reading her book The Water and the Blood, and it doesn't disappoint either, though I was very sad to bid Sarah Prine goodbye. I only wish Ms Turner were a better known author so that everyone would be able to enjoy her writing.
July 30, 2008
"I wish I knew a word for that kind of righteous ache that weighs down my insides when I do what I know is the right thing to do, though it goes against all my normal leanings." pg. 28 "I tried to remember what Udell had said, about how going toward the future was better than just leaving the past behind." pg. 82 "I think grandchildren are the best part of being a mother. Twice the fun and half the worry." pg. 105 I listened to "These is My Words" on tape and was sorely disappointed when the actress reading it mispronounced "saguaro" and "Chiracahua"! I really enjoyed the story, but was sorry I hadn't read it with my own voice and inflections. The second in the series, "Sarah's Quilt", was a disappointment--too many disasters to even be believable. This third book in the series renewed my enjoyment of the story and the charater of Sarah Agnes Prine. I often related to her struggles and emotions and fatigue! I stopped worrying about whether or not it "really" happened (because it's based on journal entries) and was able to enjoy it even more.
May 13, 2008
Nancy E. Turner is an amazing and talented storyteller. She's taken some of the real-life stories of her own great grandmother and woven them into a magical trio of books that I can only call the grown up Little House of the Prairie.
The series began with These Is My Words, introducing Sarah Agnes Prine as a young girl. It charts her life from her family's move out west by covered wagon and through her
abusive first marriage in a land and at a time that would crush other people.
Sarah's Quilt picks up where the first book leaves off,
following Sarah's struggles to be a female landowner and a single parent and is wrenchingly full of heartbreak and triumph.
The Star Garden wraps the reader back up in Sarah's world where her family is mostly grown, but so have the problems and opportunities facing her.
Sarah is a tough, tender, admirable powerhouse of a woman--any reader will find her difficult to forget.
The series began with These Is My Words, introducing Sarah Agnes Prine as a young girl. It charts her life from her family's move out west by covered wagon and through her
abusive first marriage in a land and at a time that would crush other people.
Sarah's Quilt picks up where the first book leaves off,
following Sarah's struggles to be a female landowner and a single parent and is wrenchingly full of heartbreak and triumph.
The Star Garden wraps the reader back up in Sarah's world where her family is mostly grown, but so have the problems and opportunities facing her.
Sarah is a tough, tender, admirable powerhouse of a woman--any reader will find her difficult to forget.
February 15, 2024
I was sad to reach the end, the final of these three wonderful heartfelt books. I sure am going to miss all of these characters that I have grown to love. I looked forward to reading about the trials and joys of their life in the pioneer Arizona Territory.
I still enjoyed the diary format of the books, especially because the author includes so much detail, and you really get to know the people and the places, and you feel like you are right there with them. It also kept a good timeline of when things were happening for reference, which was helpful.
I loved how she tied up the ending of this last book. There was even a recipe at the very end for a Pecan Pie! How fun!
I listened to this on audible, and the narrator, Laura Hicks was easy to listen to. (14 hours, 4 min)
This trilogy was inspired by the life of the author's great-grandmother, Sarah Agnes Prine.
The author wrote this trilogy, and it should be read in order. My absolute favorite book was the first one.
1. These Is My Words
2. Sarah's Quilt
3. The Star Garden
Highly Recommended! Enjoy! ♡
I still enjoyed the diary format of the books, especially because the author includes so much detail, and you really get to know the people and the places, and you feel like you are right there with them. It also kept a good timeline of when things were happening for reference, which was helpful.
I loved how she tied up the ending of this last book. There was even a recipe at the very end for a Pecan Pie! How fun!
I listened to this on audible, and the narrator, Laura Hicks was easy to listen to. (14 hours, 4 min)
This trilogy was inspired by the life of the author's great-grandmother, Sarah Agnes Prine.
The author wrote this trilogy, and it should be read in order. My absolute favorite book was the first one.
1. These Is My Words
2. Sarah's Quilt
3. The Star Garden
Highly Recommended! Enjoy! ♡
December 17, 2024
The Star Garden by Nancy E Turner is the 3rd and last book in this series. It is a continuation a diary entries that Sarah started when she was young and ended in 1907. A little bit of Hatfield and McCoy in the middle of it. Rapid moving, strong female character driven.
