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Frontier Courtship
She had made a solemn promise to see her younger sister to safety in California. But the endless journey across the frontier was proving a heartbreaking test of courage and endurance for Faith Beal. All she had to sustain her was her steadfast belief in a
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2008
11 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Hansen
186 books250 followersValerie Hansen is the pen name of Valerie Whisenand.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Although I have been a published author since the mid 1980s, I have been writing women's Christian fiction almost exclusively since 1999.
There is a longer, more detailed bio on my website so there's no need for me to repeat all that here. Right now, I write for all three Love Inspired lines, Romance, Suspense and Historical. I'm delighted to have been included that broadly and besides, it keeps me so busy that I stay out of trouble. Well, mostly.
You'll find me on the LI Historical blog as well as other LI features. If I try to do much more I won't have time to write my books!
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Although I have been a published author since the mid 1980s, I have been writing women's Christian fiction almost exclusively since 1999.
There is a longer, more detailed bio on my website so there's no need for me to repeat all that here. Right now, I write for all three Love Inspired lines, Romance, Suspense and Historical. I'm delighted to have been included that broadly and besides, it keeps me so busy that I stay out of trouble. Well, mostly.
You'll find me on the LI Historical blog as well as other LI features. If I try to do much more I won't have time to write my books!
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 30, 2011
"I have a very idealized, romanticized vision of the Old West and what it must have been like to live and explore there. I blame this on "Little House on the Prairie" primarily, but it always seemed very exciting to live in a relatively unexplored world. Valerie Hansen is a good author and I've enjoyed some of her other books, but this one isn't her best.
The plot centers on a wagon train heading to California during the heady days of the Gold Rush. The train's nefarious Captain, Ramsay Tucker, has plans for 16-year-old Charity Beal that involve stealing her inheritance. Her 19-year-old sister, Faith (I assume that there's a third sister, Hope, somewhere) has promised to see Charity safely to California to find their father following their mother's untimely death.
Aiding Faith is mountain man Connell McClain, who is heading west to search for his missing fiancee, Irene. Connell blends in well as he was part of an Indian tribe for awhile and even married an Indian woman (who was killed during a raid). Hansen adds a nice touch of rivalry here, as Faith must deal with the fact that while she's attracted to Connell, he's engaged to Irene.
As another reviewer pointed out, Irene and her Indian suitor are more interesting characters than Faith and Connell. Charity is simply an idiotic teenage girl who elicits no sympathy from the reader. It's a decent read, with a lot of details concerning life in the Old West and Indian tribal customs, but it's not a keeper."
June 24, 2019
Loved this one! I’m always on the lookout for LI books with Native American characters. This book had lots on Native American information, characters (not main ones, though), and daily life.
March 4, 2024
Oh where to begin?...
Not one thing about this book was good!
Let me list the things that were annoying:
1. None of the characters were good or likable at all (thank GOODNESS Faith's sister Charity was barely in this story)
2. The story was just a constant mix of running way, murder, Faith lusting over Connell (and then being convicted about it right after), Faith not understanding the Native American culture, and Irene being a totally rude butt-wipe.
3. Faith is always running away and then running again, then running to save someone, and then those people start running some more.
4. The end is super rushed and a little boring; too easy.
5. Tucker dying in the end... Yeah, I get it, he's an outlaw, but that was way too dark for this christian novel....and Irene's hostility and thirst for revenge is just too much.
6. Irene being rude and having a bitchy pick-me attitude the whole way! Why didn't she just pull Connell aside and say, "Sorry, but I don't want to marry you anymore; I fell in love with an Indian." Instead she was rude the whole way, attacked Faith more than once, and was simply horrible the whole time.
Welp, I've just about had it with these Love Inspired novels. I've read some that are good, but most often than not, they're poorly written, boring, and too repetitive.
The romance part of this novel, which is the most important part, was totally crap. It was lacking and what content we DID get from Connell and Faith, was too little too late. I mean really it was just Connell picking her up 'cause of her hurt ribs, telling her what to do while visiting Native American camps, and them just kissing in the very end once Irene ran off with her Indian boyfriend.
