The last of the Westward Hearts series, this story centers around Ginger and her need for revenge. She seeks to avenge the death of her brother, wrongly caused by the doctor traveling with the wagon train. But she finds herself seeing the good in the man, and has trouble seeing him as a doctor who would let any man, even an outlaw, bleed to death. As the tale unfolds, the truth emerges, showing that a little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing. A good conclusion to a well written trilogy. ( )

I was reading this book during our move, and my computer and internet-less time. Apparently I never made a review. Which is so bizarre to me, but oh well. I do not remember the specifics of this book, having read it three months ago, but I can tell you that I loved it while reading it. It is the third and last installment in the Westward Hearts series from Avon Inspire by Tracey Bateman and I loved the entire series. The characters were so likable and believable. They were real to me and went through some hard times on the wagon trail. As soon as I can get myself a copy of the first book, I'm keeping this series on my permanent shelf. It is definitely a collection of books that I would not mind reading time and again for a little bit of a lesson, a little bit of romance, and a good bit of entertainment. I highly recommend the entire series in order! ( )

I found the book to be pretty predictable, but that did make it to be an easy book to read. My only real complaint is that the ending seemed a little rushed. One moment Ginger and Grant are fighting and the next they are engaged to be married. I would have liked to have read some romance and courting scenes. While this is not my favorite book by this author, it was worth the read. ( )

Perfect for : Personal reading, Book Club reading (Discussion questions are included in the back of the book)

In a nutshell: I enjoyed this book a lot, it has a great mix of adventure, romance, danger and life in a wagon-train! Having very little female influence in her life growing up, Ginger Freeman is now a little rough around the edges, but it makes her very lovable and refreshing. Raised within a band of outlaws, her original intent when joining the wagon-train was to kill Grant, the man she believes had a hand in the death of her older brother. She finds that Grant is a skilled doctor with a willingness to help others, and a faith that runs deep. Now she is faced with a choice - go through with her plan, or return to the outlaws without having avenged her brother's death. As a reader, I got to see the slow transformation of Ginger as her faith grew. Once I got into the story, I couldn't put the book down. It was a very enjoyable read, and I'd like to feel that I learned a few things about prairie life and the west.

My Review:
I really did enjoy this book, but think I would have liked it even better if I had read the two previous books. The book is great as a stand-alone book, but I did see parts that referred to the earlier story in Ginger's life, that were most likely filled in with the previous books. That said, the book really was fine to read all by itself.

Characters: Tracey's book was filled with fascinating characters such as Lane (a despicable outlaw), Sam Two Feathers (religious leader/Native American within the wagon train), Ginger (main character, raised in a band of outlaws, bent on revenge), Web (Ginger's good-for-nothing "pa" and outlaw leader), Grant (the wagon-train doctor whose wife was killed during a raid by the outlaws led by Web), I could go on and on - there were a few more important characters, but in all they were very well-developed and it was great to see some of the characters have a change of heart and gain in faith. If you get a chance to pick up the book, please come back and let me know how you like Miss Sadie. She is possibly one of my favorite characters in quite a while!

Story-Line: It was a faith-filled (but not preachy) book, teaching forgiveness and instilling hope in both the characters and the reader. Taking place in the 1850's, a wagon-train headed for Oregon runs into a band of outlaws and has to face the odds when Cholera runs through the community. If that isn't enough to encourage a person to find faith, add in three scheming outlaws (at least), a wealthy man heading west to start a new life with his two kids, a doctor who lost his wife during a raid by those same outlaws, and a girl who was raised by outlaws, who is now surrounded by open, honest, faith-filled friends. It was very entertaining and enjoyable.

Readability: I found the book easy to read. The authors style and pace were both good.

Overall: A fun book that ends the Westward Hearts trilogy very well. If you are a fan of Christian fiction, prairie life, wagon-trains, etc, you will enjoy this book. ( )