If you love horses, as I do, and civil war
history, then this Christian Romance is for you. Tamera Alexander, one of my all-time
favorite authors, has done it again. From the first page, you are caught in the
struggles of both hero and heroine to survive an environment hostile to both
for different reasons.
Cullen McGrath finds himself in post-Civil
War Tennessee because it's where his deceased wife wanted them to settle after
fleeing Ireland and trouble with the Thoroughbred Racing authorities there. On
the passage over, he lost both wife and daughter and now he just wants to buy
some land to farm. But everywhere he turns are signs "Irish need not
apply" and others willing to show him the door, literally.
Maggie Linden has lost her mother and then
her four older brothers to the war. Her father is in failing health and their
farm is set to go to auction soon. Maggie's prize possession is the
thoroughbred mare she's raised and trained from a foal to achieve her dream.
By divine appointment, Cullen meets up with
Maggie's father who recognizes the character of the man and realizes that his
needs and theirs intersect. So he makes a proposition to Cullen that involves
Maggie's consent to succeed.
The proposition involves a marriage of
convenience for both parties in which they both might achieve their greatest
hopes; but will their hearts become the biggest prize of all?
Ms Alexander tastefully describes the
intimacies of marriage with sensibility and her descriptions of the struggles
to develop a relationship in marriage are relatable. She also deals with the
atrocities of racism and bigotry and the struggles for women to be accepted in
a male dominated world. I think you'll find you can't put this one down.
I received this book from Netgalley for my
honest review.
