USA Today bestselling author Caroline Fyffe’s sweeping saga about five sisters finding love and forging new lives on the Colorado frontier.Raised by guardians in Philadelphia, the Brinkman sisters have suddenly been bequeathed more than the truth about their late, estranged father—they’ve also inherited the Five Sisters Ranch, the dynasty he’d built for them in Eden, Colorado. It’s theirs on one … Colorado. It’s theirs on one condition: to claim it, they must live on it for six months—a wilderness worlds away from the comforts of the city. For Belle Brinkman, her father’s last wish could fulfill a dream she never knew she had.
Though Blake Harding, their father’s protective friend and faithful foreman, has yet to come to terms with his own broken past, he finds his heart opening to the inspiring and determined Belle. But Eden soon proves to be a tough paradise for all of them when the sisters’ lives are threatened by someone hell-bent on driving them out of town. Now they must gather their courage if they’re going to secure their legacy and have a chance at claiming the new life and possibilities of love that the untamed territory offers.
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Loved this book, could have kept radingit if it were just a lot longer.
A FATHER’S LEGACY FIVE SISTERS RANCH
Once again, Ms. Caroline Fyffe has taken her readers on a roller-coaster ride in this emotional journey of family, loss, deceit, betrayal, lies, secrets, and love. The story will bring the five Brinkman sisters back to Eden, Colorado, where they were born, from their home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They must all be in attendance for the reading of the will, left by their father, John Brinkman.
The story is full of bitterness on the part of the five sisters, Mavis, Belle, Emma, Lavinia and Katie and their belief that their father and mother had a terrible relationship, he didn’t want them, and now he was gone. The complete opposite is the truth, and it will take time for the daughters of John to learn more about their father and how much he truly loved them. “Life is a paradox. Will we ever know the truth?”
The story includes the lies and deceit that these girls have heard all their life from their guardians, and how they were cheated from seeing their father and having a relationship. It will come from stories shared by strangers, learning more about a man that not only loved them but cared about the people in Eden and made the town a better place. About his love for the ranch that he named “Five Sisters” and how he took in Blake Harding and treated him like a son. “Nothing soothes a man’s soul like a wide-open vista.”
The story is full of mystery and danger with several harrowing life and death instances against several of the girls trying to convince them to leave Eden and take a lump-sum payout. But these girls are John Brinkman’s daughters, and they have the fortitude not to back down and give in to threats. Belle will prove to be a strong woman, helping out at the ranch, working with the fall roundup just as hard as the men, yet to stay sweet and compassionate with her sisters as they all cope to a new life in the west. She will learn more about not only a father she was cheated from knowing but about their mother and how her parents ended up together.
“She reminded him of John in so many ways. His stubbornness, for one. And that serious tilt to her brows, another. Amazing how that happens.”
“They knew so little about their past. Their mother was alone and destitute and their father the hero who married her to calm her dying father. The story could be in a novel, but with a teary ending instead of a happily ever after.”
“I wish I’d had a chance to speak with him, know him, live in his house. We were led to believe he despised us. Why would we want to know a father who didn’t want us?”
“Hurt makes you stronger, fear grows your courage, and heartache makes you smart.”
The story will have some mystery guest that will keep an attorney busy researching while keeping secrets. Who is trying to run the sisters out of town and what is their ulterior motive? Are their several possible romances in the works? Will Belle go back to Philadelphia and marry Lesley Atkins or will she remain in Eden to be near her sisters? Will Blake and Belle realize their feelings for each other before it is too late?
While this story is about all five sisters, it mainly focuses on Belle and the growing relationship between her and Blake, while she is trying to decide her feelings for Lesley. Belle proves to be a strong, spunky, determined woman who doesn’t back down and faces adversity head on. I think she would have made her father very proud. The greatest legacy she can leave is to continue in the direction she is going.
I am looking forward to June 2018 when the next book, True Heart’s Desire will be available.
Disclosure: I received an ARC e-copy of this book via NetGalley and voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts, opinions, and ratings are strictly my own. Also, I entered a Goodreads contest and won a Kindle copy of this book.
This was my first book to read/listen to by Caroline Fyffe. It was well written with a great storyline. I will definitely be reading/listening to more of her books. I fell in love with her characters. Looking forward to the rest of the sister’s stories as well as Henry’s story.
Scott Merriman has become another favorite male narrator. He did an excellent job! Amazing since there are so many characters in this book. His voice is soothing and easy to listen to for a longer time. I hope he is performing for all the books in this series.
