It's three years after Missie LaHaye lost her husband Willie shot in the line of duty as sheriff. She moves back east to her parents Marty Davis and Clark Davis with her young son Mattie. She takes the teaching job. She adopts bitter orphan Belinda who is the last without a home. Her little brother Jacob had been taken by the Pettises looking for a farm hand. Sheriff Zack Tyler falls for Missie.The adoption story is compelling. The overall feel is a bit disjointed especially at the beginning. The story improves as it concentrates more on Belinda and the adoption. That's the more dramatic part and a real tear jerker. This is a sincere faith-based movie. It's the fifth in the series. The TV movie does have its charms but also has its limitations.

The fifth one in the Hallmark's 'Love Comes Softly' movie series. Once again the story skips to a couple of years forward. I remembered last time I said the movie was better than what others thought about it, but this time it was not the same case. It was a little letdown, especially in the first half.After losing the husband, Willie, in the line of duty, Missie and her son Mattie moves back to be near with her parents and to start afresh life. It is a changed town now, less opportunities and more competitive for everything. Missie decline's her parents offer to help her financially. The mother and son rent a small house and settles down with enough earnings to support themselves. Until one day an orphan girl joins them and changes the course of the narration in a new direction."I couldn't save Jenny... And you couldn't save Kathy. But we can save Jacob."The first three films were so good in the series, but I kind of feeling it beginning to decline as the rest of the movies followed, especially since the previous one. It was so wonderful to introduce some interesting characters, but did not capitalised with the fetchable scenes. In this, the second half was so much better than the first. The movie regained its strength because of what came forth. Otherwise, it would have been the worst in the series, but still it is like the least satisfying film by far.Eliminating the character, Willie, was severely criticised from all the quarters, that mean the movie is not following the book as it should have been. I think being accurate to the book might have brought the justice. But I won't come to any conclusion comparing with both the format since I have not read the book. They might have thought changes could give a new look for those who have read the book, but seems the idea did not clinch well.The two new characters and their quest were the highlight. Some of the issues it talked were inspired by the real ones. From the societal perspective that was a good thing. Kind of refreshes from the regular perspective of the storytelling like ranch, school, especially deaths. Yep, so far, the series had deaths in each film, but none in this one. There was one prior to this story commence, which was kind of told in a flashback or from recollecting the memory. Anyway, it was a passable product, like as always hoping to get better in the next.6½/10

While I appreciate having decent,wholesome movies to watch, the movies based on the Janette Oke "Love Comes Softly"series are such a disappointment. I know some of the messages suggest "if you can just get past the books" you can enjoy the movies. I cannot seem to do that. I love those books and do not understand why it is so hard to make movies that align more with stories and plots in them. I know some books are hard to make into movies and need some dramatization, but I don't think these books need THAT much help. I watched the first three but by movie number four, I'm reading the back of the DVD and I'm thinking "No thank you!" It really is a shame, these could have been terrific movies.

I wasn't really looking forward to seeing this latest addition to the "Love" series but curiosity got the better of me. I wasn't thrilled with this movie at all. Killing off the character of Willie LaHaye was a really dumb thing to do because his character does not die in the books! The scene where they show Willie getting killed was really poorly done. They sure didn't need to be showing that one over and over again. There was so much of the movie that didn't seem right. Like Missie and Zachs relationship was pretty much non-existent throughout the whole movie but at the end she ends up marrying him. They knew one another for what a month? I know in LCS Clark and Marty knew one another for like two days or whatever when they married but the whole Zach/Missie thing didn't seem right. He just kept popping up from out of nowhere - like the writers didn't know what to do with him.Missie losing her necklace was another rather stupid part. I know the necklace was originally given to her by Marty in Love Comes Softly but you'd think she would have treasured and guarded it with her whole heart being it was the last thing that Willie gave to her before he died. I am saying that because he bought it back for her at the end of LAJ. You'd think she would have looked a lot harder for the necklace then she did being it meant so much to her. What happened to Henry and Melinda or Cookie and Scottie? Where are Jeff and Aaron and Arnie Davis? The three of them aren't even mentioned once in the movie but are mentioned on hallmarkchannelpress.com as taking over Missie's ranch. The ranch isn't talked about once or even seen for that matter! Another annoying thing was Clark and Marty's house. When Clark, Missie, and Maddie all pulled up in the wagon I was like didn't they just leave there? The house is Missie and Willie's house with different windows and a porch stuck on the front of it. I was expecting the house to be like the one from LCS or LEP. Did they think fans wouldn't notice? What was up with Marty? There really was no explanation as to what her "condition" was. Was she supposed to be sick or pregnant? They never did say. We'll probably never really know what was/is wrong with her because the next movie Love's Unfolding Dream takes place quite a few years after Love's Unending Legacy.This movie was a lot better then Love's Abiding Joy but I was still disappointed with it. There were to many loose ends. I felt like I was watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie. I know that some things need to be changed to make the transition from book to movie possible but these movies are getting so out there.