Now, I'm always a fan for the historical romance trope and the "bare minimum" trope (where the couple can't do much more than hold hands and look at each other because they're in the olden times and/or are super Christian), but all this wasn't enough because it wasn't written in well enough! If written well, these small bits of romance could carry the reader through the novel. Hansen just didn't write it in well at all and we're left with this bad book. Sorry! I really wanted to like this book. I kept this book on my shelf for over a year and even gave it another full chance after initially DNFing it. 😁
Not one thing about this book was good!
Let me list the things that were annoying:
1. None of the characters were good or likable at all (thank GOODNESS Faith's sister Charity was barely in this story)
2. The story was just a constant mix of running way, murder, Faith lusting over Connell (and then being convicted about it right after), Faith not understanding the Native American culture, and Irene being a totally rude butt-wipe.
3. Faith is always running away and then running again, then running to save someone, and then those people start running some more.
4. The end is super rushed and a little boring; too easy.
5. Tucker dying in the end... Yeah, I get it, he's an outlaw, but that was way too dark for this christian novel....and Irene's hostility and thirst for revenge is just too much.
6. Irene being rude and having a bitchy pick-me attitude the whole way! Why didn't she just pull Connell aside and say, "Sorry, but I don't want to marry you anymore; I fell in love with an Indian." Instead she was rude the whole way, attacked Faith more than once, and was simply horrible the whole time.
Welp, I've just about had it with these Love Inspired novels. I've read some that are good, but most often than not, they're poorly written, boring, and too repetitive.
The romance part of this novel, which is the most important part, was totally crap. It was lacking and what content we DID get from Connell and Faith, was too little too late. I mean really it was just Connell picking her up 'cause of her hurt ribs, telling her what to do while visiting Native American camps, and them just kissing in the very end once Irene ran off with her Indian boyfriend.
Now, I'm always a fan for the historical romance trope and the "bare minimum" trope (where the couple can't do much more than hold hands and look at each other because they're in the olden times and/or are super Christian), but all this wasn't enough because it wasn't written in well enough! If written well, these small bits of romance could carry the reader through the novel. Hansen just didn't write it in well at all and we're left with this bad book. Sorry! I really wanted to like this book. I kept this book on my shelf for over a year and even gave it another full chance after initially DNFing it. 😁
January 5, 2024
I love books that deal with the frontier life.This book made me feel like I was out on the frontier with the characters. I laughed, cried and got mad at some of the characters in this book. I had a hard time putting this book down. If you want to go back to the frontier days this is a book to do it. I love this author. Please write more stories similar to this one. Enjoying Reading!
January 30, 2019
Finished in one day! So yeah, I liked this book!
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
December 20, 2008
This is one where the cover and the tag line really don't match the content. It looks all peaceful with the placid word "courtship" in the title. There's not really time for courtship here with lots of attempted murder and a desperate race to reach California. But our hero and heroine fall for each other through their struggles, as it should be in this kind of book. The inspirational part is fairly low-key and flows as part of a settler's typical beliefs. My only complaint is something that occurs in other Harlequin novels I've read; the author writes in third person but switches character view point mid paragraph.
December 29, 2014
She had made a solemn promise to see her younger sister to safety in California. But the endless journey across the frontier was proving a heartbreaking test of courage and endurance for Faith Beal. All she had to sustain her was her steadfast belief in a loving God--and the guiding hand of a stranger who truly seemed heaven-sent. Connell McClain was her selfless guardian as their wagon train slowly made its way west. And as they shared the dangers of the trail
August 15, 2011
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee; yea, in the show of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be over past. ~ Psalm 57:1
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ~ Romans 8:28
Time Period: 1850's
Location: Oregon Trail & California, USA
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ~ Romans 8:28
Time Period: 1850's
Location: Oregon Trail & California, USA
June 9, 2009
Seriously inconsistent characterization, a story that dragged for being so chock full of intrigue and murder, but parts of it were really interesting.
July 30, 2010
I enjoy reading about the old west and this book did a good job in delivering that.
Read
February 12, 2015A nice fluff read. Definitely predictable and definitely has some plot issues (as I've found most Love Inspired books do).
July 24, 2015
I liked this book!
June 15, 2015
Despite the boring name, it was a good story
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews