#christianhistorical,  BOOKS

A Love of Her Own by Maggie Brendan

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

A Love of Her Own: A Novel (Heart of the West) A Love of Her Own: A Novel by Maggie Brendan
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Pages: 336
Date Published: June 1, 2010
Publisher: Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

April McBride has suffered a broken engagement once before and fully intends to guard her heart when she travels to Billings, Montana, to attend her brother’s wedding. One look around the small mining town convinces April that this won’t be difficult–just a bunch of dusty shops, bad service, and ill-bred cowboys. But a run-in with a horse trainer named Wes Owen opens up vast possibilities for frustration, embarrassment, friendship, and . . . love? Can April and Wes see past their differences in order to envision a future together? Readers will love going on this adventurous, spark-filled ride through turn-of-the-century Montana.

She has everything her heart desires . . .
except the one thing money can’t buy

A Love of Her Own is the eagerly awaited concluding book in Maggie Brendan’s Heart of the West series. Available in June 2010, it will take readers on an adventurous, spark-filled ride through love in turn-of-the-century Montana.
It’s here, in Lewiston, Montana, where April McBride travels to attend her brother’s wedding. Still cautious after a broken engagement, she fully intends to guard her heart. One look around the small mining town convinces April that doing so won’t be difficult—just a bunch of dusty shops, bad service, and ill-bred cowboys. But a run-in with horse trainer Wes Owen opens up vast possibilities for frustration, embarrassment, friendship, and . . . love?
Can April and Wes see past their differences to envision a future together? Or are they destined to live the rest of their lives alone?

A Love of Her Own by Maggie Brendan, Book 3 in the Heart of the West Series.
(ISBN: 978-0-8007-3351-3; Available June 2010; $14.99)

Praise for Maggie Brendan
”Brendan’s gentle style of prairie romance is reminiscent of Janette Oke, 
capturing the heart of the old West with romance that will make you sigh.” 
— Julie Lessman, author of the Daughters of Boston series
“Brendan blends colorful characters, lively dialogue, and intriguing historical details.” 
— Amanda  Cabot, author of Paper Roses and Scattered Petals
“Maggie Brendan is adept at weaving a sweet love story.”
—Tamera Alexander, author of Beyond This Moment

Originally, in reading the first book in the Hearts of the West Series, No Place for a Lady (Heart of the West, #1) I had to say: Having a plot line that starts and grows with tragedy, this is a novel that grabs your heart and makes you silently or even sometimes verbally cheer on the heroine to succeed at her current goal. Maggie Brendan has done well with her first novel and I definitely look forward to more. This is easily one of those stories where you are screaming for the characters to see what you as a reader are seeing. There are times where I thought something would come out differently, but with the story coming to a close I could not have imagined anything better than the way it was itself. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!!

My review of the second in the series, The Jewel of His Heart: The romantic prose of Maggie Brendan is very visual and a reader can easily imagine what it was in Montana in the late period of the 1800s. The writing and characterization of the protagonist was good, I could tell, because they aggravated me to no end with the decisions and flip flops of emotions. A slight thing that threw me was some of the serious events that occurred in the lives of our main characters and how quickly the story just seemed to move forward without much time for the characters much less a reader to reflect. This is a sequel in continuing the life of main character Josh McBride from No Place for a Lady yet this story completely holds it’s own as a stand-alone. Once a cattle-rancher’s son, McBride is attempting to make his own as a sheepherder. The details of the life are intriguing and as a reader going along for the journey one routes for Josh to succeed. Juliana Brady has had it rough and has her pride, but with each day as she grows closer to Christ she learns a bit more of what He has in store. I definitely plan to read more titles to come from Maggie Brendan. This was a great story, I just did not personally mesh with the character’s personalities and felt they were quick to jump and assume, but then that just hits a nerve. The romance is vivid and chill bumps present, this is one to read with imagination and time to reflect the lessons within as well as revel in the kisses stolen.

This third and final end to the trilogy I just could not do. From page five, I despised the main character. She is a snobbish, self centered, arrogant girl. She will do things that will start to make her have a personality worth attention, and then reverts back to idiocy. While everyone deserves love and redemption, her story just was not one that held me. While that is said, I know many of my friends read and loved the novel.

-It seems that Carly just loved the book. She was left with a happy feeling and cannot wait to see what Maggie Brendan writes next.
http://carlybirdshome.blogspot.com/2010/…
BookReviewsbyBuuklvr81-Then Molly finds Maggie Brendan to be an exceptional author. She recommends this book with the highest praise. http://buuklvr81.blogspot.com/2010/…
-And another friend of mine, Renee who loves most all the same authors and genre as I do praises this series as well. She says that April is a heroine unlike any that she has ever met. http://steelergirl83.blogspot.com/2010/...

Just because this was not a book that I loved, many other people have and highly recommend it. It was just not my cup of tea, but try it for yourself, you may love it like these ladies did.

*Thanks to Revell Books for providing a copy for review.*

View all my reviews >>

About the Author:
Brenda Lott A.k.a.Maggie Brendan
southernbellewriter.blogspot.com
www.BustlesAndSpurs.com Resident Blogger
Heart of the West Series, Revell
No Place For a Lady-4.5 Stars from Romantic Times!
The Jewel of His Heart, 4 Stars from Romantic Times!-October, 2009
A Love of Her Own, Book 3-June 2010

Maggie Brendan is a member of American Christian Writers and the American Fiction Writers Association. She is the author of No Place for a Lady and The Jewel of His Heart and lives in Georgia.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.  They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

“Available June 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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The Creative Madness Mama also known as Margaret is a Christian Stay-at-home Mama, married to the Enginerd, quilter, cross stitcher, avid reader and book-a-holic. As book blogger for various publicists, she loves to share the latest and greatest about books coming out as well as her needle art and other crafty projects with some pictures of her fourteen-year-old AppleBlossom, twelve-year-old OrangeBlossom (the Princess), nine-year-old Almond Blossom (the Rascal boy!), six-year-old (red) Mermaid Warrior, the four-and-a-half-year-old Viking Dragon, and Huckleberry (due in June 2024!) in between. Homeschooling, cloth diapering, breastfeeding, babywearing, bone broth brewing, tea drinking, list making mama full of a little creative and a lot of madness.

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