4.5 stars.

Poignant and heartfelt, The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas is a captivating novel of healing, reconciliation and love.

When Ruby Baxter discovers her fourteen year old daughter Mia following in her dysfunctional footsteps, she decides it is time to leave her small hometown and string of bad decisions behind. After accepting a job in Kansas, Ruby is stunned to learn her biological father Hank McArthur would like to meet her. Intending only a short layover in Unforgiven, OK, she is dismayed by Mia's instant rapport with Hank and her growing attachment to his rescue horses. Never anticipating how much this decision will irrevocably change her life, Ruby agrees to remain a few extra weeks at the Devil's Wind Ranch in order to continue mending her fractured relationship with her daughter.

Ruby has learned the hard way not to trust anyone and her deep seated abandonment issues cause her to maintain an emotional distance from the people in her life. She is quick to end relationships due to her fears and in doing so, she hurts both herself and Mia. Unwilling to risk further pain, Ruby initially has no intention of forgiving Hank for his decision to give her up for adoption, but the crusty rancher slowly begins to slip past her rather formidable defenses. Amid growing concerns for his health and safety, Ruby begins to entertain the idea of remaining permanently but will she find it in her heart to forgive both herself and Hank for past mistakes?

Ruby is also taken aback by her growing attraction to Hank's ranch hand, Joe Dawson. Joe is a quiet man whose tragic loss lead to a somewhat itinerant lifestyle until he began working for Hank. Before meeting Ruby, he never entertained the possibility of a lasting relationship but he is willing to give their fledgling romance a chance. However, Ruby and Joe are both a little skittish when it comes to risking their hearts and with their unresolved issues sometimes ruling their decisions, a future together is far from certain.

A secondary story arc about the unsolved vandalism on the ranch adds an element of suspense to the storyline. With growing concern for not only Mia's safety but Hank's as well, Ruby pressures local law enforcement to take the investigation more seriously. Ruby has her suspicions about who is behind the sabotage and she takes matters in her own hands when the sheriff refuses to listen to her. The resolution of this storyline is somewhat surprising as are the motives for the crimes.

The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas is a heartwarming novel about the importance of forgiveness and learning to trust despite having been let down in the past. Another equally valuable lesson in the story is recognizing then consciously taking steps to break the cycle of destructive behavior in order to forge healthy relationships and become a better role model for our children.

The Promise of Forgiveness is an emotional and meaningful novel that will linger in readers' hearts and minds long after the last page is turned. An outstanding read that I absolutely loved and highly recommend. ( )

Ruby Baxter knows she's made a mess of her life; she's determined that her fourteen-year-old daughter, Mia, will not do the same. When she finds Mia naked with a boy, she decides they are moving to Kansas and making a fresh start.

But along the way, they'll stop--briefly, as briefly as possible--in Unforgiven, Missouri, to meet the biological father she never knew existed. Her adoptive parents never told her she was adopted, and died in a car crash when she was eighteen. Her previously close had tanked suddenly when she was sixteen. Mia's father left her to raise Mia on her own when she told him she was pregnant. Now a letter from a lawyer tells her that she was adopted, and that her biological father, who gave her up for adoption at birth, wants to meet her.

But Ruby has no more trust to give, and all she wants from the first man to abandon her is a medical history. It will be a brief stop.

Ruby, her father Hank, her daughter Mia, and Hank's friend and farm hand, Joe Dawson, all have a lot to learn about forgiveness--of each other, themselves and those who aren't with them anymore. Ruby in particular needs to learn to trust. It was hard enough losing the close relationship she'd had with her father, Glen Baxter, when she was sixteen, with the sudden death of both parents two years later preventing her from ever finding out what happened or reconciling with him. Finding out now that her father surrendered her at birth when she hadn't even known she was adopted is another kick in the teeth she didn't need.

Ruby has to learn that she can trust and love again. Mia needs to learn she's loved and valued by her mother. Hank needs to move on from his lost Cora. Joe has his own loss that he's mourning and blames himself for. These are all engaging characters, very well handled, in a mostly gentle story that I very much enjoyed reading.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher. ( )

I didn't want to outright pan this book because the premise was promising. But it didn't give me much choice. The main character came off as whiny, immature, and self-centered. So, it was difficult to relate to her. The writing was unnecessarily flowery in places, as if the author leaned too heavily on a trusted thesaurus. Sometimes it's okay to say "a cup of coffee" is simply just "a cup of coffee." I truly wish this had been better. ( )

The Promise of Forgiveness mesmerized me. The main character, Ruby Baxter is not like me at all and I loved reading her story. She has a teenage daughter who seems to be following in her unfortunate footsteps. Ruby determines to not let that happen as she moves her far away from trouble. That move includes looking up her biological father in a town called Unforgiven, Oklahoma. This begins a reluctant journey for everyone else she comes in contact with like peeling a large onion. This remarkable book by Marin Thomas has mystery, lost family connections, romance, and room for forgiveness. Forgiveness takes steps and this novel climbs them up and down.
I highly recommend The Promise of Forgiveness.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley for my honest review
( )

I have to admit that I was a little surprised by this book. There were things that I really liked about it and things that I didn't really care for but in the end it was an enjoyable read. I initially thought that this book was some kind of romance based on the cover but after reading the description, I realized that this book would be something completely different. I am really glad that I decided to read Ruby's story.

The story opens with Ruby and her teenage daughter, Mia, getting off the bus in Unforgiven, Oklahoma. She has just decided to relocate to Kansas from Missouri with a short stop in Oklahoma to meet her biological father. Ruby didn't even know that she was adopted until her father, Hank, sent her a letter but she decides to go to meet him anyway. Ruby and Mia end up finding much more than they bargained for at Hank's ranch.

I liked the characters overall. Ruby was a different kind of main character. She wasn't the sweet and innocent female that you sometimes find in fiction. Ruby has been single mom since she was 18. She has had a string of boyfriends but has never been in a real committed relationship. I liked Ruby and thought she had a lot of spunk. My only problem with Ruby was that she felt a little bit stereotypical. Hank was pretty awesome and I really liked just about everything about him. He stands by the choices that he made and takes responsibility for his actions. He was a very patient and giving character. I thought that Joe and Mia both brought a lot to the story as well.

There was a little bit of mystery to keep me guessing. I wanted to know what was going on in the town of Unforgiven. I liked how the problems at the ranch really brought out some of the stronger parts of Ruby's character. The bigger mystery for me was what had happened with her adoptive parents and her birth mother. There were just so many things that Ruby didn't know about her own history.

There were a couple of things that I didn't like as much about the story. I never did figure out what was going on regarding women in Unforgiven. I would take that town over one with a shopping mall any day. I know it is shocking but not all women like to shop. It just seemed really weird how they kept saying women didn't like the town and went elsewhere. There were a few other moments that made me scratch my head such as when there was a mention of a whore gene. Excuse me? That is the kind of thing that just takes me out of a story. The good in this story far surpassed any of the flaws and the flaws were really pretty minor and didn't play a huge role in the book.

I would recommend this book to others. It was an interesting story about a woman finding herself that I think will appeal to many. This is the first book by Marin Thomas that I have read but I will be looking for her work again in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Penguin Publishing Group - Berkley/NAL via First to Read for the purpose of providing an honest review. ( )