I can't believe it, a Christian historical romance set in Canada! All I can say is . . . it's about time! Susan Anne Mason has done a wonderful job of bringing Toronto to life in its early days and I loved it!

Poor Grace Abernathy travels all the way to Toronto from England to reunite with her widowed sister, only to discover she is dead and her only child now in the custody of the family who rejected her. But Grace made a promise to her sister, to raise Christian as her own and so she sets out to keep that promise by pretending to be someone she is not, by taking a job as Christian's nanny.

Andrew Easton is the legal guardian of Christian and he is determined to be a good father to the boy, but first has to grow a backbone. Good thing Grace is there to help him see what he really needs.

I loved how the setting was in Canada. So many Christian books are set anywhere but here! So that was a nice treat. More importantly, I loved how the characters in this book all seemed to grow up and learn a little. Not just the main characters but the secondary ones too.

The romance between Grace and Andrew had lots of obstacles, but true love always finds a way! I loved this story and believe you will too. I highly recommend it.

The Best of Intentions by Susan Anne Mason was my first book by the author and first in The Canadian Crossings series set in the days after World War 1.. Grace Abernathy heads to Canada to take care of her nephew in the wake of his parents' deaths. She finds that her nephew is being taken care of by the other side of the family and takes a job as her nephew's nanny to get close to him. It's the classic upstairs downstairs romance as Grace falls in love with Andrew, her rich employer's son. Will her true identity threaten her fairy tale romance? Mason has a easy to read flowing style but the story seemed like one I had read time and time again. The novelty of taking place in Canada and putting post World War 1 were glanced over and made it feel just an ordinary story rather than typical of well done historical fiction.

Throughly enjoyed this “Downton Abby” love story. Many twists and turns. Beautiful story of redeeming love. Thank you NetGalley and Bethany House for such a wonderful read. Can’t wait to read Susan’s next book.

This is the first time I've read a book by this author, and I look forward to reading some more! It was very well written, with an interesting plot and well developed characters who go through a significant amount of growth. If you found the book description interesting, then I highly recommend it as it's very well done.

Susan Ann Mason took me on an adventure. From traveling across the ocean to falling in love, I enjoyed every moment. I could tell by reading the description this was going to be a unique story. Best of Intentions caused me to feel a variety of emotions, ranging from joy to complete sadness. The characters were fun, and all special in their own way. I enjoyed watching Grace as she got to know her nephew and those in charge of raising him. Doing what she thought was best can come with serious consequences, but she will stop at nothing to keep her promise to her sister. The tension between some of the characters kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Historical Romance. I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley. I was in no way forced to post a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the Canadian Crossings series. The highlight for me were all the different, vibrant characters. Collin, the Scottish gardener, is in love with someone he can never have. Yet he still goes out of his way to bring flowers and joy to Ginny. Mrs. Easton believes that “the earth might cease rotating if the numbers of people at the table didn’t match” (location 1551). Mr. Easton is a harsh taskmaster. It’s fascinating seeing the changes a baby and an upstart nanny can make even in a curmudgeon like Mr. Easton.
Andrew is both sweet and frustrating. I wanted to scream in his ear a few times at his naivety around a certain woman but I admired his willingness to take over the care of his nephew. Grace is amazing too. She sees and accepts people for who they are regardless of their station in life. It’s hard to imagine living in a time when there were so many societal expectations and restraints. I always love seeing characters grow and learn to forgive and forge their own path. This book is full of all three. It’s a wonderful story.
The only downside for me was that I spent the whole story waiting for the man in the prologue to show up. It was such a unique beginning to the story and I wanted to learn more about it. I expect he’ll be featured in an upcoming book in the series. I hope I don’t have to wait too long.

