Emily Flynn
Nov 18, 20212 min
The blood on the handkerchief changed everything.
The year 1900 promises to be a good one for Rob and Maddie Skivington. Recently married, they look forward to building a home near family and friends in the busy industrial city of Newark where Rob owns a fledgling jewelry business. Then, an irritating cough that has plagued Rob for months turns out to be something far more insidious: tuberculosis.
When Rob’s doctor suggests a change in environment and climate, they sell their business and head to Wyoming in a desperate quest for health. They soon find themselves pitted not only against the harsh environment and natural predators, but also against a group of ranchers who seem determined to send them back to Newark.
But sometimes the strongest storms of all are those that rage within. When despair and loneliness and tragedy strike, the couple must turn to God to help them weather those onslaughts or risk being torn apart.
Maddie and Rob are trying to do what they can to keep him alive. He has consumption and the air in New Jersey does not help him. So they move west to Wyoming on the advice of Rob's doctor.
In Wyoming they find a land that has a rough element, but also good people. Maddie struggles with all the change in her life and leaving their families. Rob struggles to hide some of his symptoms from his wife until the "cure" takes hold.
This story is a different kind of romance. Maddie and Rob already love each other. They are already married. What this story brings is a couple that need to lean on each other and God as they face what comes. Through loss, pain, and unexpected gifts, they figure out their own faith and find their faith in each other. There is trial and error as they make things work until they each come to a place where they must lean on God in order to make it through the night.
This is such a beautiful story of faith and of growth. I loved getting to know this couple better having met them in the first book in the series. However, you don't need to read the first book to appreciate and love this story. It was an unexpected gift and a blessing to read.
I received an eARC and this is my honest review.