A solid 2,5 stars.

The third book in the Hope River series is set during the Second World War and midwife Patience Hester returns as the first person narrator. This book focuses mostly on the Hesters' domestic life as a family of six and how the outbreak of WW2 affects the small West Virginia community they live in.

This third book was a disappointment. The narration lacked the eloquence of the first book and we get exposed to one event after another and a lot of characters coming in and telling stories of what they have been up to over the past few years. There is a weak attempt at an overarching plot line, but it's very predictable. There is also a lot of repetition with dialogue and actions from the characters, which made them feel a little one-dimensional.

Harman has tried to make this book work as a standalone read and has chosen to run quick summaries here and there of events that took place in the first two books. Some of the background information is significant and it was sensible to have it recapped but a lot of it bore no relevance to the plot of this book. It ended up looking like clumsy reminiscing from Patience and the other characters.

I wish I could award this a higher rating because I enjoyed the first Hope River novel so much and I am still very fond of the characters and invested in what happens to them (I was delighted to see Bitsy return to Liberty!) Thus, I am fully intending on reading the fourth book in the series.