Juliette Kendal has vowed to protect her siblings from their abusive step-father after their mother’s death. When she finds him attacking her younger sister, Annie, she accidentally kills him. With no way to prove her innocence she fears her brothers and sister will be taken to an orphanage if she’s arrested. Jake Gresham is known as a fun-loving, careless cowboy, as good at finding trouble as he … trouble as he is roping cattle. So far, he’s managed to avoid God and decent women. But on a scouting trip for his boss, he steps in a bear trap in a South Georgia swamp. Facing certain death changes his outlook, and Juliette, who fights tenaciously to save his life, changes his opinion of women.
When Jake asks Juliette to marry him and take her family with him when he returns to his Nebraska ranch, she sees it as an escape. But she can’t marry Jake without confessing to him and God the secret buried in her backyard.
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Author Elaine Manders does a really good job of setting a scene, which made me feel as if I were right there with Annie and Jake. She also has good character development; there is a depth that makes reading Escaped very enjoyable, even though it isn’t a light hearted story.
The book has a really good plot that had a very sensitive issue which was handled delicately, yet I knew what had happened. I appreciate that she didn’t go into detail with it. A heart warming story that focuses on love of family, I highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.
This was my first book to read by this author and I must say it was a most interesting book…..Manders has created strong characters that you can relate to and even visualize their ways and speech. Juliette Kendal is the oldest of the family. Her mother died when she was but a child, her father had remarried and had two boys and a girl by Grace and then he died. Her stepmother married a no good gambler who abused her and the children. She died giving birth and now he has turned his abuse on the younger children. Usually it is an evil step mother we read about but this is the evil step father. Juliette take a stand against him and told him to leave the children alone, if he didn’t she would kill him! Unfortunately this is just what happened. There are many twists and turns to this fantastic novel that will keep you turning the pages on and on. Manders has dealt with the rape of a child in a very sensitive way and shows that God does care. Although it seems there is no hope and no way out, God will make a way. This book will touch your heart with the love that people show for each other and the way they are there to help in any way. There is romance and a lovely ending. I was happy to read and review for this author.
Oh, wow! I loved Jake and Juliette’s story!! The added bonus of meeting up with old friends again, and finding new characters to love, including Corky, Thad and Annie, was great!! Jake needed to meet Jesus as Lord and Savior, and wow, when he did! Juliette needed to learn and remember a few things, too, and poor Annie!! I’d love to see how she does later on!! She’ll need to find a very special man of her own! Corky and Thad are going to be two heart throbs, too, when they get a little older! This was a great addition to this series!!
Escaped by Elaine Manders
5 stars
April 3, 2019
This was an amazing book. There’s danger and death, love and loss, courtrooms and courtships! Covering the difficult subject matter of childhood sexual abuse, Elaine writes in a loving way filled with empathy and tender care. I was sexually abused as a child, and this is one of the few books I’ve read covering the subject where I wasn’t triggered! It was brilliant! And the ending? I didn’t see that coming at all!