Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Back in the Saddle by Ruth Logan Herne

My favorite part of this book is its location – Washington State. What a treat to read a novel mentioning towns I've visited many times.

The location is in eastern Washington, near the Cascade Mountains. The Staffords have a huge cattle ranch there. Sam Stafford is ill and his sons reconnect as they rally around him. Colt is the oldest and returns from New York. Once a successful fund manager, he's back home to recover from his financial disasters. Nick is already at the farm, having kept it going while the other brothers left. The youngest, an adopted brother and successful western singing star, even makes an appearance.

This is a novel about relationships. Sam's wife died while the boys were young and he did not do the best job of being a father. In poor health, he has found peace with God in his saving faith in Jesus. But it will take lots of forgiveness from his sons before he'll have peace with his boys.

A mystery character is Angelina, the ranch cook and housekeeper. We find out she is an ex-detective with the Seattle police. She's keeping herself and young son out of sight. There is a story that needs to be told there.

A romance blossoms between Colt and Angelina but there is a great deal of relationship work that needs to happen first. Then a disaster hits the town and the future is dark unless Colt can pull his family together.

This is a nice novel about people coming to understand what is really important in life. I recommend it to readers who enjoy stories of life transformation, character development and romance.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Ruth Logan Herne has more than a half million books in print. This novel is the first in a new western romance series. She and her husband live in upstate New York.

Multnomah, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.

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