The Spark of Love is the final book in Amanda Cabot's Mesquite Springs trilogy. While I hadn't read the first two books, it was still easy to see how the series had progressed and read the third book independently. The overarching theme of this book was one of forgiveness and if we will choose to release our right to anger or become enslaved by bitterness.

Alexandra Tarkington has lived with her great-aunt since the death of her mother. When an unwanted suitor attempts to force a relationship in order to gain access to Alexandra's sizable inheritance, she leaves home to reunite with her father who is building a hotel in Texas.

Set in the late 1850s, this book is historical romance but does not include a great deal of historical detail. The style of writing would appeal to a wide variety of readers, particularly those who prefer a more simplistic, predictable read. I tend to enjoy books that have greater character development and more complicated story lines. The Spark of Love was enjoyable, but not the type of book I would normally gravitate toward.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Have you ever read a book that just pulled you into it so deeply that you didn’t want to stop reading? The Spark of Love is one of those books. I am a new reader to Cabot and I was amazed at her world building. I felt like I was in Mesquite Springs with everyone, watching everything unfold. The characters felt like real people and I didn’t want the story to end. I loved Alexandra’s strength and goodness. She was such a strong woman and she had a giving heart. I was hoping she would stay safe and get her happily ever after. Gabe kept me on my toes trying to figure out if he would ever disclose to Alexandra his real purpose for being in Mesquite Springs. Everything just seemed to twist together in this story and it left me anxious for when it would unravel. The supporting characters were just as endearing as the main ones, and I felt like I was a part of Mesquite Springs. Although this is the third book in a series, you can read it as a standalone. I have not read the previous books and I didn’t feel lost or confused at any part of the book. I am now a fan of Cabot and look forward to reading more book by her! I received a copy of this book for free; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

In this great conclusion to Cabot's current trilogy, we catch glimpses of characters from the previous two books but focus on a wealthy heiress leaving New York to find the father she had rarely seen. Also in Mesquite Springs is the Pinkerton agent who is investigating said father for investment scams which have bilked not only his family but many others out of their savings.

What follows is a tale of an Easy Coast debutante trying to fit in in a western town to run her father's business, an undercover agent trying to discover the new scam, and how various local characters either help or hinder their romance. Both the debutante and the agent are searching for God's direction in their lives as they seek to establish careers.

I always enjoy Amanda Cabot 's novels for the well-, developed characters and humor she inserts. An excellent read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Revell for allowing me to read this ARC of The Spark of Love. My thoughts are my own.

This story did not captivate me. For one thing, the lack of separation between sections in each chapter became very distracting for me. Whereas most books feature an embellishment that separates different characters' sections, The Spark of Love does not. I understand that as an ARC copy, this probably was put into the book prior to actually publishing. Nonetheless, this version was very difficult to read. I found myself having to reread paragraphs before I realized that I had moved on to another character's thoughts.

For another, I did not fall in love with the main character Alexandra, or her love interest Gabe. Unfortunately, the characters fell flat and the storyline felt trite.

Heiress Alexandra Tarkington flees New York to Mesquite Springs, Texas, to escape a rejected suitor and reunite with her father.

An entertaining read with instantly likable characters, and a engaging plot. I loved returning to Mesquite Springs with all of the familiar faces. I liked that Alexandra is a sensible young woman, who is capable of making her own decisions, though she is constantly underestimated by others. She handles many situations with grace, and I like that she keep trying to get to know her father better despite his initial reaction.

Gabe is a honorable man, who unknowingly walks into the situation and into Alexandra's life. I loved the interaction between him and Alexandra, and how he is always trying to do the right thing.

Overall, this was a wonderful read with a great plot and excellent characters. I especially liked how Sam and Laura befriend Alexandra and Gabe, and seeing more of their story.

A highly enjoyable western romance, with excellent characters, conflict, and a engaging plot!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The story opens in 1857 and Alexandra Tarkington has to run away from home. She fears physical violence from the man she refuses to marry. She travels to Mesquite Springs, Texas with the hope her father will protect her. On her journey she meets private investigator, Gabe Seymour. Unbeknownst to her, he is looking for her father. To complicate things, people are looking for Alexandra and their intentions are not good.

This is a multilayered story with a complex plot. There is no shortage of dangerous characters who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Amongst them is Alexandra's father, a man of questionable character. His history is one of secrecy and shady business dealings which is concerning. As the story moves along things become more dangerous for Alexandra and she is in danger. Gabe vows to protect her, but it remains to be seen if he can do it.

