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–Synopsis–

Jude Coulter is far more comfortable in his family’s sapphire mine tucked in the Montana mountains than on the bustling streets of New York City, where he’s been sent to deliver a shipment of gems. His relief at boarding the train for the first leg of his journey home is short-lived when an accident renders him unconscious.

Angela Larkin worked hard to earn this assignment for the Treasury—an undercover mission to determine the source of the sapphires brought each year for auction in the city. When an accident causes her target to lose his recent memory, Angela jumps at the opportunity to create the ideal ruse. Jude seems surprised to learn the two of them had married and were returning from a glorious wedding trip, but his severe head injury keeps him from protesting…for now.

But the accident is far from the worst threat they face. When enemies close in, Angela and Jude must depend on each other to survive the treacherous journey home. As the danger mounts, so too does an attraction neither of them anticipated. But can their love withstand the revelation of their tangled beginnings?

–Review–

This being the third installment in the Brothers of Sapphire Ranch series, I had pretty high hopes for the continuation, which were not misplaced! Honestly, this surpassed the first book as far as my overall enjoyment and captivation while reading. This follows the similar dual POV nature of the first books, with the exception of a third POV from Naomi back on the ranch. Her POV is only present for two chapters, but it adds to the final cliff hanger pointing towards the fourth book. Very interesting switch up!

Jude and Angela’s story felt so much more exciting and dramatic than the previous books. Angela being shrouded in mystery made me question where her loyalties lied on multiple occasions particularly as she grew closer to Jude. A huge part of her job was lying so was she an unreliable narrator? Jude’s amnesia predicament added to the overall tension of their story as you knew there was going to come a time when he became aware of Angela’s deceit, you just didn’t know when or what would unfold in response. The constant traveling, jumping from train to boat to horseback had me on edge as though something were constantly about to happen. I loved this aspect since it made me hesitant to put the book down to see if my anxiety was warranted.

The world opened up so much in this book. The rugged mountainous plains of the Montana Territory gave way to congested streets and dense urban buildings of New York City. It was cool to experience the parallels of the country and cityscape through the historical lens of the post-Civil war era. Through the taxi like nature of the carriages and the cramped train systems, the hustle and bustle felt almost refreshing. It was interesting to see Jude in a whole new light as well. He was clearly out of his element within the urban jungle, so it was humorous to see him uncomfortable and struggling with the sheer amount of people.

Angela, being an employee of the United States Treasury is both resourceful and pretty situationally aware. This makes sense due to her having been sent on assignments where she was expected to tail people of interests and uncover their secrets. Her mission involving Jude is one such case. She has a bit of a tragic past which furthers your understanding of her allegiance to the government. Her mixed birth of Scottish and Chinese have clearly shaped her differing views of where she fits in society, causing her to have a bit of an identity issue that carries over to spiritual matters. As time goes on, she continues to solidify her understanding of herself, which concludes with her solidifying her relationship with Christ, and in turn, Jude. She had a very beautiful and realistic character arc in this one. My favorite of the female protagonists so far.

Jude, the third oldest Coulter brother reminds me very much of Jericho, with his stoic nature and in the way he guards his emotions. His relationship with God was very foundational to his character and assisted him tremendously with his dilemma with Angela. You learn more of his past in particular, a tragic event that has scarred him since childhood. He uses this experience in his spiritual talks with Angela, showing her the importance of forgiving herself so she can move forward in her walk with God. Jude is struggling with his fleshly desires throughout the book, particularly on the steamboat. This causes him to give in to his carnal desires a bit and create some steamy moments with Angela (still clean of course). He actually finds a way to outsmart Angela when he realizes she had lied, which was one of the more out of character parts in the book for Jude. It was an interesting read lol

Multiple familiar characters make appearances including Two Stones and Heidi, Jericho and Dinah, Jonah and Naomi, and Sean and Lillian. However brief their interactions are, it was refreshing to see each of their personalities once again, particularly with their interactions with Angela in welcoming her to the gang.

All in all, this was my favorite installment in the Brothers of Sapphire Ranch series so far. The cliff hanger that is thrown into the mix at the end points to a potential love triangle plot in the fourth book (I am making assumptions). While I am not a big fan of that trope, I shared the same sentiment with the amnesia trope, but I ended up enjoying how Misty Beller used it to her advantage and wove it into a very enjoyable story line.

-About the Author-

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

Raised on a farm and surrounded by family, Misty developed her love for horses, history, and adventure. These days, her husband and children provide fresh adventure every day, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

Misty’s passion is to create inspiring Christian fiction infused with the grandeur of the mountains, writing historical romance that displays God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

Sharing her stories with readers is a dream come true for Misty. She writes from her country home in South Carolina and escapes to the mountains any chance she gets.

Learn more at http://www.MistyMBeller.com.