I loved this wonderful novella! The main characters grabbed my heart right from the start and I was very invested in how things would work out for them.
This author always does a good job of creating such a vivid description of the vastness of of the wilderness! I feel the isolation along with the characters. Adrien and Mary were such interesting people. I loved learning a bit about their personal backgrounds.
Poor Mary had survived a lot of hard situations and I really felt for her. The need to be self-sufficient and strong enough to survive on her own made for what, on the surface, appeared to be a stubborn character. However, there was a lot more to Mary than she outwardly showed. She had a lot to learn about God’s love and Adrien was just the man to help her break free from the hurts of the past. He was a great character.
This novella is the prequel to the Heart of the Mountain series. Adrien and Mary show up later in this series, as well, so it was fun to see how their own romance began.
(5 stars)
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A Christian Historical Romance Novel.
Adrien Lockman is through with the political unrest and bloodshed in his home country of France, so he sets off to the Canadian territory’s mountain frontier, in search of a place where a man can live his own life in peace. The last thing he expects to find is a woman, half-starved and half-frozen in a shack nestled among the towering peaks of the great Rocky Mountains.
Mary Standish thought she’d finally found a place where she was accepted, trapping with her husband for the Hudson Bay Company. But when he dies after a gruesome grizzly fight, she determines to carry on their work. After all, life in these remote mountains is better than enduring the scorn and snubs of “civilized” folk. When she’s forced to face a winter harder than any she’s endured yet, her stubbornness may just be the death of her. Until a stranger appears at her ramshackle door.
Adrien had planned to explore the mountain country all winter before he settles down to build a farm in the spring, but he can’t leave this woman to die in the elements. Even though she seems desperate for him to go. As Mary regains strength, she’s torn between wanting to save her dignity, and craving the respect of this man who’s slipped past her defenses. As the winter worsens, the truth becomes all too real–the only way they’ll survive is together.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Misty M. Beller writes Christian historical romance and is the author of the bestselling Mountain Dreams Series and the Texas Rancher Trilogy.
She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and daughters now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.
God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.
Writing is a dream come true for Misty. Her family—both immediate and extended—is the foundation that holds her secure in that dream.
Britt Reads Fiction 