Book Review: A Matter of Character by Robin Lee Hatcher

About the book:

The Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series delivers exactly what readers have been waiting for—smart, confident women who are not afraid to defy convention, live their own dreams and share their lives if the right man comes along.
 
In A Matter of Character, book three in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series, it’s 1918, and Daphne McKinley, heiress to a small fortune, has found contentment in the town of Bethlehem Springs. But Daphne has a secret.
 
A series of dime novels loosely based on local lore and featuring a nefarious villain known as Rawhide Rick has enjoyed modest popularity among readers. Nobody in Bethlehem Springs knows the man behind the stories … except Daphne.
 
When newspaperman Joshua Crawford comes to town searching for the man who sullied the good name of his grandfather, Daphne finds herself at a crossroads, reassessing the power of her words, re-thinking how best to honor her gifts, and reconsidering what she wants out of life.

My thoughts:

A Matter of Character is the third and final installment in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series, and out of the three books, this one was the one I liked the most. Even though Gwen from book one and Cleo from book two were portrayed as strong, confident women and fun to read about, Daphne's character in this book was the most interesting for me. I liked that she was independent, and that she managed to earn a living for herself as a novelist, even though she really didn't need to worry with any sort of a job since she was already wealthy.

Another enjoyable part of the book was the journal written by Joshua's grandfather. At first, I wondered how in the world this would connect to the rest of the story, and whether or not Joshua would ever know the things written there. Fortunately, this part of the storyline is tied up neatly by the end, and done very well.

I do have one criticism, though. Actually, a couple of criticisms....sorry. :o(

Obviously, this book is a historical romance, so it's not like I didn't expect something to happen between Daphne and Joshua. But when Daphne first acknowledges her feelings for Joshua, it's nothing short of infatuation, in my opinion. Maybe that was the author's intent, but it wasn't at all similar of her other novels when her characters begin to recognize their affections.

The other thing I noticed was the lack of Daphne's writings. If I remember correctly, there were only two small passages that were inserted into the storyline...nothing more. Considering that Daphne's occupation is a major part of the story, both with her novels and her newspaper column, I expected to see more of that included in the story in the form of her articles and snippets from her novels. It would've just added a whole other dimension to the story.

I would recommend this series for those who like a light story with a sweet storyline, and a nice dose of romance. Robin Lee Hatcher was one of the first authors I ever read when I started to read Christian fiction, and her earlier novels to this day are still some of my favorites. Personally, while A Matter of Character was a good conclusion to this series, I sincerely hope that the author's future novels have a little more depth than this series did.

3 Stars

**Many thanks to Zondervan through BookTourSpot for providing a copy of this book for me to review.

**Click here to visit Robin's website, here to purchase this book from Amazon, and here to purchase it from BooksChristian.com.