TITLE:  Facing the Dawn
AUTHOR:  Cynthia Ruchti
DATE:  2021
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS: ***

From the back cover:
While her humanitarian husband Liam has been digging wells in Africa, Mara Jacobs has been struggling. She knows she's supposed to feel a warm glow that her husband is nine time zones away, caring for widows and orphans. But the reality is that she is exhausted, working a demanding yet unrewarding job, trying to manage their three detention-prone kids, failing at her to-repair list, and fading like a garment left too long in the sun.

Then Liam's three-year absence turns into something more, changing everything and plunging her into a sunless grief. As Mara struggles to find her footing, she discovers that even when hope is tenuous, faith is fragile, and the future is unknown, we can be sure we are not forgotten . . . or unloved.
 
My review:
I’ve never done this before. I’m going to review a book I didn’t—no, couldn’t—finish. The book came highly recommended; many readers wiser than I loved it. But for me, the unrelenting, soul-crushing heaviness of the storyline nearly undid me. By the time I got into the eighth chapter, I needed to put the book away.

The prose is flawless, and Mara Jacobs makes a tragic heroine. From the recommendations, light does eventually shine at the end of the long, dark tunnel of woe, but my mental health could not continue on this journey with her. I apologize to the author for that.
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If you enjoy tragedies, you may love this book. If, like me, your emotional health is less than prime, bypass this one. I could only give this story three stars. I was given a copy of Facing the Dawn by the publishers.
 

ITLE:  A Cowboy for Keeps (Colorado Cowboys #1)
AUTHOR:  Jody Hedlund
DATE:  2021
PUBLISHER: Bethany House
STARS: ****

Greta Nilsson's trip west to save her ailing little sister, Astrid, could not have gone more wrong. First, bandits hold up her stagecoach, stealing all her money. Then, upon arriving in Fairplay, Colorado, she learns the man she was betrothed to as a mail-order bride has died. Homeless, penniless, and jobless, Greta and her sister are worse off than when they started.

Wyatt McQuaid is struggling to get his new ranch up and running and is in town to purchase cattle when the mayor proposes the most unlikely of bargains. He'll invest in a herd of cattle for Wyatt's ranch if Wyatt agrees to help the town become more respectable by marrying and starting a family with Greta. But when old insecurities and surprising revolutions arise, can a union born out of desperation survive? 

While my modern sensibility cannot imagine willingly entering into marriage with a stranger, Greta’s reasons for doing so are admirable. Her sacrifices for her half-sister drive her away from everything familiar—and into more trouble than she’d ever imagined. Greta’s gumption and strength of character make her a worthy heroine, and little Astrid is a mischievous charmer.

Wyatt’s difficult past drives him to risk everything—even his marital status—to succeed. His reasons are commendable, but he needs some wisdom from his good friend and partner Judd to conquer old insecurities.  

The gorgeous front cover of this book drew me in as did the smooth writing style of the author. The supporting cast fleshes out the story well, and the setting does the rest.
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I enjoyed A Cowboy for Keeps and award it four stars. I was given a copy of this book by Baker Publishing Group and Graf Martin Communications. Recommended.