This is the second book in the “Heart of Montana” Series, and I loved it as much as I loved the first one, which had totally captivated me last year. My heart ached for Joanna since the first book, as she is recently widowed, left alone to care for her five year old son Samuel, who is a very enthusiastic and spirited little boy. Isaac Bowen has an important part in their rescue, finding Samuel when he’s lost during the journey, and then getting them safely to Settler’s Fort.
He was since in awe of Joanna, but he knew he couldn’t pursue her because he wasn’t worthy, because of his past sins. But then, Joanna’s son is kidnapped with Laura, Joanna’s friend who was taking care of him, and Joanna comes to him for help. He’d do anything for her and her son, even if he knows there would never be a future for them, so he sets with her after the trail of the outlaws, only a few hours after the kidnapping.
Isaac is almost sure of who the kidnapper is, but he’s afraid of voicing his suspicion to Joanna, because the gang that could’ve kidnapped her son is the gang that he started and worked with, before he realized of his erred ways and changed. But maybe this is his opportunity for his redemption. If only the truth wouldn’t be exposed so that Joanna wouldn’t fairly reject him and hate him for it… But as they trail along, and he gets to know Joanna more, he knows the truth cannot be avoided. Can he hope for redemption, not only from the woman he’s beginning to love, but from God Himself?
This was a beautiful story. Isaac and Joanna have an epic journey chasing the kidnappers, full of perils from the elements, fighting against injuries that slow them down, and fighting their own demons: Joanna’s fear of losing her son, Isaac’s fear of of his past catching up with him. Even if it seems there are just many obstacles to endure, it’s in fact this struggle against the impossible what will lead them to seek and trust God, the Only one who can really save them. The story has a beautiful and inspiring message about leaning on God, and bask in His Love and Providence. Isaac’s story of redemption was beautifully told too. It made me cry. There’s so much to learn from this book and you will do it without knowing it. It’s just natural and not preachy. And the romance is achingly sweet.
I loved the despcription of the nature and landscape during the journey. Misty Beller is great at making you imagine the scenery with detail. There was a lot of action, so the story didn’t drag. And there was a surprising third point of view, from Laura, the kidnapped woman along with Samuel, which made it very interesting, because we usually don’t get to see the other side out of the main characters. It was a good addition and helped understand better what was happening. Samuel just tore my heart, he’s so adorable!
I’m hoping Laura will be next in turn for a story in this series. I’m just sorry I’ll have to wait till next year but it’s so much worth it!
I received a copy of this book from Bethany Publishers and this is my honest and unbiased review.

Loves Mountain Quest, by Misty M. Beller, is book two in the series. It takes place in 1867 in the Montana territory. This book is so well written with background information and well introduced character that it also is a great stand alone story. The main characters are from the first book in the series to it is best to read them in order to get the whole story.

The things that stand out most for me in this story is the concern Isaac has for Joanna and her son and the care Joanna gives to others. The two have so many things that come up during the rescue mission, yet they force themselves to continue on. Issues with the horses and injury slow them down, but force them to rely more on God to help them get Joanna’s son and friend before they come to great harm. I especially like how Isaac has turned his life around and how Joanna’s focus is on providing for her family.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is full of adventure and suspense with many twists and turns. The romance is very mild. It is a good clean story.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

When I want a historical fiction with a deep message of faith, I turn to Misty M. Beller. Love’s Mountain Quest is no exception. From the peril-wrought mountain journey to the faith-filled message of God’s ability to redeem, this book captivated me.

There’s a lot that can be said of forgiveness. From man’s lack of ability to forgive to our unwillingness to believe we are worthy, God has an answer, and Love’s Mountain Quest does an excellent job of showing just how powerful our prayers can be.

Isaac has a secret he believes can never be forgiven. Once Joanna knows, he fears she’ll never trust him again.