*I read/listened to this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
Caroline Fyffe knows how to draw a reader into the past and keep them there. With the first book in her Colorado Hearts series, we meet the five Brinkman sisters whose lives have been turned upside down with the passing of their father. With the promise of a new life ahead of them, they leave the “modern” (for 1880) conveniences of Philadelphia to claim a ranch in the wilds of Colorado. Caroline is a master at creating engaging characters and compelling storylines that will have you reading deep into the night.
great western historical
I liked this book and can’t wait for the next one. I would recommend this for anyone who likes historical western romance novels that are hard to put down.
Caroline Fyffe is a great author and I always enjoy her books.
I enjoyed reading about the Brinkman sisters return to Eden, Colorado from Philadelphia. Most of the sisters had very few memories of their father or the little time they had spent as a family in Colorado. After their mother passed they were raised by acquaintances of their mother, the Crowdaire’s who told stories of how cruel their father had been to their mother and how he had disowned all of them. After the death of their father, John Brinkman a telegram arrives requesting that all five sisters, Mavis, Belle, Emma, Lavinia, and Katie be present for the reading of his will. Upon arrival in Eden the girls become aware they they have inherited quite an inheritance and nothing was as the Crowdaire’s had explained. The girls must decide if they want to return to the life they’ve always known in Philadelphia or start fresh on the land their father loved.
A must read.
A bittersweet story of five sisters who don’t find out about their father’s love for them until after his death. One stipulation of his will is that they all remain in the town, his town, of Eden, Colorado for six months in order to receive their full inheritance. This being the first book in the series, we’re introduced to all the sisters as well as some of the many characters in Eden.
The book is well-written but I feel that it wasn’t as well-developed as it could have been. There were several surprising crises that were resolved almost immediately without much depth. That said, it’s a sweet read, perfect for a cozy afternoon. I’m definitely continuing the series. I also really like the map of the town.
What a refreshing and wonderful book! It took me a few chapters to really get into this book but once I made it past that point I could not put it down. Belle is a magnificent strong female lead and Blake is a fantastic male lead. I have enjoyed getting to know each sister and other towns folk, also. I am excited to continue the Brinkman Sisters’ journey in Eden!
Great read! Really enjoy it.
I like reading Carolyn’s books they are easy reading ,have wonderful characters, and are page turners that you don’t want to put down and wish they would not end.
Wow this first story of this new series by Caroline Fyffe is a Blockbuster. It’s new, fresh, wild, and adventurous, the stories of the Five Brinkman Sisters who arrive in Eden, Colorado to find out what their deceased father’s will entail and not expecting much at all. Bam hit between the eyes at what transpires in the attorney’s office they really don’t know what to think and they all need time to process it all.
This is a wonderful new start to what I believe will be the next blockbuster series that the amazing Caroline Fyffe has put together. Caroline writes very intriguing characters, unimaginable character’s that you have no idea are as evil as they are, and so unsuspected. High adventure and so many things you have come to love with her writing.
If you know Caroline Fyffe’s work then you already know this one is another fantastic work of art and if you haven’t read a Caroline Fyffe’s story, then heck starts with this one and then go back to the other fantastic series she has. I promise they are all so good.
I received this ARC from the Publisher Montlake through NetGalley. I am doing my own honest and unbiased review without compensation of any kind.
All of Carolyn Fyffe books are exceptional.
Lovely story. Lots of twists and turns and very romantic,
The five Brinkmann sisters were raised in Philadelphia when their mother carried them away from their father in Colorado. All their lives, they had believed that their father was a monster and wanted nothing to do with them. The Brinkmann’s guardians had stolen the money that had been sent for their care and the letters their father had written and convinced them that he was no good and they wanted nothing to do with him. But, upon his death, they were invited to Eden, Colorado, for the reading of his will. They learned that no only was he not a monster, but he had great wealth that he only wanted to share with them and his foreman, Blake, who had been like a son to him for eighteen years.
There was a love story or two in the book, especially Belle and Blake’s, that was endearing and sweet. There was drama, suspense, a kidnapping, several attempts at murder, but over all of that there was love and romance. This story was clean and sweet with no foul language and descriptions of sex. It was a beautiful story told with strong characters and beautiful scenery.
I was given an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a terrific kick-off to a new series by Caroline Fyffe. Belle and her four sisters have just learned that their estranged father has died and they must travel to Eden, Colorado for a reading of the will. When they arrive they find that nothing that they believed about their father or Eden is true. Plus they now stand to inherit half of a very successful ranch and multiple businesses if they stay in Eden. Belle is almost engaged to Leslie and has to decide if her future lies in Philadelphia or with her past in Eden with Blake and the ranch. Filled with heartwarming characters, this clean western romance sets the stage for a great series as each of the sisters must make their own decisions in Eden.
Enjoyed reading the book it was very sweet.