March 16, 2009
This is the 3rd book in the Sarah Agnes Prine series and I love her so of course I loved the book. I am happy she ended up marrying Udell, he is so sweet and he did build her a castle and gave her 'WHAT SHE WANTED' but I still miss Jack! Why did Jack have to die in the first book?????
My only other complaint is that Blessing died, I knew from the very beginning she needed to stay on the ranch with Aunt Sarah!!! WHat a hard time to live in and while this is fiction I am sure it is a true story for more than one person.
I am hoping to find somewhere that these books have been made into movies, I would love to watch this story.
MJ
My only other complaint is that Blessing died, I knew from the very beginning she needed to stay on the ranch with Aunt Sarah!!! WHat a hard time to live in and while this is fiction I am sure it is a true story for more than one person.
I am hoping to find somewhere that these books have been made into movies, I would love to watch this story.
MJ
February 22, 2019
I wish there were more of these books! This one started out with a bang and ended with one. Such great characters and setting in the Arizona wild. Sorry to see this series end.
July 24, 2023
Reread summer 2023. Loved whole series all over again. Appreciated Sarah’s grit and spunk and determination and strength all the more this time around. It’s so easy to absorb myself in the world of the Arizona Territories in the early 1900s.
Finishes out this series in a wonderful way. There were a lot of ways this could have ended, but I think it ended in the perfect way--of course, it's reality (based on the author's great granmother's life) so it had to end this way!
Finishes out this series in a wonderful way. There were a lot of ways this could have ended, but I think it ended in the perfect way--of course, it's reality (based on the author's great granmother's life) so it had to end this way!
December 8, 2021
I am now on a mission to read all of Nancy Turner’s works. Her books are such a pleasure to read, and I always come away from reading her stories feeling better than before I started.
October 14, 2018
I start with summarizing: This story would have been much better if the characters (at least main) were new.
I think (especially after reading some other reviews) that many readers don't agree with me but I had enough of Sarah. I still can't believe it but it is the truth. She was so strong personality in previous books, but although in some aspects here she was strong too, her "I will marry Udell, I'll not, I'll, I'll not..." was very very annoying. To me, it didn't fix with her personality. It looked like Mrs. Turner tried to put more drama into romance.
Moreover, I was annoyed also by all those repeating about the past events. I know, a writer of series is allowed to write the next part also as a standalone. But I think it isn't the strongest side of Mrs. Turner's writing. In Sarah's Quilt, it wasn't so bad because it was part of mourning. But here I had enough.
I think also that the last two deaths or at least the one before last weren't necessary. It was only made to make me cry and not to make the story more real/interesting.
Nonetheless, it was still an interesting view of those times, good historical fiction. If I hadn't read other books by Nancy E. Turner I would have liked it more and I would have given it 4 or even 5 stars. But comparing it to such masterpieces like These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 or My Name Is Resolute I can't give it more than 3 stars.
My recommendation: If you don't know Mrs. Turner's novels read the best two. The other parts of Sarah Agnes Prine series read with low expectations. This way you will not be much disappointed.
I think (especially after reading some other reviews) that many readers don't agree with me but I had enough of Sarah. I still can't believe it but it is the truth. She was so strong personality in previous books, but although in some aspects here she was strong too, her "I will marry Udell, I'll not, I'll, I'll not..." was very very annoying. To me, it didn't fix with her personality. It looked like Mrs. Turner tried to put more drama into romance.
Moreover, I was annoyed also by all those repeating about the past events. I know, a writer of series is allowed to write the next part also as a standalone. But I think it isn't the strongest side of Mrs. Turner's writing. In Sarah's Quilt, it wasn't so bad because it was part of mourning. But here I had enough.
I think also that the last two deaths or at least the one before last weren't necessary. It was only made to make me cry and not to make the story more real/interesting.
Nonetheless, it was still an interesting view of those times, good historical fiction. If I hadn't read other books by Nancy E. Turner I would have liked it more and I would have given it 4 or even 5 stars. But comparing it to such masterpieces like These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 or My Name Is Resolute I can't give it more than 3 stars.
My recommendation: If you don't know Mrs. Turner's novels read the best two. The other parts of Sarah Agnes Prine series read with low expectations. This way you will not be much disappointed.
