A Love Discovered

I have truly enjoyed most of the books by Tracie Peterson that I have read.  She takes relatable situations and weaves them into the plots of her novels. Her historical novels are pretty accurate according to the mores of the society in which they take place.  

In A Love Discovered, Tracie takes several tragic circumstances and melds them into the whole cloth of the story.  Marybeth and Carrie are half-sisters who have been orphaned.  Marybeth is determined to raise Carrie as her own, but her pastor thinks that she'd be better off giving Carrie up for adoption.  He is adamant that there is a better family for Carrie and goes so far as to get the local judge involved in the situation.  Edward is the widowed husband of Marybeth's best friend and offers her the protection of his name and his home for Marybeth and Carrie.  He was about to move to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a job opportunity in law enforcement working with his former commanding officer in the War Between the States. Edward offers Marybeth a marriage of convenience and to take her with him to Cheyenne the very next day.  His brother-n-law will see to selling Marybeth's house and forwarding the money to her after it is sold. 

Once they get to Cheyenne, they find a lawless town and no real acceptable place to live. They end up spending the winter in a tent.  Edward stays firm in his stance that theirs be a marriage in name only while Marybeth finds herself falling in love, but the truth of the matter is that he is falling in love with her as well.  He just can't find it within himself to love her completely because his first wife died in childbirth and he's afraid the same thing will happen to Marybeth. 

For the most part this is a great book, Tracie knows her craft and plies it well.  My only criticism is that the ending seemed too abrupt. It's not a satisfying ending and leaves the reader wishing for more.  It felt as if the author needed a tidy way to end the story and just quit writing. For that reason, I'll give this book four stars.  

Bethany House Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.