Clara Vesper's husband is killed suddenly just as the story opens. While she is surprised and shocked, she is not devastated because she never loved her husband.  While he is the father of her twins, whom she loves dearly, her marriage was more of a business agreement and less of a love affair. Clara's heart resides with another man, one she has not spoken to in fourteen years. 

After her brother-in-law steps into to help Clara continue to live the comfortable life she is used to - the Vesper Jewelry business is quite lucrative- she decides she needs to get away from the high life in New York and return to her aunt & uncle in Montana. Her aunt and uncle run a sheep ranch, which is where she would spend her summers before her mother decided she was of age to be married. And now that Clara is widowed, it is the perfect place to return to. 

Curtis Billingham has been in love with Clara for years and years, but when she was taken from him fourteen years before he started down a vicious spiral and became a man he is now ashamed of. While he has turned his life around, he knows he will never be worthy of Clara, and is trying to focus on a new path in life, maybe even signing up for the army now that it is inevitable that the US will join the war against Germany. 

I enjoyed the added twist with war and espionage that is going on in the background of the story. Without such a tension filled subplot this story would have been very stale.

I also really enjoyed Paul & Madeline Sersland, Clara's uncle and aunt. While some of their scenes are bit over the top, they are the fun and loving family that every clean romance needs. They truly care for those in their family and see family as a unit that is supposed to care for each other, whatever the costs.  They bring most of the warm and fuzzies one expects from the genre.

Overall, this story felt rushed, like the author had to meet a deadline over producing a wonderfully crafted work. And as Ms Peterson puts out so many books, that might just have been the case.  There were wonderful hints at what could have been, but they often fell flat after just a few pages. The end effect was a story that needed to be embellished and flushed out more.

In the Christian love story genre, we all know the guy is going to somehow get the girl, so it's no surprise how quickly we meet Clara and Curtis and know the story is about them getting together. And yet, not once, did I worry they might not.  There was no real tension they had to overcome, just some minor hops that one-page talks fixed. It just wasn't there.

I really wish this would have been a bit more evolved in the details.

I am going to give this a four heart rating because the faults are obvious to me because I am a little wary of the genre, but for fans, it will be a bit hit - fans of Peterson and of the clean Christian romance that is. 

I would suggest this book to any audience who is looking for a clean historical romance. This is certainly a Christian book, so if that is not your style, you most likely will not enjoy this one - this is clearly a book about Christian characters and how their Christianity is part of their daily lives. As far as ages, really this is completely clean and appropriate for any age (granted I am talking young teens, as kids just wouldn't be into the story).

As far as historical fiction fans, this might not be the right choice either.  While the beginning of WWI is certainly a major part of the story, and there are details about it, the war is not the focal point really. 

Wondering Questions to Consider

This kind of story certainly displays how even after a person decides to follow Jesus, and commits their lives to daily obedience to Christ, life on this earth will still come with disasters and challenges. Do you enjoy stories that show how broken the world is, even for believers? Is it encouraging to read stories that show how, with the support of other godly people, the characters are able to move forward on the path God has placed them on?