Reviewing: Hope's Highest Mountain by Misty M Beller

...from the publisher...

Ingrid Chastain readily agreed to accompany her father to deliver vaccines to a mining town in the Montana Territory. She never could have anticipated a terrible accident would leave her alone and badly injured in the wilderness. When rescue comes in the form of a mysterious mountain man who

Micah Bradley left his work as a doctor after unintentionally bringing home the smallpox disease that killed his wife and daughter. But his self-imposed solitude in the wilds of Montana is broken when he finds Ingrid in desperate need of medical attention, and he's forced to face his regret and call on his doctoring skills once again.

Micah can't help but admire Ingrid's tenacious determination despite the severity of her injuries, until he learns the crate she brought contains smallpox vaccines to help quell a nearby outbreak. With Ingrid dead set on trekking through the mountains to deliver the medicine--with or without his help--he has no choice but to accompany her. As they set off through the treacherous, snow-covered Rocky Mountains against all odds, the journey ahead will change their lives more than they could have known.  
tends her injuries, she's hesitant to put her trust in this quiet man who seems to have his own wounds.

...my thoughts...

Misty M. Beller's Hope's Highest Mountain is a well written and compelling story. The premise of the book is not one I normally select but the description and setting caught my eye. The author drew me in within the first few pages. I could feel Ingrid's wariness as she submitted to this strange man's care.  He was so different than anyone she had ever met.  Micah was a reluctant caregiver who overcame his own self doubts and made healing Ingrid's injuries his priority.  Again and again he took up her challenges, first providing for her care and then forging a difficult path to deliver the vaccines.  I felt the cold and shivered as Ingrid and Micah traveled under less than ideal circumstances through the mountains.

Throughout their journey Micah was tested.  His courage and willingness to stretch his will to care for Ingrid was inspiring, considering his long held feelings of guilt over the deaths of his wife and daughter. Micah is my favorite character in this book.  Ingrid's determination, while admirable, wasn't practical, considering her injuries and the terrible weather conditions for travel. However, Micah risked even more as he tirelessly planned and carried out their journey to the mining town.  It was dangerous. She was severely injured and the two combined made the journey all the more treacherous. The inner turmoil for him was just as much a struggle. He escaped to this life of solitude for the very reasons she was tasking him with.

This book is for the reader who likes adventurous journeys with that little added touch of romance.  I have not read and of Misty M Beller's books before, but this will no doubt not be the last.  Many thanks to Bethany House for the opportunity to read this book for review.  My opinions are my own.

Reviewing Trusting Grace by Maggie Brendan

I recently finished reading Trusting Grace, Book three of the Virtues and Vices series by Maggie Brendan.  It is a story of one man's journey to let go of the past and learn to trust again.  It is also a story of a young widow who has all but giving up her dream of becoming a wife once more with the children she longs for. But more than this, it is also the story of second chances at life, love and happiness.

Grace Bidwell's lot in life shifted dramatically when her husband died and her father became disabled.  The farm her husband left behind is her livelihood. She has a potato crop to get in the ground and she can't do it alone.  Posting a help wanted notice in the mercantile seems like her best option to hire a suitable farm  hand.  Taking a chance like this could backfire and net a scoundrel for an employee but Grace had very few options to draw from.

Robert Frasier is stranger in town looking for work.  He needs to support the three children his late wife left behind.  She never told him about the children, nor her illness.  Saddled with this responsibility after losing his wife and then his farm, he and the children roamed the countryside together, living off the land until stopping in the Gallatin Valley in Montana.  His luck begins to change when hires on to help Grace with the crop. Robert promised to stay only until the crop was in but what he found on the farm was much more than he bargained for.

The setting for this book is richly described and the reader can almost reach up and touch the forever blue skies of Montana.  The characters are well developed with thoughts and concerns befitting of a time when the west was getting settled and communities began growing.  From hoeing the fields to unpacking merchandise at the mercantile it feels like you are right there planting the potatoes with Robert or watching Grace bake rhubarb pies with the girls.  Maggie Brendan is a very descriptive writer who keeps the reader interested in her books with colorful narrative and lively characters.

I enjoyed reading Trusting Grace for many reasons. It is set at a time when there were so many possibilities.  Montana was an exciting place to be after the Civil War. There was an air of being in a modern town with cultural experiences and a dashing hoodlum who causes havoc one can expect from the wild west!  Times could be rough when folks relied on the weather for their livelihood but the rewarding ending to this story are encouraging.