As a Book Reviewer I received a free ebook copy of The Farmer’s Daughter by Lisa R. Howeler and this is my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor any review of this book.

The Farmer’s Daughter by Lisa R. Howeler is Ms. Howeler’s debut novel as well as the first novel in her “A Spencer Valley Chronicles” series. It is the story of the Tanner family with the main focus on Molly Tanner. The story takes place in a small town and on the Tanner family’s dairy farm in rural Pennsylvania.

Times are tough and many of the local farmers are struggling to continue their farming business, and as Molly watches several family friends sell their farms and move on to something else, she begins to grow restless, wondering if farming is all she will ever know. Then Alex, Molly’s brother’s friend and her father’s farmhand begins to show a romantic interest in Molly. This makes Molly uncomfortable as she wonders why he would be interested in her. Like many women in the world, Molly suffers from a low opinion of her physical appearance. The romance that develops between Molly and Alex is sweet and very touching and both characters grow within themselves as their relationship grows.

An accident on the farm has the entire Tanner family wondering how to save the farm and keep it running financially.

I enjoyed everything about this story. Ms. Howeler is a very talented storyteller who obviously knows about farming and the struggles that come with it. In addition, she knows people, and I mean really knows people, not just on a surface level, but deep down inside. Her characters are so well developed and their struggles are so real. As I read, I was reminded of one of my favorite T.V. shows from my childhood, “The Waltons”. Ms. Howeler’s characters and the struggles they faced were reminiscent of the Walton family and their struggles. But, in addition to the struggles, the loving bond of family and the strength of that bond shines through.

Ms. Howeler also did a very good job of creating her setting. She painted pictures in my mind of cows and fields and the barn. One scene includes the birth of a calf and the description gives the reader a very clear picture, not only of the birth, but of the importance and meaning of new life.

I found myself so involved in the lives of the Tanner family and cared so much about what happened to them that they became part of my group of friends and I found the ending bittersweet as I wanted to see how things would turn out, but at the same time, was hesitant to say goodbye to such rich, engaging characters.

The ending doesn’t resolve every aspect of the story, leaving the reader the promise of another story to come, and I look forward to reading the next book as soon as possible. The characters and their circumstances in this story sometimes made me smile, sometimes laugh out loud, and once made me cry. A story that evokes these kinds of emotions are the stories I love best and the ones that will live in my memory.

I highly recommend The Farmer’s Daughter by Lisa R. Howeler to anyone who loves to read stories that touch your heart and that show what it’s like to live with a family that has its struggles but works together to get through them. None of the characters are perfect. They are very much like any of us and are very realistic, which makes the story all the more meaningful.

I will add that there are some steamy romance scenes but nothing in detail and nothing overly explicit.

I give The Farmer’s Daughter a 5 star rating.