Nice story, 1800s, female school teacher comes to one room schoolhouse in Kansas. Independant, etc. Tangles w/school board over suffrage, her means of teaching. Romance & a bit of religion, but basically a decent read. ( )

NCLA Review -Edythe Amsel is a new school teacher in a small Nebraska town during the 1880s. The town is up in arms over her revolutionary teaching methods and her outspoken ways. We journey along with Edythe as she experiences her first year of teaching in Walnut Hill and see her deal with the many issues and problems that arise. Edythe is an independent woman who is always in control but gradually she learns an important lesson that God is really in control when potential tragedy strikes. Joel Townsend is the guardian to his two nephews and is looking for someone to mother these boys. He has his sights set on Miss Amsel. But does Miss Amsel want to be courted? Although this is a love story of sorts, it is the strong personalities of the main characters and not romance that dominates the pages of this charming prairie story. Kim Vogel Sawyer author of numerous books in this genre demonstrates her ability as a wonderful storyteller. Rating: 3 —MF ( )

Courting Miss AmselBy Kim Vogel SawyerPublished by Bethany HousePublished on January 1, 2011Edythe Amsel is delighted with her first teaching assignment: a one-room schoolhouse in Walnut Hill, Nebraska. Independent, headstrong, and a strong believer in a well-rounded education, Edythe is ready to open the world to the students in this tiny community. But is Walnut Hill ready for her?Joel Townsend is thrilled to learn the town council hired a female teacher to replace the ruthless man who terrorized his nephews for the past two years. Having raised the boys on his own since their parents' untimely deaths, Joel believes they will benefit from a woman's influence. But he sure didn't bargain on a woman like Miss Amsel. Within the first week, she has the entire town up in arms over her outlandish teaching methods, which include collecting leaves, catching bugs, making snow angels, and stringing ropes in strange patterns all over the schoolyard. Joel can't help but notice that she's also mighty pretty with her rosy lips, fashionable clothes, and fancy way of speaking.When Edythe decides to take her pupils to hear Miss Susan Anthony speak on the women's suffrage amendment, the town's outcry reaches new heights. Even Joel isn't sure he can support her newfangled ideas any longer. And if he can't trust her to know how to teach the boys, how can he trust her with his heart? I left this summary from Amazon up because this is what was on the back of the book. I find it to be a little misleading with the actual book itself. It is like one of those movie trailers that shows you all these big important scenes that end up not being so big or important in the book. This was a good book. Being a teacher, it felt a little odd reading a book about another teacher- but I did enjoy it. I liked that Miss Amsel was very independent and free thinking but didn't have it all figured out yet. I enjoyed the romance plot line. I think the only place that I thought was lacking was in the storyline of Miss Amsel's father. I was disappointed that he never made an actual appearance in the book. All in all a very good book. ( )

I have a problem with Ms. Sawyer and it has very little to do with her writing style. Its not often that I read the back of books, I like to be captivated by titles and covers (yes, I'm one of those who judge a book by its cover), but when I agree to write reviews for novels I read the little blurb they offer. I want to read something I find interesting after all, and I only get one choice at a time, so I put my hopes into these quick synopsizes. Each time I have read a novel by Kim Vogel Sawyer I had been completely mislead. That is not to say they are not lovely novels, as they are and I quite enjoy the stories once I get to the heart of them, but the focus in the summary is completely off. I wonder why no one at the publisher's office is annoyed by this. In Every Heartbeat, the other novel I read, the second to last sentence mention the tensions of the world concerning WWI, something that is not even mentioned until the end of the novel. In this novel, Courting Miss Amsel, there seems to be a focus on a trip to see Susan Anthony and the woman's suffrage amendment. Once again, its barely touched upon in the novel and the main focus of the novel? Not even close.
Now that I've gone off on a complete tangent about my pet peeve with Ms. Sawyer's back covers, I have to say that I did enjoy this novel quite a bit. Its not anything to write home about, the storyline is pretty predictable and I wasn't entirely convinced by the sudden change in the characters at the end, but it was an easy enjoyable read. Edythe Amsel is fulfilling a goal of making something of herself. Coming from a less than idealistic home life, teaching seems the perfect answer. However, Miss Amsel isn't exactly what the sleepy town of Walnut Hill, Nebraska excepted and there a quite a few who cry out in opposition to her new, controversial teaching methods. One man, Joel Townsend, may not fully agree with her methods, but sees the value in her lessons. When Edythe steps too far out of the town's comfort zone, however, even Joel questions if he can support her forward thinking ideas. The revelations Sawyer writes about in her characters aren't exactly realistic, and boy are they sudden. But then again, this is Christian fiction and you know what you're getting into before you pick it up. And you should, pick it up. It's light and sweet, with a hint of history thrown in. ( )

My first by this author,not to be my last. A very even tempered paced nice read. Very likable hero and heroine.
Sweet story . ( )