Book Review (and a Giveaway!): Rocky Mountain Redemption by Lisa J. Flickinger

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REDEMPTION
SERIES: Rocky Mountain Revival #1
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Romance
PUBLISHER: Wild Heart Books
RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2020
PAGES: 228

A Rocky Mountain logging camp may be just the place to find herself.

To escape the devastation caused by the breaking of her wedding engagement, Isabelle Franklin joins her aunt in the Rocky Mountains to feed a camp of lumberjacks cutting on the slopes of Cougar Ridge. If only she could out run the lingering nightmares.

Charles Bailey, camp foreman and Stony Creek’s itinerant pastor, develops a reputation to match his new nickname — Preach.  However, an inner battle ensues when the details of his rough history threaten to overcome the beliefs of his young faith.

Amid the hazards of camp life, the unlikely friendship growing between the two surprises Isabelle. She’s drawn to Preach’s brute strength and gentle nature as he leads the ragtag crew toiling for Pollitt’s Lumber. But when the ghosts from her past return to haunt her, the choices she will make change the course of her life forever—and that of the man she’s come to love.

Rocky Mountain Redemption is a sweet historical romance with a solid faith thread and a beautiful setting. The sights, sounds, and smells (good and bad lol) of a Rocky Mountain lumber camp come alive with Flickinger’s descriptions, and if you’re a mountain lover like me you may find yourself whispering ‘the mountains are calling and I must go’ under your breath (you know, so you don’t appear weird to others LOL).

Of the many different characters in Rocky Mountain Redemption, my favorite is Miss Sophie – an older woman who takes Isabelle under her wing and is perhaps the only person in the whole story who truly cares about her with no prejudice or misconceptions. Sophie is a much more layered character than she appears to be at first, and I’m so glad that Isabelle has her as a friend.

While I loved the setting and enjoyed the story overall,  there are some inconsistencies in continuity, and I had a difficult time understanding the motivations/actions of several characters. Preach is one such character, and I just couldn’t get into his and Isabelle’s romance because of this. He falls in love with her basically at first sight and decides she’s the woman for him now that he’s a changed man…. until he finds out why she came to stay with her aunt. And then I wanted to jerk a knot in him for his reaction. He’s one of the first people to know the whole, traumatic story, and his self-centered response is pretty appalling. I understand what the author was trying to show in his character, but from that point on I had a difficult time believing his feelings for Isabelle were as strong as he claimed.

Bottom Line: Rocky Mountain Redemption puts readers right in the middle of a logging camp in the Rockies in the late 1800s. Breathe in the scents of pine trees & freshly cut timber, apple pies, and a fresh mountain stream… and just stand upwind of all the unwashed lumbermen haha. Isabelle is a sympathetic character, despite her naivete, and you’ll just want to hug her more than once. Readers may also want to be aware that the book does deal with traumatic events that may be painful for women to read, especially if they’ve experienced a similar assault. While there are some inconsistencies & confusing motivations, overall this is an enjoyable read with a sweet message of forgiveness and redemption.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 3.5 stars / Enjoyable!

KissingBook Level: 3 / may forget to breathe on occasion

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Lisa J. Flickinger lives and writes from the cliff of a river along the majestic Rocky Mountains. When not writing or reading, you will find her scouring antique shops or sipping a maple latte with friends and family. To learn more about her other books, visit www.lisajflickinger.com

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What about you? What makes you want to read Rocky Mountain Redemption by Lisa J. Flickinger?