I found this to be a well written and engrossing story. Filled with danger, mystery and romance, this book is well worth reading. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Spark of Love, by Amanda Cabot, is book three in The Mesquite Spring series. This story does follow after the previous stories so it is best to read this series in order. In this story we meet the Tarkington family and those who are interested in them. Alexandra flees her home in New York to get away from a very demanding man who wants to marry her. She go to be with her father, who is building a hotel. Meanwhile others are trying to find her to gain control of her money.

This is a wonderful story that is well written and easy to imagine. The story is filled with suspense, some mystery, friendships and romance. I especially enjoyed how willing Alexandra is to help others, with teaching children in school and taking over some responsibilities at the hotel. Her struggle with forgiveness is so real and easy to understand. I enjoyed catching up with the other wonderful characters from previous books as well. I do wish the author would make one more story to tell Laura’s story though. I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this story, this is my honest review.

Alexandra Tarkington is an heiress, but she’s also one smart cookie. With a romantic disaster on the horizon, she sets off by herself from New York to Texas. What’s the big deal? Well, it’s the 1850s and a woman traveling alone can be dangerous. Using padding to hide her figure and dust to cover her hair, she still manages to meet a nice man, Gabe, on the stagecoach. Nice – hmmm – he is also out to prove that Alexandra’s father is swindling people. Two more characters are out to find this heiress – the spurned almost fiancé and someone bent on revenge. While Alexandra is trying to make a life for herself, making friends, painting pictures for her dad’s hotel and teaching art at the school, Gabe may have fallen in love. Not surprisingly, Alexandra is starting to have romantic thoughts right back.

The romance is very light and consistent with the time period of waiting for an official courtship to make feelings known. The town of Mesquite Springs may be small but there are huge things on the horizon and turning pages, I quickly got immersed into the ‘what will happen next’ drama and enjoyed every page.

While this is the third book in the series, they do not have to be read in order. Each is a separate story, with the common thread being the town of Mesquite Springs and different characters highlighted in each book.

This is the perfect weekend read, beach read or just want to be entertained read!

Amanda Cabot wrote The Spark of Love, book three in the Mesquite Springs series. I am always intrigued by Ms. Cabot’s novels. Each one has vivid characters and exciting adventures. In this book Alexandra is fleeing from the clutches of a would-be suiter. She heads to Mesquite Springs, Texas where she is sure she will find her ever-absent father. She wants to help him in his businesses.

Also headed to Mesquite Springs is Gabe, an investigator from Cincinnati, Ohio, who has been hired to find a swindler, who happens to be Alexandra’s father. She, of course, knows nothing of her father’s clandestine deeds. She just wants to get away from the ruthless man who insists that she marry him. This rejected man in New York, Franklin, has also hired men to find Alexandra to drag her back to New York where he will force her to marry him. After the marriage, he will be in charge of her inheritance and will have no further need of her.

I love the way the story develops and also the way that Ms. Cabot writes about the land and how she describes the surroundings in each chapter. I can really get the feeling that I am there in part. I will admit that I had a difficult time distinguishing exactly who hired whom in the plot and had to turn back to find out what was going on at some points in the book. Nevertheless, I always enjoy Ms. Cabot’s novels and recommend them to anyone interested in historical novels and romances

Spark of Love, by Amanda Cabot, is a tale set in Texas in the year 1857!

Alexandra Tarkington knows that she must get away from Franklin Beckman. He is an angry and violent man, whose goal is to get his hands on her inheritance. So Alexandra decides to head to Mesquite Springs by stage to meet up with her father, Calvin Tarkington. She hopes he will provide her with protection. However, Gabriel Seymour, an investigator heading out on his latest case, steps in to protect her from two rowdy cowboys on the stagecoach!

At the end of their journey, Alexandra and Gabe both end in the same town. Alexandra plans to simply visit with her father; however, Gabe has plans to arrest him. Gabe has been hired by a man who thinks Alexandra’s father is up to no good. When Alexandra first sets eyes on her father, she realizes this frail man would not be capable of protecting her. What had happened? This man, who is now going by a different name, but still has the eyes her father!

You wonder what will happen when Gabe finally discovers what is actually going on with Mr. Calvin Tarkington and more importantly how Alexandra will respond when she learns what Gabe has been investigating!

Although The Spark of Love is the third in a series and I have not read the first two, I was able to jump right in and not feel lost. I'm sure knowing more about the other characters would have been nice but it didn't take away from enjoying the storyline. I definitely plan to read more by Amanda Cabot because this is one of my favorite types of books. I loved Alexandra and Gabe's romance. You could really see how much they cared for one another and how he wanted to protect her. If you enjoy Christian Historical Fiction, then this is one you should definitely read!

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

Published 1 March 2022.

