Best if books are read in order.
EMOTIONALLY GRIPPING!
She’s running from a past, he’s duty-bound to protect her.
He stands on the other side of sorrow and despair with a love so vast and strong it reaches into her soul and sparks the courage to become the woman she dares.
Cora Williams is an ex-con with no place to go but Gibbs City, Missouri. A small mid-western town where she hopes to … mid-western town where she hopes to remain undisturbed and unobtrusive. With her nephew Jack, her wants are simple, to hide from the horrors of her past.
Sheriff Virgil Carter is a WW2 veteran with demons of his own, but Parker County is his to protect. That includes a young, beautiful woman newly released from prison who longs to be left alone.
Love often comes like sleep, softly, quietly and unexpectedly. You just have to close your eyes and dream.
more
This was pure delight to be transported to a time period that I have only studied at school, though I must also note from a different country.. Don’t let that sway you. History, even in a fictional sense, done fairly accurately, is always a joy to read and to learn from. To see how far we’ve come and have we learnt from the past, to live in our present and how our future is to be shaped.
Take a step back into the past and reminisce on a time that was anything but easy or simple, for the town of Gibbs City, Missouri. Post WW2, 1947. You’ll be drawn into the life of Cora and Virgil. Their story, their journey isn’t going to be hearts and roses. well not yet. It’s ambivalent. It’s a lack of trust in men in general and Virgil in particular. It’s a system that has filled Cora with fear and horror. it’s learning to start over from scratch, when you have little to no resources and little to show who you were and who you’ve now become. All because of mistakes made and no one, not even family, to stand in your corner.
You’re an ex-con. That fight and the prejudices that come along, won’t be an easy battle to overcome, but Cora wants to keep her head down, live quietly, work hard, to ensure her a new start.
Though mistrust stands in their way, it will be the kind hearted, generous town sheriff who wants to protect his town and the new lady that has arrived, that will turn their lives upside down. He will be her champion, along with some beautiful and budding friendships, that will pave the way for Cora to find herself. She wants no trouble, nor attention, yet trouble has a way of finding her. Trouble is definitely stirring and growing.
It’s background is steeped with the hardships facing a small country town following the war. The author, I believe has depicted the triumphs, the struggles, the prejudices, that both men and women faced, Their mannerisms, their fortitude and resilience to face adversity both socially and economically within their family, friendships and as a community.
It’s a story of courage, learning to take second chances when those chances seem so scary. Learning to trust and survive, when trust is so very fragile and resources are at best… minimal. Somehow, some way… Cora will find inner strength to make it work. It’s definitely worth an investment into Virgil and Cora’s life and the paths they will travel to find love. Easy… no! Definitely worth the hardships and troubles they will face as truths and lies are exposed.
** You need to take note: this is just Episode 1 of an 8 part episode of the Women of Courage series. It does end with no conclusion – there is still so much more to delve into with Virgil and Cora in further episodes. It will be a costly to get to it’s conclusion. Maybe something the author needs to consider for future books written this way. The concept of episodes is not wrong… but price point does need to be considered for the reader/consumer to keep them coming back for more. That’s my only slight sticky point from a retail/marketing perspective and doesn’t detract from a wonderful read. You need to decide if it’s worth your time and investment.