I love how this story intertwines so many levels of romance and faith. One thing you know you’ll always get from Misty M. Beller’s books is an unwavering belief that God is in control, even when everything seems to be falling apart.

Love's Mountain Quest is the second book in the Hearts of Montana Series by Misty M. Beller. It works great as a stand alone book, but I think you would enjoy reading them in order as this book continues on with some of the same characters that were in the first book.



Joanna has recently been widowed and left alone to care for her five year old son, Samuel. Samuel is full of spunk and a regular little chatterbox. Isaac, who came to Joanna's rescue is still drawn to her. He is so concerned about her welfare and does his best to check on her, provide food for her and help when needed. He would like to pursue her in a romantic way, but because of his past sins he feels he is unworthy of her love.



Joanna's friend is watching Samuel and they both are kidnapped. Joanna is frantic and Isaac runs to her aid and the two of them head to the mountains, hot on the trail of the kidnappers. As it becomes apparent where the trail is leading them, Isaac knows good and well where they are going...straight to the past that he wanted to leave behind. All of his secrets will soon be revealed. Can he find redemption from God and from the woman he loves or is his past going to destroy his future?



I did not want to put this book down! It was so enjoyable. Joanna is such a strong woman, who fights through her circumstances. She also is a mother determined. Nothing is going to keep her from saving her son. Isaac is such an admirable man and my heart was so sad for him. The burden of his past weighed heavy on him. This was something that was very relatable to me. So often we let our past sins keep us from living life abundantly like we are meant to once we are forgiven.



I am excited to see what book three has to offer. I hope to revisit Joanna and Isaac!

Love’s Mountain Quest was written by Misty M. Beller and is book two in the Hearts of Montana series. It is not necessary to have read book one in order to read this one.

Summary: Joanna Watson has struggled to make a living and support herself and her small son ever since the death of her husband.

But life takes a dramatic turn for the worst when she discovers that her son Samuel and dear friend Laura have been kidnapped by murderers.

Enlisting the help of local mountain man Isaac Bowen, the two set off to rescue Samuel and Laura.

Will they make it there in time? And what will happen when Joanna learns of Isaac’s true connections with the murderous gang they are tracking?

My Thoughts: This book was OK. I think it was a bit too romance-y for me. Also, the entire book is them trekking through the mountains. Some exciting things happen along the way, but that is pretty much the plot line.

There were interesting characters, and the writing is definitely solid, it just wasn’t for me.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you.

Young widow Joanna Watson is struggling to make a new home for her five-year-old son, Samuel, in the little mountain town of Settler's Fort. When she returns home from work to find Samuel and the woman watching him missing, with no lawman in town, she enlists a man she prays has enough experience in this rugged country to help.

Isaac Bowen wants nothing more than a quiet, invisible life in these mountains, far away from the bad decisions of his past. But he has a strong suspicion of who's behind the kidnapping, and if he's right, he knows all too well the evil they're chasing.

As they press on against the elements, Joanna fights to hold on to hope, while Isaac knows a reckoning is coming. They find encouragement in the tentative trust that grows between them, but whether it can withstand the danger and coming confrontation is far from certain in this wild, unpredictable land.

Joanna is beside herself when she realizes her five year old son and the woman watching him have gone missing. Isaac has been trying to keep on eye on Joanna so when he finds out that Samuel is missing he drops what he's doing and helps. As they are tracking the kidnappers, he realizes they are looking for someone from his past. A past that he wants to keep secret and left in the past. But in order to save Samuel, he has to confront his past. Which means he must tell Joanna and hope that she will forgive him. All Joanna wants to do is find her son safe and sound. They face several hardships along the way to the outlaw hideout. The most severe is that Isaac breaks his leg.

This is a clean story with some mystery and romance. I recommend this book to everyone.

I was given this book by Bethany House Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

Love’s Mountain Quest is book two in this beautiful series by Misty M. Beller, but works well as a standalone novel too.