Alexandra Tarkington has been raised by her aunt since her mother’s death. Her father left for parts unknown and returned only a couple of times a year to see his daughter. But when Alexandra needs to leave town because of a persistent and difficult suitor who won’t take “no” for an answer, it is her father she seeks out.
Gabe Seymour is an investigator hired to look into the business dealings of Calvin Tarkington, Alexandra’s father. Neither Gabe nor Alexandra knows who the other is when they hit it off on a stagecoach headed for Mesquite Springs, Texas. Calvin – now known as Mr. King – is building a grand hotel in Mesquite Springs. It appears to be a legitimate business venture, but Gabe feels certain there is chicanery afoot, if he can only track it down. But what will happen when Gabe’s true purpose for coming to Mesquite Springs is revealed? And when it becomes clear that someone intends harm to Alexandra, can Gabe identify the culprit and keep Alexandra safe?

The Spark of Love is the third in Amanda Cabot’s Mesquite Springs series. It’s the first I’ve read, but I was able to follow the story just fine. Of course, now I must read the first two, because I want the backstory on all of the characters. But the reading of this one didn’t suffer for me not having read the first two.

Alexandra is a marvelous heroine. In the 1850s, when the book is set, women were not really expected to be strong-willed, outspoken, and independent. Yet she sets out for Texas alone to avoid an unpleasantly persistent suitor. She is clearly intelligent and not afraid to engage in the fine art of verbal self-defense. And she wants desperately for her father to get past his narrow, rather archaic mindset and see that she is capable and has skills that she can use. She makes herself useful, both to her father at the hotel and in her new role as the local school’s art teacher.

Gabe is a delightful hero as well. He may not be described as the most handsome man in the story, but we see that the prettiest face is not always the one that’s most worthwhile. He’s clearly taken with Alexandra, and he’s a good sport, too. I love the part where Alexandra is giving the Gottlieb twins painting lessons, and Gabe just rolls with it when the twins call him out for his poor artistic skills (as only young childen can do).

The supporting characters are wonderfully drawn, some loveable, some despicable. The Hill Country setting that Cabot describes makes me want to go visit. And the mystery and suspense woven throughout made the book hard to put down!

I laughed, I cheered, I booed, I jeered, I even teared up a little sometimes. I’m sad that this is the last of the Mesquite Springs series. I just got here, and I don’t want to leave! If you love historical fiction, clean romance, action, and suspense, you will adore The Spark of Love. I give it five shiny stars. The only thing that would have made it better was if it had included the recipe for that famous oatmeal pecan pie that was mentioned so often!

What a great setup, the story began with a bang! It was great to be back in Mesquite Springs again, this time with Gabe and Alexandra. The characters were broken and real. I enjoyed going on their journey with them. What a great read!

Alexandra Tarkington, after a long journey, arrives in Mesquite Springs.
here she finds her father: much older, gray, tired.
"Her father was anxious for her to leave (..) This is no place for a gently raised girl"
But for Alexandra there is another reason her father hasn't welcome her well and urged her to return at her aunt home in New York.
she'll discover why.
"The future could not be built on anything other than a foundation of truth and trust".
A long intriguing story, brave and determined characters, pleasant reading.
Thanks to let me read this book to: author, editor, Interview&Review

I’ve been looking forward to The Spark of Love ever since I read the wildly intriguing teaser for it in the previous book Dreams Rekindled. I’m happy to say the entirety of it lived up to my high expectations for the third installment of this brilliant series by Amanda Cabot.

Alexandra Tarkington is the quintessential Cabot heroine–possessing beauty, brains, and backbone. Her boldness in journeying by herself from New York to Texas, her empathy towards the motherless twins, her generosity in giving of her time and talent, and her persistence in proving her worth to her father despite his antiquated beliefs gave me reasons to admire her.

Similarly, Gabe Seymour fits the mold of a Cabot hero–capable, protective, and supportive of the heroine in whatever she wanted to achieve. I was initially worried about his deception but was reassured by his honorable actions to make it right and his instant belief in Alexandra’s integrity. I really liked that he didn’t have all the answers and he sought assistance in his search for them.

The slow build of their romance made sense in light of Gabe’s hidden purpose for being in Mesquite Springs. I really liked the wholesomeness and sweetness of their courtship, especially the double dates with Sam and Laura. The friendship that developed among these characters was another highlight of the book for me. The support system, the warmth of community, the solace of the church–they’re essential to the Mesquite Springs series and they’re in full display in this book.

My only cavil about this story is the presence of too many unsympathetic characters without much dimension to them. Two villains to provide intrigue and suspense would have been plenty. Four was excessive.

Alexandra knew she had to run to escape from Franklin's demands. The obvious choice was to run to the man she thought she could trust: her father.

