As a middle schooler, I loved reading Janette Oke novels, and I have also loved the somewhat recent Hallmark movies (and TV show) that are based on Oke’s books. Out of all of the Janette Oke novels I read in middle school, I would say that my favorites are the four novels in A Prairie Legacy series: The Tender Years, A Quiet Strength, A Searching Heart, and Like Gold Refined. And my favorite standalone books of Janette Oke would probably be Roses for Mama and A Woman Named Damaris.

Oke’s newest novel, Where Hope Prevails, is the third book in the Return to the Canadian West series. It is co-written by Oke’s daughter, Laurel Oke Logan. The Return to the Canadian West series is a spin-off of the Canadian West series. For the purposes of this post, I’m going to refer to them as Series 1 and Series 2.

Series 1 focuses on Elizabeth Thatcher, a wealthy woman from eastern Canada who travels to the Canadian West to teach school. She ends up falling in love with a [spoiler alert!] Canadian Mountie.

Similar to Series 1, Series 2 focuses on Elizabeth’s niece, who is also named Elizabeth Thatcher (though she is nicknamed Beth). Like her aunt, Beth is a wealthy woman from eastern Canada who travels to the Canadian West to teach school. And she also ends up falling in love with a [spoiler alert!] Canadian Mountie. So if you like the formula of Series 1, you’ll like Series 2.

The great thing about Where Hope Prevails – along with Janette Oke’s other books – is that the theme of Christianity is front and center. It isn’t just something in the background that is marginally woven into the stories. The people in this story have faith – and the characters that we are inclined to root for have high character.

You can find Where Hope Prevails here.