Friday, July 27, 2018

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Revealed by Elaine Manders

About the Book

Title: Revealed

Author: Elaine Manders

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: December 27, 2018

Nothing can be hidden that won’t be revealed.

When her father dies, Katherine Levinson discovers her parents have kept secrets that render her happy childhood a farce. She and her gravely ill mother face eviction, and she has no choice but to appeal to the brother she’s never seen, the famous cattle baron, Rhyan Cason. Over her gravely ill mother’s objections, they move to Nebraska and the sprawling cattle ranch, Sollano.

Instead of the warm welcome Katherine expects, she and her mother are met with whispers and scorn in the little prairie town near Sollano. Gradually, the sins of her parents’ past surface, and Katherine begins to doubt her very identify. With her brother busy with cattle rustlers and her mother too ill to be bothered, Katherine turns to Colt Holliman, a soft-spoken neighboring rancher, for comfort.

Tired of waiting for the right woman to come along, Colt has promised to wait for Charley Ryder, an acclaimed female sharp shooter and equestrian acrobat with the Wild West Show, but it’s becoming clear Charley loves the show more than him. As his attraction to Katherine grows, he finds himself spiritually conflicted. How can he break from past commitments and follow his heart?

Then unexpected danger strikes, testing Katherine’s and Colt’s faith in God—and each other.

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My Thoughts:

Revealed is a story that took me back to the old west where living on a big ranch meant big business and danger. This is the third in the series, Intrigue Under the Western Skies, and along with those at the Sollano homestead we get the untold story of Rhyan’s mom and his newly discovered sister. This is Katherine’s story and Colt Holliman’s (a favorite character from the previous book) story.

Katherine has her entire life uprooted and told she lived a lie after her beloved father passes away. She and her mother are now living in poverty and on the generosity of others as she learns the truth that she has a very famous half-brother. Going against her mother’s wishes, Katherine contacts her new found family as she is at a dead end with her mother so ill and no way to provide the basic necessities for either of them.

I liked Rhyan and I am glad to see that he has grown as a family man and one of faith and does the right thing in going to get his mother and sister. Katherine is swept up into ranch life but hears the vicious whispers about her birth and what a harlot her mother was. There are many secrets that still need unraveling and I felt for poor Katherine who is a young woman of 18 just now discovering her true roots.

Enter Colt Holliman and her heart is instantly engaged. The only problem, he already has a fiancé. This story was filled with character growth, secrets revealed, and a true love blossoming despite the adversities and danger that comes against it.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Elaine Manders writes wholesome Christian romance and suspense about the bold, capable women of history and the strong, dependable men who love them. Her stories twist, turn, and surprise, told by characters who aren’t afraid to show their love for God and each other. She grew up a small town country girl and now lives in Central Georgia with her fur baby. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, sewing, crafts, and spending time with her family.

Guest Post from Elaine Manders

My Backstory

Intrigue under Western Skies Series, Book 3

Revealed

Back when I watched television, drama series were my favorite—Little House of the Prairie, the Waltons, the Virginian. I was caught up in the lives of these characters and looked forward to seeing what they were up to each week. For much the same reason, I enjoy writing episodic series.

Intrigue under Western Skies, a blended genre, historical romantic suspense series falls in this category. Some of the characters show up in every book, with new ones added along the way. But the books can be read out of sequence since each one has a different premise and plot.

In Revealed, Book 3 of Intrigue under Western Skies, I wanted to give Colt Holliman, previously introduced as a secondary character, his own HEA. Also, it seemed the time to reveal what happened to Rhyan Cason’s mother, the woman who’d caused so much angst in the first two books. More importantly, it gave me the opportunity to introduce Katherine, the sister he never knew existed.

Unexpectedly, my research led me to the history of show business, and how it developed through the Wild West shows of the nineteenth century. From that, a mystery evolved.

The spiritual thread running through Revealed explores the emotions of a young woman who discovers blood relatives have been hidden from her. Can she accept and love her new family and forgive the sins of her parents?

Maybe the greatest insight I gained from writing Revealed is that one can never trust his own heart without first trusting God.