July 19, 2021
The final volume of Sarah Agnes Prine's chronicle in Arizona territory, near Tucson. Picks up after Sara's Quilt in 1907. This dealt more with relationship issues within the family and a blow-out saga with her feuding neighbor that ends like a movie script.
She said it best at the end that people that lived this way had perseverance and backbone. How to have such hardships and still go on. People were often viewed as not having "feelings". Oh these people felt very deeply, they just didn't have to time to dwell on things because they had to go on. It didn't mean she doesn't cry, get angry, go for time alone, etc. What grit our pioneers had.
She said it best at the end that people that lived this way had perseverance and backbone. How to have such hardships and still go on. People were often viewed as not having "feelings". Oh these people felt very deeply, they just didn't have to time to dwell on things because they had to go on. It didn't mean she doesn't cry, get angry, go for time alone, etc. What grit our pioneers had.
September 29, 2024
I read this book in one day. I couldn’t put it down. This has been such a great series to read - second and third books can be hit and miss, but these were SO well done and fascinating. My husband loves old westerns (Lonesome Dove) and I totally felt like this was a female-lead equivalent.) Read them!!
May 10, 2024
I enjoyed this trilogy and I do recommend reading them in order. I liked how the author, great granddaughter of the main character Sarah Prime, told the story of pioneer times from a female perspective.
December 14, 2021
Third book in this well written series and every bit as absorbing as the first. Draws you in, keeps you there, you become so involved in the characters' lives it's difficult to put the book down. Could have read on and on with a thousand more pages!
March 3, 2009
This book by Nancy E. Turner is the third in the series that started with These Is My Words. This one is almost as good as the first, and both are real page-turners. Sarah Agnes Prine could have been my own great-great-grandmothers, who lived and loved and died in the same part of Southern Arizona. I felt like I was reading my own family history.
Sarah lives outside of Tucson. Someone killed and rustled all her cattle, and she is struggling to take care of her family. A widow, Sarah is out hunting one day and comes across a stagecoach accident. She lets the mules loose, rescues the survivors and hauls the dead into town, delivering them to the Wells Fargo people. Then she has to deal with mumps and influenza, kind neighbors and hateful neighbors, gunfights and injuries, death and carnage, and someone kills all her chickens and salts the neighbor's garden! People want to leave, or they want to move in, or they want her to move out. Should she sell to the railroad? Should she remarry? Can she become a full-time student? If so, she faces doting professors and ornery professors. dishonest teachers and one dirty old man! How can she do this and keep track of things at home?
These books have given me a great respect for the women of the Old West, and this is what I have decided: Our grandmothers had to be tough broads! No room for sissies in the settling of the Arizona Territory. A woman was tough, resourceful, competent and resilient. And she'd better be a good shot, or else she didn't survive. Sarah not only survives; she triumphs!
Sarah lives outside of Tucson. Someone killed and rustled all her cattle, and she is struggling to take care of her family. A widow, Sarah is out hunting one day and comes across a stagecoach accident. She lets the mules loose, rescues the survivors and hauls the dead into town, delivering them to the Wells Fargo people. Then she has to deal with mumps and influenza, kind neighbors and hateful neighbors, gunfights and injuries, death and carnage, and someone kills all her chickens and salts the neighbor's garden! People want to leave, or they want to move in, or they want her to move out. Should she sell to the railroad? Should she remarry? Can she become a full-time student? If so, she faces doting professors and ornery professors. dishonest teachers and one dirty old man! How can she do this and keep track of things at home?
These books have given me a great respect for the women of the Old West, and this is what I have decided: Our grandmothers had to be tough broads! No room for sissies in the settling of the Arizona Territory. A woman was tough, resourceful, competent and resilient. And she'd better be a good shot, or else she didn't survive. Sarah not only survives; she triumphs!
June 1, 2014
I've really loved reading the story of Sarah Prine across these three books. The first was definitely my favorite, but I really liked #2 & #3. I love the strength of her character while still retaining her femininity (although, she would probably argue that point herself).
April 5, 2016
I cannot rave enough about this book and the whole trilogy. I've come to love the main character, Sarah Prine, so much that I can't stand the idea of no more books about her life. I swear I'm going to write Nancy Turner and plead with her to continue the saga. She is just one of the most memorable characters I've ever read about. And frankly all the characters in this latest book are so well drawn and realistic that you sweat bullets for them when they're in danger. And they're in danger a lot in
The Star Garden. It was so exciting in many spots that I'd call it a thriller. It took me hours today to finish off the last 30 pages of the novel, because it was too exciting to put down, but too good to want it to end. What a marvelous fix to be in! Nancy Turner is one of my three favorite historical fiction writers and I will read anything she writes!