Alexandra was raised to follow directions. Be a lady. But in order to survive she had to be brave and do the unimaginable.

Alexandra not only found herself on this journey. She found love. She found her family.

I received this ebook from Revell to review.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

The Spark of Love by Amanda Cabot is a sweet story filled with adventure, mystery, romance, and faith. This book is the third and final installment of Ms. Cabot's Mesquite Springs series. Although not my first experience with Ms. Cabot's writings, I have only read one or two of her other works. I appreciate the wholesomeness of Ms. Cabot's writing and her clear intertwining of faith and Biblical themes into her characters and their struggles. Sometimes in Christian fiction writings characters are too perfect or unrealistic. Ms. Cabot's characters seemed quite well developed, realistic, and human. I truly enjoyed her characters in The Spark of Love. Another plus of Ms. Cabot's writings is her wholesome romance which she adds to her stories without cheapening or glorifying the sweet romance.
One slight criticism for this book I noticed was the slow pace of the first third of the book. I actually stopped reading the book and picked up reading it several days later on multiple occasions. I enjoyed the overall storyline, characters, and plot twists, but I did struggle to get engaged enough in the beginning of the book to continue reading it. Something else I struggled with in this book was the transition between characters. It seemed, at least in the ebook version of this book to not have much separation between the different characters and perspectives. This made me stop and re-read several sections sometimes to make sure I understood which character was now speaking.
The Spark of Love follows Alexandra Tarkington's quick journey from New York to 1850s Texas on a dusty stagecoach to escape the threats of a former suiter. Although Alexandra disguised herself and tried to mask her true destination, two men show up in the small town of Mesquite Springs shortly after her arrival. Alexandra arrives in Mesquite Springs with the hopes of surprising her father who is working on building a hotel, but not everything is as it seems. Alexandra's father is not happy to see her and clearly wants her to return to New York. While Alexandra has never enjoyed a deep relationship with her father, she is still shocked by his disinterest in her arrival. As Alexandra finds ways to be useful in the small town she begins to make friends, including a man she met on the stagecoach named Gabe Seymour. Gabe and Alexandra spend more and more time together, leading to a friendship and possibly even more, but will Alexandra discover Gabe's true intentions and purpose in Mesquite Springs? Is Gabe who he really seems to be? Can Gabe help Alexandra find out what Alexandra's father is truly up to in Mesquite Springs? Will Gabe be able to protect Alexandra from the increasingly frequent "accidents" she experiences? Can they survive the threats? Can their relationship survive the discovery of truth? Read The Spark of Love to find out for yourself! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: Revell graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and part of an unbiased review.

I love all the twists and turns that occur in this third book in the Mesquite Springs series. I love Alexandra and Gabe. These two are a wonderful couple and they fit in well with the other people in this town. They both came to Mesquite Springs to find out anything they can about Alexandra’s father. There were many great characters in this book and I even came to like Calvin Tarkington at times. This is a fantastic historical romance and a great ending to this series. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

This is the third book in the Mesquite Springs Series. This complete series was entertaining and a series you did not want to put down. This book was the story of Alexandra and Gabe. There was a lot of suspense to this book which kept your reading to find out. I loved the characters in this book and it was a beautiful storyline. If you did not read the other books in this series I think you would enjoy them to. I received a copy from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest opinion. Amanda Cabot has a way of writing that keeps you wanting more.

When a spurned suitor threatens her, heiress Alexandra Tarkington flees New York for Mesquite Springs in the Texas Hill Country, where her father is building a hotel. But the happy reunion she envisions is not to be as her father insists she return to New York. Instead, Alexandra carves out a niche for herself in town, teaching schoolchildren to paint and enjoying the company of Gabe Seymour, a delightful man she met on the stagecoach.

But all is not as it seems. Two men, each with his own agenda, have followed her to Mesquite Springs. And Gabe is an investigator, searching for proof that her father is a swindler. When a series of apparent accidents threaten her life, Alexandra and Gabe will have to work together to discover the truth. And perhaps along the way they will discover that the sparks of attraction they've felt from the beginning are more than sparks--they're love.

My review: Alexandra Tarkington is a force to be reckoned with. When a suitor threatens her and say she will marry him, she disappears. Alexandra travels to Mesquite Springs where her father is building a hotel. She does not get the warm welcome she is expecting. Her father wants her to go back to New York and marry the man who threatened her. She refuses to go and works at trying to get her father to change his mind. Meanwhile Gabe catches her eye. Gabe is on the trail of a man who swindles people out of their life savings. He discovers that man is Alexandra's father.

This is a good book to read by the fireplace on a cool evening.

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