Tempest's Course by Lynette Sowell - REVIEWED

About the Book:
Woven with stories from the past, the Mariner’s Compass quilt brings a new direction for Kelly and Tom.Kelly Frost, a textiles conservator, is invited to the Massachusetts coastal town of Fairhaven to restore the centuries-old Mariner's Compass quilt. But there is one stipulation: she must live and work in Grey House, a former whaling captain's home, where the quilt is stored. There she meets Tom Pereira, the caretaker of Grey House, whose heart seems as hard as the rocky Massachusetts coastline. Over the long-lit months as Kelly works to restore the quilt, she is buoyed by occasional afternoon visits from Tom and other Fairhaven town members, and is drawn into their lives. And each night, as she reads stories in a daily journal penned by Mary Grey, she learns details about her newfound community members that help her see that their lives are as vivid and interwoven as the quilt pieces she is working to restore. But, when Kelly discovers a truth about Tom’s heritage hidden in the journal, she must decide if keeping the past to herself is the only way to ensure the hope of a future with Tom.My Thoughts:

“What are you doing God?”  (p. 108)

Tom Pereira asks this question about half-way through Lynette Sowell’s Tempest’s Course, but it is a question that also haunts Kelly Frost as she attempts to restore an antique quilt.  Both of these characters have to deal with very traumatic life circumstances throughout the book, and as believer’s, they begin to question whether or not God is even interested in the outcome of their circumstance. Their journey is circuitous to say the least, and showcases God’s redemptive grace in many ways.

I am not familiar at all with Kelly Frost’s line of work – restoring antique textiles.  That skill alone was fascinating to me.  An easier hurdle to understand was Tom’s physical malady and its resulting frustration and limitations.  Their paths cross quite unexpectedly…or maybe it was more orchestrated than they knew…..there are many life circumstances that are revealed through a couple of unexpected sources…and all of the pieces come together rather dramatically at the end.

I know this is the Quilts of Love series, so the ending was not entirely unexpected.  The path to the ending, was anything but! Pretty serious obstacles present themselves in a fairly rapid succession, and the end result is satisfying.  I will say this though - the circumstance Kelly wound up in the middle of – the circumstance that preceded her in the life of Mary Gray – was uncomfortably familiar.  I’m afraid I would have burned the journal and wouldn’t have been any more forgiving than Mrs. Peyton.  Well, enough said.  I know everyone deserves grace, but from my vantage point, it’s a good thing I’m not God. J (still a pretty raw subject in my life)

So I’m happy to recommend this novel and am thankful we serve a God of second chances!

About the Author:

Lynette Sowell is the Carol Award-winning and ECPA best-selling author of more than fifteen titles, including A Season of Change and Tempest’s Course, part of Abingdon’s Quilts of Love line. When Lynette is not writing, she works as a medical editor and part-time newspaper reporter. Born in Massachusetts and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Lynette makes her home in Copperas Cove on the doorstep of the Texas hill country with her husband, their Texas heeler, and a duo of cats. She loves traveling, reading, cooking, watching movies, and is always up for a Texas road trip. Visit her online at LynetteSowell.blogspot.com.