The Star Garden. It was so exciting in many spots that I'd call it a thriller. It took me hours today to finish off the last 30 pages of the novel, because it was too exciting to put down, but too good to want it to end. What a marvelous fix to be in! Nancy Turner is one of my three favorite historical fiction writers and I will read anything she writes!
March 27, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. I have loved the series. Of course, my favorite is the first book written "These is My Words". In this book,it took me a little while to become refamiliar with the characters because it's been awhile since I read "Sarah's Quilt". But once I did, I fell in love all over again with the Prine family, and the ever-strong and faithful family matriach - Sarah. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read the first two. I just finished reading the last chapter, and had that a-ha moment - "If Sarah did it, I can overcome lifes challenges too". Definitely worth the read.
June 6, 2016
3.5 stars
So far, 2 really good novels and 2 that don't make the same grade This is one of the latter, though by much less than My Name Is Resolute. Excessive amount of troubles levied on one family - makes Wuthering Heights look almost a feelgood story. This third book might perhaps have been better not written, it seemed like it was there to make an ending rather than for itself entire.
So far, 2 really good novels and 2 that don't make the same grade This is one of the latter, though by much less than My Name Is Resolute. Excessive amount of troubles levied on one family - makes Wuthering Heights look almost a feelgood story. This third book might perhaps have been better not written, it seemed like it was there to make an ending rather than for itself entire.
September 20, 2012
If this is the last in the series of Sarah Prine books, I will be very sad. I could keep reading about her family and all the trouble that seems to follow them forever. The characters are true to life, funny & tough, sensitive & ornery and I love them all. Great story telling novels expertly written.
August 3, 2014
I enjoyed it, but the first novel in the series, These Is My Words, one of my favorite books, was the better. the plot was predictable, the characters good but not exceptional, and I am ready to move on to other authors.
November 6, 2016
a good book on its own but still not as good as the first. For some reason I was not as gripped by the story. But perhaps it is because a i had grown comfortable with the characters as if they were my own family.
February 10, 2019
This novel is the 3rd in the Sarah Agnes Prine series. I have read all 3 of the novels and I think the 1st novel in the series is still my favorite. However, I did like this one better than the 2nd novel in the series. Set in Arizona while it was still a territory, the story of Sarah's life continues with many more hardships, tragedies, and marriages in her family. Much of this novel is centered around her Mexican neighbor Rudolfo Maldonado's schemes at first to gain control some of Sarah's land to allow the railroad to build tracks through it and then later to destroy her family. Interwoven among the hardships and tragedies caused by Rudolfo, there is also a love story between Sarah and Udell Hanna, her new neighbor.
There is definitely a lot of action in this novel but also a lot of soul searching on Sarah's part as she continually has to plan and prioritize what is most important in her life. Sarah is an amazingly strong and intelligent woman. Turner has done an outstanding job in depicting what the life of the early settlers of Arizona faced in trying to establish homes and ranches in the territory.
There is definitely a lot of action in this novel but also a lot of soul searching on Sarah's part as she continually has to plan and prioritize what is most important in her life. Sarah is an amazingly strong and intelligent woman. Turner has done an outstanding job in depicting what the life of the early settlers of Arizona faced in trying to establish homes and ranches in the territory.
June 1, 2020
This was an excellent book! I enjoyed the first two of this series just as much. These novels are historical, about the pioneer woman Sarah Agnes Prine from a girl until in her forties. Her land in Arizona is experiencing a serious drought and she is close to bankruptcy. It doesn't help matters when a long-lost nephew turns rogue and a wealthy land owner whom she doesn't love pursues Sarah as his wife for nefarious reasons. There are many rip-roaring adventures to be discovered in this book.
I admired the protagonist for her amazingly independent streak. As Publishers Weekly mentions, "Part Western, part romance, part imagined history...." it offers great entertainment. I couldn't put it down!
I admired the protagonist for her amazingly independent streak. As Publishers Weekly mentions, "Part Western, part romance, part imagined history...." it offers great entertainment. I couldn't put it down!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,408 reviews