At morning's light

Snelling's textured latest Home to Green Creek romance (after Land of Dreams) follows a widow as she starts a new life in the Midwest. In 1890, Maya Bredesen is set to leave Norway for America with her husband, Einer, when he dies in a storm. A devastated Maya decides to make the trip nonetheless, but arrives at her cousin Amalia's Iowa boardinghouse severely ill and angry at God for her misfortune. Upon realizing she's pregnant, Maya's buoyed by the renewed sense of connection to her late husband and regains hope. Things get complicated, though, when she bonds with her tall, selfless neighbor Eben Miller, with whom she discusses faith, his family struggles, and her heartbreak. Unsure what to do with such feelings only months after losing her husband, Maya wrestles with what it means to start over and rediscover happiness. Snelling paints a richly detailed historical backdrop and perceptively renders the tension between Maya's competing senses of loss and hope. Bolstered by plot threads carried over from previous installments, this immersive outing will satisfy series fans and new readers alike. (Dec.)