This is gently written, as befits Beller’s voice as a growing talent in Christian historical romance. However, the pages flew in this novel as a little boy is missing and his momma fighting to get him back.

Joanna Watson has started her life as a widow with a small son and is scraping by, by taking in laundry. Her world is upended when her son Samuel is captured by outlaws, along with his babysitter. Joanna turns to the enigmatic and attractive Isaac Bowen to help her find and rescue the missing boy.

What Joanna doesn’t know is that Isaac has a dangerous history and it’s about to catch up with them. As their attraction grows, even on the trail of kidnappers, can love and forgiveness find a way, or will their efforts be for nothing? You won’t regret buying the book to find out.

As ever, Beller’s research and writing are on point and I thoroughly enjoyed this trip to Settlers Fort (and beyond).

"He'd thought he'd buried that past and become someone respectable. But it turned out the past could creep up and catch a man. Make him regret those mistakes a hundred times over."

This second installment in Hearts of Montana series is a little different from the other Misty Beller's books I've read. The story picks up with Joanna, a recently widowed young woman struggling to raise her little boy alone, and Isaac, a mountainman who makes his living off the land, combining their efforts to track down and rescue Joanna's kidnapped son and friend. Joanna and Issac were introduced as secondary characters in the first book and this book feels like a continuation of the first story but with a shift in the main characters. I don't remember feeling that way through her Heart of the Mountains series or Call of the Rockies series. So if you haven't read the first book Hope's Highest Mountain, it would be better to read that first to fully appreciate this story.

The plot is a bit different, too, in this story. The bulk of the plot deals with Joanna and Isaac chasing after the villains who took Joanna’s son Samuel and her friend Laura. The chase, though it is still a race for survival, feels somewhat different from the author's usual trek of survival in the wintery wilderness. Despite these differences, the author's trademark description of the inescapable beauty of the untamed land and accidents/tangles with nature and wildlife that will have your heart jumping in your throat is still vivid throughout the pages of this book. Isaac has a shameful past that he must acknowledge in order to help with the rescue and his full acceptance and embrace of God's forgiveness for his past also has the author's trademark touch.

If you enjoy historical romance, you will surely enjoy this series. I received a copy of the book from Bethany House Publishers via Celebrate Lit Tours and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.

4.5 stars
From page one, this novel was action packed. The plot centers around the perilous "quest" the two main characters go on to rescue Joanna' son and friend. There's some good backstory connection between Isaac and the kidnappers that added a lot to the story and the hero's faith journey. I like the way that Misty doesn't shy away from writing more intense details, whether it be romantic or dangerous circumstances. She didn't sugarcoat the experiences of the two young people taken captive, which helped build the plot's intensity. This also helped make the story stand out among other novels that have similar plot lines. This is only my second book by Misty M. Beller, my first being the first book in this series, and I have been really impressed by her originality and style of writing. I look forward to reading more of her books and have already started building a collection of some of her previous novels on my Kindle.

**I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in order to share my honest opinions, which I did.**

When I read Hope's Highest Mountain by Misty Beller I knew I would need to read the next book about Joanna and now I can't wait to read the third book (Faith's Mountain Home) about Joanna's friend Laura in January 2021!

This is a sweet western romance with lots of hold-your-breath moments while Joanna and rugged mountain man Isaac race to save her son and friend who were kidnapped. I was on the edge of my seat and couldn't stop reading until the very end. If you enjoy historical Christian fiction, you will love this one!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This story takes place in the Rocky Mountains and the trip is wonderful! The scenes, the suspense, the interesting characters and  getting to know Joanna and Isaac as they traveled through the mountains in search of her kidnapped son was so engaging. Loved it!

