Reviewing: Depending On You by Melissa Jagears

 ...from the publisher...

Can the joy and hope of Christmas restore their love before it’s too late?

Leah Whitsett’s life was ideal until the disastrous day she nearly died because of her husband’s deceit. When he returns home weeks

before Christmas, she knows the best gift she can give him is forgiveness, but how can she relinquish her hard-won independence knowing he plans to turn their family’s life upside down again?

Bryant has always known his wife was a gift he’d never deserved, but how can he provide for her in a town that no longer wants anything to do with him? He longs to atone for the misery he’s put his loved ones through, but when he brings a family member home for the holidays, he and Leah may end up even further apart.

With emotions high and their marriage at stake, will the season bring the hope they need…or are their rifts too large to mend?

...my thoughts...

Depending On You by Melissa Jagears is a story of forgiveness and second chances. This is book 3 in Melissa's Frontier Vows series, and I was happy to learn that Leah's story was about to be told.  Left for dead by some hired men exacting payment for her husband's dastardly deeds, I wondered what would become of her.  She had always been a devoted wife and mother and clearly didn't receive any of what she experienced for her husband's cowardly deeds.  Now, her husband Bryant is released from prison only to find Leah distant and not ready to welcome him home with open arms.  

She lost everything because of him.  Now running the local laundry, she has had to start from scratch, something Bryant would have to do too, only he has the added stigma of being an ex-convict and hard to hire. Bryant was humbled, and willing to work at any job to start over in a town that has a long memory when it comes to trusting an untrustworthy man.

Leah was not sure she would ever allow him into her heart again, but she allowed that he was a loving father.  Witnessing her daughter's marital struggles, Leah was touched by the ways Bryant's fatherly influence guided his daughters.  I could write on about the story line, but why spoil a good book for new readers?  I recommend this book to all who enjoy Melissa Jagear's books and hopefully to those who are looking for a good story that takes you back to frontier days.  While this book could stand alone, I recommend reading Romancing the Bride, book one, and Pretending to Wed. This is a good series and I like how Melissa tied everything together, happy endings in all.

                

Romancing the Bride.... Another Good Read by Melissa Jagears

....from the publisher.....
Marrying a stranger to save a ranch is one thing; losing the land on their wedding day is another.

Desperate to keep the ranch where three of her children and a husband lie buried, Annie Gephart must marry or sell. Which of the few bachelors in town would consider a surprise proposal to wed a plain widow with a rebellious daughter, a spirited boy, and unpaid taxes—without laughing in her face?
Jacob Hendrix has never fully let go of his ranching dreams despite ending up as a small Wyoming town’s marshal. The job wouldn’t be so bad, except he’s more errand boy than lawman. When Annie proposes marriage without a single coquettish bat of an eyelash, can he commit himself to a woman he hardly knows for a choice piece of property he’d be an idiot to pass up?

But taxes aren’t all that threaten Annie and Jacob’s plans. Cattle rustlers, crumbling friendships, and wayward children make this marriage of convenience anything but. When they lose what they’ve sacrificed everything to save, will the love of a stranger be enough?

Romancing the Bride is the first book in the Frontier Vows Series by award-winning Christian romance author Melissa Jagears. If you like heartwarming marriage-of-convenience stories, you’ll love this sweet romance filled with endearing characters.

...my thoughts...

Romancing the Bride is such a compelling story. I can't imagine facing the hardships women like Annie faced.  Life in the old west was hard and on any given day a man or woman could lose their spouse.  Like many who sunk their money into land and cattle, there wasn't much money left over.  Under most circumstances for a woman to lose her husband meant losing her livelihood.

I could almost feel Annie's desperation when she decided to ask Jacob to marry her.  I could almost feel how she felt moving to town and seeming to live as his wife to a town that wasn't sure what to make of her.  Melissa Jagears has made the characters of this book come alive.  Between the pages of this book you can see the tension in the air when church services are over and everyone prepares for the wedding.  It cracks in such a way you aren't sure what is going to hit this couple next. Take a surly teenage girl, unsupportive friends and a flirty young beauty and even the best bride or groom might want to turn around and leave the altar.

So many things backfire and it takes a great deal of faith sprinkled with patience. I found myself thinking about Cassie, Annie's daughter.  She is so full of anger and disappointment over her father's death that she does her best to make everyone in the family unhappy. Yet, through it all, Jacob, as her stepfather deeply cared about her.  He would do whatever he could to make her see he wasn't trying to replace her father.  Jacob's prayer for his marriage and his new family are an inspiration.  He was a strong man who was humbled by his faith, and that faith is what made him strong.

I received an advance reader copy of this book but was under no obligation to review it.  However, I can't help but share when I read such a good book.  I recommend this book with 5 stars: great story, wonderful characters who are superbly developed and lovely description for a glimpse back into historical times in Wyoming.