A widow and mother of six, Miranda Hanford leads a quiet, private life. When the pastor of her close-knit church announces
his plans to move the entire congregation to another state, Miranda jumps at the opportunity to dissolve ties with Mason
Chandler and his controlling method of
ruling his flock. But then Mason threatens to unearth secrets from her past, and Miranda feels trapped, terrified she’ll
be unable to protect her children.
College professor Jack Hanford is more than surprised when he gets a call from his estranged sister-in-law’s oldest son,
Timothy, informing him that Miranda has taken a serious fall and he has been named legal guardian of her children while
she recovers. Quickly charmed by Miranda’s children, Jack brings some much-needed life into the sheltered household. But
his constant challenging of the family’s conservative lifestyle makes the recovering mother uneasy and defensive—despite
Jack’s unnerving appeal.
As Jack tries to make sense of the mysterious Miranda and the secrets she holds so tightly, Mason’s pressure on her
increases. With her emotions stirring and freedom calling, can Miranda find a way to unshackle her family without losing
everything?
When Sparrows Fall is a very entertaining read. It's message is uplifting and it is filled with characters that speak to
the heart, make you smile, and sometimes make you so angry and frustrated you almost can't bear to read any further. Of
course you have to because you must find out what happens to this injured family and the man trying to save both them and
himself.
Miranda loves her six children and her property in a small Georgia town. Her husband has been dead for two years, and she
is still managing her household, homeschooling and living within the confines of a restrictive lifestyle as advocated by
her dead husband and her pastor. She is thrilled to hear that her pastor will be moving on to a new town until she finds
that he expects everyone, including her, to sell their properties, leave their lives, and follow him. The writing is clean
and flowing, with some sophistication; it certainly never gets in the way of the story. The characters are well developed
with a lot of depth. Miranda has been cowed, but she is neither weak nor stupid. Her children have distinct personalities.
Jack sees himself as a protector but realizes that in his zeal he isn't always right, even if his motives are good.
It's a pleasant page-turner.
When Jack arrives at the rural home, he finds six children that are being home schooled, the girls in old fashioned dresses
and long braids, and although the home has modern conveniences like electricity for lights and the refrigerator, there is
no microwave, TV, stereo, computer and worst of all for Jack no coffee-maker OR coffee. He finds that the mother, Miranda,
and her late husband Carl were involved in a small cult-like church, that preached truly old-fashioned values and that
women were to be meek, quiet, and do what their husbands told them to do. In cases where there isn't a husband, they are
to do what the pastor told the women to do. At this point the pastor is telling ALL the families of his church that he has
been called to have all the church families sell their land and move to another town. Funny thing though, none of the
involved families felt this same calling to sell up and move to another state. Miranda does not want to move and has been
fighting to stay.
Uncle Jack helps to bring the family into the 21st century and shows Miranda that some men can be trusted. His caring for
her and her family gives her the strength to not only tell the preacher that she will not leave her home but exposes the
preacher for the blackmailer and nasty man that he is.
This is nice read.
I received this book for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group. It was not required that I give a positive review,
but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.
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