The conversations between the characters seemed to be very stiff and they didn't have any type of natural flow to them. The relationship between Grace and Robert was barely satisfying, it had a lot of potential but had very little payoff. The problems of the secondary characters seemed to be added by the author to prolong the story and they didn't really add much to the book. In the last third of the book the story seemed to really derail, and the author put Grace through a lot of plot twists that ruined the story. I would be willing to give the author another chance but I'm not going to rush out to the bookstore to buy it I'll just borrow it from my local library and save my money for a author that I really like.

I got an ARC of this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion and a review.

Maggie Brendan's latest release, Trusting Grace, book 3 in her Virtues and Vices of the Old West series, is an easy read with a gentle romance. Featuring the story of Grace and Robert, along with an array of delightful side characters, readers will enjoy this escape into the Gallatin Valley of the 1860's.
There is no need to read the first two books in Brendan's series to begin this one. Readers can jump right in and enjoy this sweet story of two individuals who find each other amid life's unpredictable twists and turns. Brendan creates a story not too high on drama, but still engaging for its lovable characters. While not a breathtaking thriller, I delighted in the softness of the story and the clean,uplifting time spend turning page after page.
I do enjoy Brendan's story telling and feel other fans of historical fiction will as well. This book is an uplifting read that will provide an engaging escape with its page.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Another sweet Wild West romance from author Maggie Brendan. This is about love and family. And yes, it has a few adorable children that readers will fall in love with. This is a family oriented as well as romance novel that readers will love. Brendan brings to life the issues of feeling unwanted and not trusting, but these obstacles are overcome and true love concurs all in the end. This Montana western is one that readers will thoroughly enjoy!

Series: Virtues and Vices of the Old West
Genre: historical, romance, western, Christian
Publisher: Revell
Publication date: May 2, 2017
Number of pages: 337

The book simply fell flat for me. Most likely, that was because it included several tropes/features that are pet peeves of mine: h/h not talking to each other and living under suspicion; attempted rape of the heroine, with the hero having to try to come to the rescue; and things happening at a certain time that could never have happened in real life. For instance, the goose...they called a goose "Bluebelle." Supposedly she came by her name because she was of a bluish tinge. However, the author's own note shows that the breed of goose was not brought to the US for another 20-30 years. Now, it's not important to the book to have a blue goose. Why couldn't they have named the goose Bluebelle for any other number of reasons?

All in all, a frustrating read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

The main character, widow Grace, in this book is a delightful person to follow throughout this story. She has a town friend that is named Ginny and owns a potato farm with her father. Her father is ill and so her friend, Ginny, advises her to put up a sign looking for help. The person who responds to the ad is a widower who has inherited 3 children from his wife. He didn’t know of the children when marrying this lady and thus he has issues with trust. Can love come out of this situation? That is the intriguing read of this one.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt that it moved quickly and the characters were well developed and believable. I loved the children coming into Grace’s life after longing for children to love her whole life. And I loved the road the father traveled and the outcome of that. What an unexpected turn of events. You’ll want to check this one out.

I’ve received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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In some ways this book felt a little bit like many other historical romance books that we find so fun and charming. Grace and Robert the two main characters go through hardships previously and both have to work through those feelings and learn to trust again in order to open their hearts to one another. 

I enjoyed this book but I felt like it was very similar to many other books of this genre. Man and Woman are thrown together by the circumstances in life and learn to put their past hurts behind in order to have a future together. The woman finds herself in trouble and the man comes to her rescue. At that time they declare their love and go on to live happily ever after. 

I never get tired of stories like this but I'm ready for some more meat. I want something deeper. That said, its a great weekend or beach read. It won't take long and you will enjoy it.

Maggie Brendan writes with quite a bit of humor in her novels. She wants her readers to laugh at some of the antics of her characters and the situations that happen. She also adds a bit of suspense to her stories. She wants to keep her readers engaged in the narrative. She has done so with her newest offering--Trusting Grace.

Grace Bidwell would like to be married, but she's taking care of her father and her potato farm--there really isn't time to look for a suitable mate.

Robert Frasier has become the father of his late wife's three children. Robert doesn't have two dimes to rub together and his children need food, shelter, and clothing.

The two come together when Grace mentions to her friend that she needs a hired hand.

Maggie introduces her suspense in the character of Warren, who seems to be a nefarious type from the very beginning, and he lives up to his characterization.

This is a book that grabs the reader's attention and shakes it around before letting go. Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a potato farm to keep food on the table.

My thanks to Revell Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

You especially know I love a book when I read it from beginning to end in one day. When I got to the end of Trusting Grace, the first thing I said to myself is this going to be a series? I want to know more…because, I was already loving Grace and the people around her.

Trusting Grace, set in the 1860’s west, is a beautiful written piece of Christian Fiction, with the author writing much like one of my favourite Christian Fiction authors, Janette Oke. As I read through the first chapter it all felt familiar, homely even and an excitement grew within me because I knew before I even made it to the second chapter that I was going to love this book.

The author, Maggie Brendan, introduced us to the beautiful, kind, caring and hardworking Grace and her Papa Owen, who was struggling with a condition. It didn’t take me long to get to know Grace and Owen and I loved that they represented good, honest, faithful people who put others needs before their own. This is where Robert and his three children came in…or were they his children?

Tom, Becky and Sarah were just what Grace was looking for, each unique in their own way and a joy to Grace who took them under her wing. Robert’s heart, which had learnt not to trust found it difficult to warm to Grace in the way she wanted it to, this led to many misunderstandings and sadness in both their hearts.
This book has a beautiful message about love and trust, letting our hearts be open even though sometimes it may hurt. For me it spoke of God’s love for us and how we often find it hard to open our hearts to him when things don’t seem to go as we expected them. Ultimately, we need to trust him and allow him to work within us.

Maggie Brendan has written an engaging novel that had me hooked from the beginning. I am usually not a fan of romance, apart from reading Lori Wick and Janette Oke books, however I can say without a doubt that Maggie Brendan is now added to my list.

Thoughts:

In TRUSTING GRACE: A Novel (Virtues And Vices Of The Old West Book 3) by Maggie Brendan, we tumble into the lives of a ragtag family in an 1860’s Western landscape. We’ll learn that this group is far from a family, but they are rather thrown together through circumstances that no one wanted.

However, this is where we will begin to fall in love with Robert Frasier.

He lost a wife, a farm, and a community, but he gains three children whom he never knew to exist. In loving and marrying a woman, it should be a beginning for him, but her death marks the end, leaving him with more responsibilities and more pain in the wake of it all. He trusted and loved Ada, but she never trusted him with her past, her life, and her truth.

This leaves him homeless with mouths to feed, and he learns the hard lessons of becoming a father.

Meanwhile, Grace’s devotion to her dad is heartwarming and beautiful, but it might leave her misguided in a way.

Grace is a widow, for a few years, but once her father takes ill, Grace accepts it to mean her life will be this way going forward. She is okay. Her father is a good man, and her mother died years ago. However, with her father unable to help run Bidwell Farms, she needs to hire help. However, with the way she keeps herself cloistered on the farm, Grace is at a loss for how to do this. Her friend passes the job notice on at the Mercantile, and the position is quickly filled.

At the same time, this is just the beginning of a story for both Grace Bidwell and her father, Owen Miller. Their life changes and fills with pangs, worries, and fears as harvest grows near!

***This opinion is my own.***

Preview:

TRUSTING GRACE: A Novel (Virtues And Vices Of The Old West Book 3) by Maggie Brendan stages the aftermath of Grace’s dream of marriage smashed, through death, into the abyss.

A widow, without children, the life she dreamt of is no more. Now that her father is ill and unable to help on her husband’s ranch, Grace is at a crossroad in life. In order for it to be possible to keep her late husband’s farm, she needs help.

Robert Frasier becomes the hired help and brings with him three children and a homeless situation, but their grief leaves all with trust issues and a distant relationship.

Grace is welcoming to all, and she believes all crosses her path for a reason. Her house seems like home, again.

In 1860s Montana, the Gallatin Valley thrives inside the Virtues and Vices of the Old West series as trust is just beginning to take root!

This is book three in the Virtues and Vices of the Old West series, however I will say it is a stand alone book, because I have not read the previous two and was just fine, I did wonder if it was part of a series though.

Grace Bidwell is a loving, caring widow, trying to keep her farm afloat while taking care of her father. When she hires the handsome stranger, Robert Frasier, to help out at the farm, she never imagines what God has in store for her.

Robert Frasier has been hurt by women in his past, so he has a hard time trusting Grace. When a family is thrust upon him he only sees deception and deceit. When Grace hires him, she may be the answer to more than he dreamed possible.

This novel is full of some heartache, problems, family, forgiveness and romance. There are a few twist and turns in this novel and I wonder if there will be another book to follow.

Trusting Grace tells the story of Grace Bidwell. She is doing her best to keep her late husband's ranch running and realizes she needs help. Robert Frasier answers her ad for a hired hand and they both find something more. Robert needs more than the job that Grace is offering and soon finds himself growing closer to Grace. He soon learns to trust again. I enjoyed the setting of the book and at times felt like I was there.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher, the review is my own.

I own and enjoyed Maggie Brendan's past books. But this one didn't quite hit the proverbial bulls eye. I put the book down a few times for lack of interest. I felt like I didn't connect with the characters and so felt nothing for them or their situations.

This book centers around Grace. Widowed for three years, life is passing her by. She is trying to run a potato farm alone and look after her disabled father. Enter down-on-his-luck Robert. He is also recently widowed with three step-children to provide for. I thought the theme "trust" as the title implies, was a bit too repeated. I kept thinking to myself, "Yeah, I get it. Life has dealt Robert some hard knocks, let's move on."

I would recommend reading this book if you have read the previous Virtues and Vices of the Old West series. Otherwise, try some of Maggie's older books.

"Trusting Grace" is the 3rd book in Maggie Brendan's Virtues and Vices of the Old West series.
  This is such a sweet story and I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters.  Grace has always longed to be a mother, but her husband has passed away and they had not had any children.  Grace is also having to care for the farm and her elderly father.  This is not the life she has dreamed of for so long.  Robert was in for a shock when his wife passed away and he finds out she had children.  Robert is overwhelmed and shocked to say the least and puts up a wall against falling for another woman and experiencing these type of feelings again. 

Maggie does an excellent job with creating the scene, I felt as if I was out in the west living life running a farm.  Seriously, I felt as if I were actually there and part of the book.  Grace is definitely a favorite character of mine, although I have loved every single book of Maggie's that I have read, there was something about Grace that really warmed me to her.  I am sad to see this series end but excited to read whatever comes next!

Trusting Grace is a light entertaining romance set in Montana Territory in 1866. Grace Bidwell is a strong widow operating a potato farm and caring for her invalid father. Robert Frasier suddenly found himself a widower with three stepchildren he knew nothing about. Grace and Robert must learn to trust. Both of the main characters were well written. Maggie Brendan continues to write charming old west tales! I received my copy of Trusting grace from the author and Revell. This is my honest opinion.

A story of trust and second chances. Robert and Grace learn to trust in different degrees in this book. This would be a wonderful series -

Even the unlikeliest of characters have a chance at true love.

Robert Frasier feels scammed. He just lost his wife after a few short months of marriage and has now learned that she has three kids after his late wife’s sister drops them off at his door. To make matters worse, he has lost the family farm to debt and must now find a job to make ends meet. Wandering from town to town, Robert searches for a place to work. He finds work at a farm in Montana in the employment of Grace Bidwell. Hopefully Robert can work the farms to keep himself and his bedraggled children fed and clothed.

Grace Bidwell has always longed to be a wife and mother. But after her husband passed way before they had children, it seems that is an unlikely dream. She is now taking care of her widowed father whose health continues to get worse. Her new farm hand Robert is very unapproachable, almost as if he has something against her, but sometimes she still sees a softness to him. At least with his help she can manage to keep her farm.

A well written book by Maggie Brendan and my first to read by her. Even so, I don’t feel like I lost any portion of the story by starting with the third is a series. It just picked right up and took me along for the ride. I’m not sure if there were any history of the main characters in the previous two stories, but I don’t feel like I need them. The romance between the main characters was set at the right pace. Not too fast, but not too slow either. The relationships between the kids and Robert played out well too. They had a lot of problems getting started, but worked them out throughout the book and became a trusting family. Grace was a very strong woman, but still had a time of need for Robert when he managed to rescue her in a bad situation.

If you like western historical fiction with some clean romance, I recommend you give this a try.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

This could be a cute novel, but for me it fell short. The author tried to cram about four stories into one. And while that was ok, about 90% through I was thinking it should be done, but it dragged for the last 10%.

Spoilers ahead...

This book left many questions unanswered. Like did the shop owner get reimbursed, did the people get their orders? Did the man working with Warren get his just desserts?
For all the extra it would be nice to know if some of the big issues got resolved. Also, why the big secrecy involving the seamstress? Trust is a two way street, yes she should have not jumped to conclusions, but really why couldn't he explain? Why did he have to have it all secretive and suggestive. If he caught Grace going into another mans back entrance and had a smile on her face I really don't think he would even wait for an explanation.

I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Grace, a widow, needs help on her farm. Her father can't help; he's ill. Robert, a widower, answers Grace's ad. He's a great worker though silent and disappears after work...Then there are the three children, who do they belong to?
Gratifying , clean historical, second chance romance! Strong characters and relationships.
No problem reading this book, though haven't read the other books in the series. Enjoyed this historical foray! 3 1/2 stars. (Would be 4 stars if not for ebook price.)
Voluntarily read ARC, through Netgalley and publisher, for honest review.

I so enjoyed reading this book. This made me laugh and cry. I loved Grace and Robert. Grace wants children and Robert has three children and no wife. Can these two people learn to love and trust in each other. I loved the story of these two getting together. I received this book fromRevell reads for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

This is the 3rd book in Virtues and Vices of the Old West. It is a story about Grace Bidwell. She lost her husband and her father lives with her on her potato farm.She cares for father who they believe had taken a stroke. She always wanted children and did not have any. She has a dear friend named Ginny who wants her to start dating and fixes her up with her husbands business partner. Grace is looking for someone to help her on her potato farm and posts a ad for help. She meets three pitiful children who she buys candy for. A man Robert Fraiser applies for the job. Robert was married and his wife died and he never knew she had three children who was left for him to raise. They live out in the woods till Grace finds them and realizes they are Robert's children. This is a beautiful story on trying to trust again.