Enjoy reading these second three romances inspired by the 1878 total solar eclipse. In the first book, Mail Order Blythe, Eli Morgan’s mother gives him two letters from prospective brides. Eli promises to write before the end of summer. Once he finds the woman he chooses to marry, he convinces his two professor friends to each take a letter and send a response--as wedding gifts.
FIGGY PUDDING BY FRANCINE – Francine waited all summer for a response to her letter from the university instructor. Knowing he planned to view the 1878 total solar eclipse, she decides to escort her student, Lila, to the girl’s Denver home so she can also view the eclipse. After months of correspondence with a different professor, she travels to Iowa City over Christmas break to meet Jason in person. She brings her signature figgy pudding.
Jason, astronomy professor at the University of Iowa, is drawn to Francine. However, the birth of Eli and Blythe's baby forces him to realize he still grieves the deaths of his first wife and their son. He understands Francine is unwilling to live in another woman’s shadow. Will he resolve his feelings, or will he lose her? Perhaps finding the lucky coin in his serving of figgy pudding will help him put things in perspective.
The epilogue touches on the total solar eclipse on January 1, 1889.
ELLIE – After her father died, Ellie felt cast aside. Even her letter to a prospective husband got passed to another man. She likes Rand well enough, especially once she realizes his specialty is paleontology, not astronomy. Was digging for dinosaur bones that different from searching for semi-precious gems like she did with her father? If only Rand’s letters offered hope that their relationship would move beyond friendship. To escape an unwanted marriage, along with her gem collection, she flees to Iowa City. Will she convince Rand to marry her? If not, will he be willing to help her start over?
Rand has no desire to marry. A wife would insist he stay home instead of spending his summers on dinosaur digs. On his way to Como Bluff, he writes to tell Ellie not to expect another letter for months. Mere weeks into the dig, he learns Eli Morgan, who foisted Ellie’s first letter onto him, sent her to join him. Rand has no intention of allowing her to stay. His student assistants, realizing she can cook, beg him to let her stay. Will Rand find more than dry bones of creatures lone dead on Como Bluff?
LOVING LILA – Lila was sixteen when she traveled home to Denver with Francine. With her teacher, she viewed the 1878 solar eclipse and met famed female astronomer, Margaret Mitchell. She loved literature more than science and wrote a children’s book to explain solar eclipses and why people should not fear them. Years later in Iowa, she completed her teaching certificate, but intends to earn her four-year degree. Her plans change when she is called home because of the death of her father.
David is escorting his three young half-siblings from New York to their home in Littleton, near Denver. He sees an annoying, middle-aged drummer pester a young woman dressed in black. David boldly seats himself and his rambunctious family around the young woman. Lila wins the children’s hearts by reading a book about a solar eclipse she wrote years earlier. Although he must return to his job constructing the High Line Canal, David cannot walk away, especially once he learns Lila was rejected by her conniving stepmother after refusing to give in to the woman's demands regarding her inheritance. David knows Lila intends to return to her classes in Iowa. Can he convince her to stay in Littleton and build a life with him and his family instead?
Be sure to read the first book in the companion boxset, Eclipsed by Love, Books 1-3.
Genre: Inspirational
FIGGY PUDDING BY FRANCINE – Francine waited all summer for a response to her letter from the university instructor. Knowing he planned to view the 1878 total solar eclipse, she decides to escort her student, Lila, to the girl’s Denver home so she can also view the eclipse. After months of correspondence with a different professor, she travels to Iowa City over Christmas break to meet Jason in person. She brings her signature figgy pudding.
Jason, astronomy professor at the University of Iowa, is drawn to Francine. However, the birth of Eli and Blythe's baby forces him to realize he still grieves the deaths of his first wife and their son. He understands Francine is unwilling to live in another woman’s shadow. Will he resolve his feelings, or will he lose her? Perhaps finding the lucky coin in his serving of figgy pudding will help him put things in perspective.
The epilogue touches on the total solar eclipse on January 1, 1889.
ELLIE – After her father died, Ellie felt cast aside. Even her letter to a prospective husband got passed to another man. She likes Rand well enough, especially once she realizes his specialty is paleontology, not astronomy. Was digging for dinosaur bones that different from searching for semi-precious gems like she did with her father? If only Rand’s letters offered hope that their relationship would move beyond friendship. To escape an unwanted marriage, along with her gem collection, she flees to Iowa City. Will she convince Rand to marry her? If not, will he be willing to help her start over?
Rand has no desire to marry. A wife would insist he stay home instead of spending his summers on dinosaur digs. On his way to Como Bluff, he writes to tell Ellie not to expect another letter for months. Mere weeks into the dig, he learns Eli Morgan, who foisted Ellie’s first letter onto him, sent her to join him. Rand has no intention of allowing her to stay. His student assistants, realizing she can cook, beg him to let her stay. Will Rand find more than dry bones of creatures lone dead on Como Bluff?
LOVING LILA – Lila was sixteen when she traveled home to Denver with Francine. With her teacher, she viewed the 1878 solar eclipse and met famed female astronomer, Margaret Mitchell. She loved literature more than science and wrote a children’s book to explain solar eclipses and why people should not fear them. Years later in Iowa, she completed her teaching certificate, but intends to earn her four-year degree. Her plans change when she is called home because of the death of her father.
David is escorting his three young half-siblings from New York to their home in Littleton, near Denver. He sees an annoying, middle-aged drummer pester a young woman dressed in black. David boldly seats himself and his rambunctious family around the young woman. Lila wins the children’s hearts by reading a book about a solar eclipse she wrote years earlier. Although he must return to his job constructing the High Line Canal, David cannot walk away, especially once he learns Lila was rejected by her conniving stepmother after refusing to give in to the woman's demands regarding her inheritance. David knows Lila intends to return to her classes in Iowa. Can he convince her to stay in Littleton and build a life with him and his family instead?
Be sure to read the first book in the companion boxset, Eclipsed by Love, Books 1-3.
Genre: Inspirational
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Used availability for Zina Abbott's Eclipsed by Love: Books 4-6