Canteen Dreams by Cara Putman

I remember when Cara joined my critique group a couple of years ago. She was pretty green, yet she had a fire (sparked by Colleen Coble) that made her glow. Despite all the red I returned with her pages she plodded on, learned and grew as a writer. She went to her first conference not planning to pitch, but then God gave her an idea. She talked with an editor and to my surprise and astonishment whipped out the first draft in about a month. Honestly, I thought to myself, “there’s no way that book can be any good. She wrote it too quickly,” but I’ve been slowly learning that if God wants it written and published, it will be.

And it was. I was there when her contract was offered to her at the ACFW conference. It was an incredibly hard time for me. God had told me to stop writing for a season. That my priorities were off. To have my critique partner get a contract should have been a moment of rejoicing for her, instead it was a time of sadness and I hate to say it jealousy and questioning for me.

Why had she gotten a contract before me ? I’d been working much longer than she had. When was it going to be my turn? Since I could remember, all I’ve ever wanted to do was write. Why hadn’t my dreams come true

Well, for one thing I didn’t have a finished manuscript. Cara did. If you want to read more about how God delivered me from jealousy it’s somewhere in my blog. I’m so grateful now to actually be able to rejoice when friends get contracts, and when they do, I hear God whisper “your time will come.”

BACK COVER:

In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, Audrey Stone wants to help in the war effort. But what’s a young schoolteacher from Nebraska to do? When her community starts a canteen at the train station, Audrey finds her place. She spends nearly every spare moment there, offering food and kindness to the soldiers passing through. Despite her busyness, Audrey does allow some time to get to know a handsome rancher.

Willard Johnson worries about his brother who joined the navy to get off the ranch and see the world. When Willard’s worst fear is confirmed, he feels he must avenge by enlisting himself. But will his budding relationship with Audrey survive the war? Or will one of the many soldiers at the canteen steal her away from him? Can two such determined people find their place in the war and with each other?

REVIEW:

I’m not much of a romance reader, but I can honestly say I enjoyed this story. The characters came alive as well as the time period. It was interesting to see how World War II affected the lives of those far from the fighting. I can tell the book was well researched which adds to the believability of the story. And it was fun to see the romance grow between Audrey and Willard despite the many obstacles.

Sometimes when I read books the “writing mistakes” jump off the page at me. In Canteen Dreams I didn’t get distracted by the writing because it was really good. The story moves and is a touching tale based loosely on Cara’s grandparents’ story. I highly recommend this to romance historical lovers and anyone else wanting a sweet, quick read!

Cara is deep into writing book three in this series, and I’ll definitely be reading those as well!