A wonderful tale: Forever by Your Side by Tracie Peterson

about the book....

After years away studying on the East Coast, Constance Browning is eager to return to her family and the reservation they serve as missionaries. She and her best friend and colleague, Thomas Lowell, have worked to get her assigned to his project cataloging the native peoples of Oregon for the Bureau of American Ethnology. But Connie and Tom have another purpose--to prove her parents are innocent of a conspiracy to goad the tribes into war.

Yet the reservation is much bleaker and the members filled with more animosity than she remembers. And the unexpected, sudden interest of Clint Singleton, the government agent on whom she had a crush as a girl, only confuses things more. With rumors of war brewing, Connie and Tom must discover who is truly behind the uprising before it's too late. With everything at stake, Connie will have to determine where her heart and future lie.

 

my review....

 

The third and final novel wrapping up the Willamette Brides series once again transports readers back in time to Oregon in the 1880s, providing a wonderful tale filled with drama and mystery and intriguing historical details. 

"Forever by Your Side" stars the bright and confident Connie, a young woman not afraid to ignore what society says is best for her to embark on an adventure back to Oregon where her family awaits, along with a people with a complicated and complex history. Peterson does an excellent job fleshing out the views of the day between mainstream society and the Native Americans, both those that were positive and those steeped in horrific racism. I couldn't help but feel grief at the way that they had been devalued and taken advantage of, and appreciated how complicated it was for missionaries at the time to share their faith with people who were so injured and afraid to trust. The mystery that comes full circle in this story about who has been stoking the flames of war seems all too plausible! And perhaps because Connie's friend is an atheist, I found that this novel more than any explored the gospel in such a clear way, and I even found myself squirming at some of the excuses Connie had used not to speak more openly of her faith, excuses of the type we can all hide behind in similar circumstances. 

I closed the final chapter of this book having found that I'd not only enjoyed this final tale of the series, but that I'd enjoyed getting to know these characters from the very first novel until now, such that they feel like friends. Peterson has woven themes of faith and God's love and mercy in a wonderful way not only into this novel but into each book in the series and the prior series it is connected to (Heart of the Frontier series). As for Forever by Your Side, I award this novel a solid rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

about the author....

 

Tracie Peterson (www.traciepeterson.com) is the award-winning author of over 100 novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her many bestselling series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana. Visit www.traciepeterson.com to learn more.

 

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