Threads of Grace by Kelly Long

From the publisher: "Grace's autistic son needs a life that is safe and consistent. Seth wants to leave his flirting days behind him and settle down.

Deep in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, the beautiful and weary Amish widow, Grace Beiler, is not looking for a husband—especially one so much younger than her. But handsome and smitten Seth Wyse stumbles upon a way to help her and they marry to keep Grace’s autistic son safe from his ill-intentioned uncle.

Grace soon discovers that she is far from immune to her young husband’s experienced charm and realizes that her first marriage has not destroyed her capacity for love.

Seth Wyse seeks counsel from his older brother, Jacob, when playing the game of pursuing his wife becomes more dangerous to both his heart and life than he ever imagined.

Yet God can give Grace and Seth a passion for family and each other that teaches them the ways of the Master Quilter through the tangled and tender threads of their lives."

I have to admit that when I first read the blurb about this book, I waived about selecting it to read.  It seemed like it was more about Seth's charms and physical romance of a younger man marrying an older woman.  But I was very happily surprised.  First off a three year difference is not that much of a difference and the story centered more on God's grace.  

The title of the book does well for the story.  It is a about grace, God's grace, that He gives us over and over.  And while we may not understand all the pain and heartache that happens in life--God is there to cover us with His love and grace.  I really appreciated the relationship the characters had with God.

I chose to read this book, in a large part, due to the fact that the main character had a son with autism.  I was curious how they would portray and handle it.  Long did a good job and showing the intensity of love and strength of the family around Grace's son.

The relationship between Seth and Grace was actually very beautiful and tender.  It was more about patient love and healing in God's grace.  

The only thing I didn't really like was the lose ends and competition that Violet and Alice's stories played.  I didn't see Alice as an essential character, and while the author might be preparing readers for a story about Violet, it seems also a minor distraction.  But that it not a huge deterrent   

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review.