I love all of Misty Beller's Rocky Mountain books! Imagine being a young widow with a five year old son who is kidnapped along with your friend who was watching him! Then to find out they were taken because they saw the sheriff murdered! This would strike terror in any mother's heart! Joanna was ready to go after them on her own until Isaac Bowen volunteers to track them. I admired how Isaac let Joanna come along even though he could have made better time without her. Joanna and Isaac face unexpected perils along the way. When Isaac realizes who they are tracking, he knows he has to tell attractive Joanna about his past. Will she understand that he is a new creation in Christ? Will they find men willing to help them capture the gang? Anyone who likes historical fiction will want to read Love's Mountain Quest.

"Love's Mountain Quest" is a romance set in 1867 in Montana territory. It's the second book in the series. The two main characters in this one apparently met in the previous book, but you can understand this book without reading the previous one. This book really is one very long chase scene. The bad guys kidnap a young woman and Joanna's son. Joanna and Isaac set out after them just hours after the kidnapping, but they can't catch up due to accidents and mishaps. After a few days, they seemed more focused on how attractive the other was (despite injuries, lack of baths, etc.) and in intensely kissing each other. Personally, I found the viewpoint of the kidnapped Laura to be more interesting and suspenseful.

The characters had very modern sensibilities, though. For example, at the end, the women were busy feeling guilty that a bad guy (who was going to hang for murder) had been shot dead in self-defense rather than feeling elated that this very evil character would never harm anyone again. None of the viewpoint characters were willing to shoot to kill, even if it meant they or someone else might die because of that decision. In another case, the bad guys made it clear that they planned to rape Laura and kill all of the hostages soon. Yet when a bad guy was injured along with a horse, the hostages didn't take this opportunity to escape but instead stayed to help the horse. I love horses, but really? Let the bad guys deal with their injured horse.

The characters made a lot of baffling decisions, like one hostage managed to get a gun and could have used it but instead hid it where the bad guys might, maybe, take Laura to use the bathroom in hopes that she might find and use it. Or a horse lost a horseshoe, and Isaac used a rock to pound two nails in to secure the horseshoe (cringe) along with a leather strap to somehow tie the shoe on. The horse didn't really need horseshoes, so it would make much more sense to remove the other shoes rather than chance laming the horse with his method. And what is it with men knocking armed women to the ground to "protect" them rather than helping by attacking the threat?

Anyway, the Christian theme was Isaac struggling to accept that he is a new creation in Christ. He had accepted Christ but still felt guilty about poor choices in his past. There was no sex or bad language.

Captivating story that keeps you pulled in from beginning to end. The characters in this book are interesting and the author gives us a detailed enough description you can envision them as you are reading. The story begins with Joanna Watson and her young son, Samuel. Joanna is widowed and struggling. Isaac Bowen has been keeping an eye on Joanna for months now and he wishes he could do more but he knows a woman like her would never want the likes of him or so he thinks. When Samuel and their friend Laura are taken captive Isaac is the only one that can help bring them back.

I love that this book not only gives us great detail of the characters and the surroundings but we get not only Joanna and Isaac's telling of the story but also Laura so it revolves around these three characters and what is happening to Laura and Samuel and what is happening with Joanna and Isaac as they hunt for them. Heart wrenching at times and surprises and scares along the way but a great story. I am hopeful Laura will get her own story from this too.

I received an early copy to read and review and give my honest opinion. I truly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it.

A wilderness story about widower, Joanna, and mountain man, Isaac searching for her kidnapped son. The action begins right away, and there are very few characters, but the book keeps you turning pages and flows well. It sounds like a simple story, but it's so much more. You also see the side of the kidnappers, and the ones who have been kidnapped, implying there might be a third book. Beller is such a good writer and keeps my attention so I never want to stop reading. This book continues the story begun in the first one, but there's little mention of Ingrid, so this could totally be a stand alone.
I also liked that the main character, Joanna, had my name. Haha.
I received this book through netgalley for my honest review.

