I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I am such a huge fan of historical and christian fiction! Wrapped up together is even better. What a lovely, happy story that I needed for a pick me up. ( )

8. Cimarron Creek Trilogy 1: [A Stolen Heart] by [[Amanda Cabot]]
Lydia has just arrived in Cimarron Creek to marry her betrothed. However, he is not in town...in fact, he is missing! Being a Northerner in the Southern State of Texas is hard enough after the Civil War, but a single woman looking for a missing man makes her a very mysterious stranger. If that were not challenging enough, Lydia learns that her fiancee is not only missing, but is already married to a local girl working in a saloon! Things are certainly not looking up for Lydia in Cimarron Creek. Can she have any future here being a Northerner, fiancee missing and married, and alone with no family?

9. Cimarron Creek Trilogy 2: [A Borrowed Dream] by [[Amanda Cabot]]
Catherine is the local school teacher in Cimarron Creek. While not exactly her life's calling, she does enjoy working with the children. Her one wish...to marry, have a family, and travel to Paris. When a new rancher comes to town, Catherine is drawn to his honesty, morals, and friendship, but she is very wary to trust love again. She does find friendship with Grace, a woman newly arrived to town. But Grace has secrets of her own and challenges to overcome that may affect Catherine and her family.

10. Cimarron Creek Trilogy 3: [A Tender Hope] by [[Amanda Cabot]]
Thea moves to Cimmaron Creek to render her services as a midwife after the death of her husband and newborn. Traveling with her is her friend Aimee, who is seeking a family of her own. When a local Texas Ranger arrives in town looking for a band of Outlaws, he makes an unexpected discovery...an abandoned infant. While Thea and Aimee watch over the child, they discover that family comes in many forms...and so does love.

This was a great series! I received [A Tender Hope] through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers group and quickly purchased books 1 & 2 so that I could read the series in order. I do not regret that decision as this series kept me on the edge of my seat and moving as quickly as possible through each book to find out "what happens next!" A great series and a great introduction to a new favorite writer! ( )

A Borrowed Dream tells the story of Catherine and Austin. Catherine has trouble trusting, but soon learns to as she gets to know Austin. Austin has secrets of his own, but is just trying to do the best for his daughter. The two of them have to get past hurts and secrets and soon come to find hope in each other. A great read.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher, the review is my own. ( )

I liked the pace of the romance. Historical fiction with suspense and romance.
Life where dreams come true was very nice. Loneliness is a very real thing for many people.
The characters in the story were very believable!!
I really enjoyed the book. ( )

Catherine Whitfield is a school teacher in the Texas town of Cimarron City, in the late 1800’s. She cared deeply for all her students and was concerned about their welfare as well as their education. A new student, Hannah Goddard comes to school with her strikingly handsome widowed father. They had recently purchased a ranch and moved from Pennsylvania. His daughter is very unhappy and struggling to adjust. Unbeknownst to the town, he is not a rancher, but a doctor, attempting to hide and protect his daughter from a criminal. Catherine having just lost her mother due to the local doctor’s primitive medical treatment, has more on her mind that the attractive new man. Hilariously he is all the mothers in town with single daughters of a marriageable can think of. Although I laughed, I felt sorry for poor Austin trying to politely dodge all of them.
I found the story very entertaining and suspenseful but there were also some surprising parts. The first being Austin wasn’t just any doctor but a plastic surgeon! I didn’t even know there were any back then! My first thoughts were, “There weren’t face lifts, breast plants or liposuction, and so what did they do?” After some research I found they did reconstructive surgery on severe injuries. Many of their patients were soldiers injured in battle. Conniving and hardened criminals were just as much present then as now. Just such a one was in pursuit of Austin to force him to use his skills evil plans.
I naively have pictured the era that this was written in as far simpler than our society today. It surprised me that the same problems and corruptions existed in this era too! One of Catherine’s students’ is severely abused and neglected by his father. A young girl is raped and becomes pregnant. There were no government agencies or special law enforcements to help the victims or bring their perpetrators to justice. The care and protection of the innocent came from loving, kindhearted and caring people. It was a reminder that individuals were much more personally involved in the lives of their neighbors, especially in times of need. Ms. Cabot beautifully illustrates true forgiveness and godly character in the face of horrible circumstances and offenses. A wonderful book!
I received this book from Revell Publications in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have stated are my own. ( )