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

The Best of Intentions
Susan Anne Mason
Canadian Crossings - book 1
www.susanannemason.net

352 pages
Bethany House Publishers
www.bakerpublishing.com












My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9


She Swore to Protect Her Nephew at Any Cost. But What if That Price is a Chance at Love?
In the aftermath of WWI, Grace Abernathy is determined to reunite her family, crossing an ocean to convince her widowed sister to return home to England. Yet, in Toronto she discovers more tragedy--her nephew Christian in the custody of his paternal relatives, the formidable Easton family, who rejected Grace's sister because of her low social status.

Unconvinced the Eastons can be fitting caretakers, Grace uses an assumed name to secure the position of Christian's nanny and moves into the Easton estate. There she can observe the family up close, while ensuring Christian's well-being. In the course of her new role, she is shocked to find herself falling in love with Andrew Easton, the boy's guardian. Unfortunately, Andrew is promised to a spoiled socialite who is sure to make a terrible stepmother for Christian. Will Grace be able to protect her nephew . . . and her heart?

Read An Excerpt

I really enjoyed reading Irish Meadows and A Worthy Heart by Susan Anne Mason so I was excited to read The Best of Intentions. It is the first book in the Canadian Crossings series which is set in Toronto, Ontario (an hour away from where I live). Each book in this series is a stand alone so they can be read in any order. The stories depict characters traveling to Canada in search of family members and they are tied together through Mrs. Chamberlain's boardinghouse and the minister Reverend Burke.

I had a bit of trouble getting into this book at first, but I trusted Susan Mason's track record and kept on reading and I'm so glad that I did! Once this story grabbed hold of me it refused to let go! I loved the friendship between Grace and Virginia and the highs and lows, twists and turns of their romances! That's right, there is not just one romantic story line, but two! I was excited to have a story line set in a city I am familiar with, but found I had trouble picturing the city as it would have been in 1919. I had to keep reminding myself the story was set in the past! Being Christian fiction, a major theme running through this book is finding freedom and trusting in God. The main characters needed to learn to trust God when their future seemed uncertain and learn to let go of their guilt and embrace the freedom forgiveness offers.

Fans of Downton Abbey and Historical Romance would love this book!

The Best of Intentions is currently available for purchase from your local or online book retailer. Book Two in this series, The Highest of Hopes, releases in March 2019. I'm looking forward to reading it!

Thank you Bethany House and Net Galley for the free copy of The Best of Intentions to read in exchange for my honest review.

As I read this book the title became more and more obvious of the, little white lies, or big ones, I could understand the author putting Grace in the position of wanting to fulfill her sister’s wishes and also wanting to be in life of this young child.
I found myself quickly page turning as we become involved in these characters lives, some you will quickly come to love and others, the old saying “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all”, sure comes to mind.
It has been one hundred years since WWI and the horrible Spanish Flu, and it is quickly fading from memories, I love that there are stories that help keep alive what this past generation went through and thank the author for bringing it to the forefront.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series, and hope to catch up on the lives of those we have already met.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bethany House, and was not required to give a positive review.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for the free review copy. All opinions are my own. 

I love sweet romance that has the promises of God weaved throughout the book, and that was one of the first things that hooked me into this story. I also like historic romance that is set during a time and in a place that I don't usually encounter. This book had both, so I knew I was going to love this story. 

From this historical aspect, I haven't read much that showed how WWI affected families and the aftermaths from the devastation of war. I think this Mason did a great job of showing how the war caused animosity to occur in families and how brokenness can fracture the family. I also am so glad that she mentioned the Spanish Flu, as there isn't much literature from that time period or today that mentions this horrible epidemic. 

I also really enjoyed this book being set in Canada. I'm not sure that I've read many books set outside of the US or Europe, so I really enjoyed getting a glimpse of what Toronto may have been like in the early 1900's. 

Another thing I really enjoyed was the multiple romances and angles happening in this book. It made it is it wasn't predictable, and I wondered right until the end of the book if the romance would happen or not. This made me want to read it even quicker because I knew what I wanted to happen, and I had to know if it would.