Love's Mountain Quest is the second book in Misty Beller's Hearts of Montana series. As often happens in series the main characters had been secondary characters in the first book. Joanna Watson is a widow with a young, high-spirited son, a single-mother trying to earn a living and make a home. Isaac Bowen assisted her on her journey to Settler's Fort after her husband's death. He is a quiet mountain man with a past. Together they must search for Joanna's missing son and friend. Beller tells the story of how their relationship changes during this quest while also following the harrowing tale of the kidnapped son and friend. I loved the plot, the action, the character development, the sensory images, and the inspirational message. I must admit however, that each time the characters mentioned feeling comfortable or confident in their own skin, I cringed just a bit due to what seemed out-of-era language. This would not keep me from recommending this book though; I thought it was a wonderful read, and am looking forward to the third book. I am grateful to have received a copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

# Loves Mountain Quest# by Misty Beller is a Christian fiction book. This book is the second book in the Hearts of Montana book series. Misty writes books set in the 1800s during the frontier times. She shares God's love and character in her books. The setting is a mountain town called Settler's Fort. Joanna Watson is a widow and wants to make a home for her 5 year old son. The themes of forgiveness, self sacrifice, trusting in God, trials are in the book. The author keeps reminding the people in the book of God's character and love. There is action, adventure in the book. It is hard to put the book down at times. I enjoyed the book. Thank you to the author , publisher, netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions are my own. I will post my review on Amazon, netgalley, Goodreads, facebook. my blog, Bookbub .

If you enjoy stories set in the mountains along with perils and suspense. then you will love Beller’s latest in “Hearts of Montana” series. We visit once again a young widow Johanna, with her small boy as she takes up residence in the small town of Settler’s fort. She does laundry for others to eke out a living for her and her son. Then the unthinkable happens her son and the young lady who was watching him have been kidnapped by a band of outlaws. Joanna enlists the help of Isaac Bowen, a mountain man who’s aided her once before. Bowen would usually stop by when he was in town to see if they needed anything and this happened to be that day. Together, they set off to recover her son and the friend who was stolen with him. Bowen feels like he knows who they are and where they have taken them. The old beast of his past rises up to haunt him. Many hardships and dangers that the mountains holds fight against them and slow them down. Of course Johanna is beside herself with worry about her son and if they will ever catch up with them. Though this horrible time of their following the scant trail of the outlaws, they find themselves drawing closer to God and each other. You will find yourself turning the pages to see what awaits their search…….
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have been a fan of Misty Beller for a couple of years. I had read a number of her other books in ebook format from the Mountain Series and do I was delighted to hear that her books were being published by Bethany House and that I would get a chance to be on her launch team. I was provided a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Since this was Book #2 in the series, I went and immediately read Book #1, Hope’s Highest Mountain. It was also excellent but not a necessity for reading Love’ s Mountain Quest. The story takes place in Montana territory and Joanna’s young son is kidnapped because he saw a murder. The story follows her arduous journey to try and rescue him. She encounters one problem and obstacle after another! There is a romantic element in Misty’s books, but it is not the major focus of the book. What I truly love about Misty’s books is the element of faith and perseverance that she artfully incorporates into her stories.

If you like historical fiction combined with stories of faith and adventure you will enjoy this new release and will probably want to go and read her other books too.

Love’s Mountain Quest is the second book in the Hearts of Montana series, yet it can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone novel.

Isaac and Joanna, who appeared as side characters in book one, Hope’s Highest Mountain, have a hard journey ahead of them before they reach their happily-ever-after. The harrowing trek to rescue Joanna’s son, Samuel, and Joanna’s friend, Laura, helped to move Isaac and Joanna’s friendship into a deeper relationship where love began to grow.

There were plenty of problems along the way and reasons that Isaac did not feel worthy of Joanna. There was also a clear faith message in the story and I appreciated that the reader could see that Isaac had changed a lot since his younger years and was definitely trying to follow God’s leading in his life. I’m looking forward to reading the next book of the series!

(4.5 stars)

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.