My blurb …
| Genre | Christian, Historical Western |
| Pages | 297 |
| Series | Love on the Santa Fe, #2 |
| Release | 5 Jul 2022 |
| Publisher | Bethany House |
| Cover | Nice but doesn’t quite fit |
| Rating | 3 stars |
Isabella Garcia, 25, has lived with her aunt in opulence and is not happy to return to the mining town of Silver Veil to celebrate Christmas with her parents. Her beau, Diego Morales, is left behind in California. And her father sent a railroad businessman, Aaron Bailey, to escort her home who finds her to be spoiled and selfish.
Upon arrival, she finds the town has grown considerably, and sadly her father’s health is failing, A visitor makes a surprise visit with news that turns everything upside down. Brewing — trouble, changes. Can she rise to meet them or expect others to solve them?
My review …
What drew me to this book was the author, Tracie Peterson. It wasn’t the cover or the title; neither of them convey the genres that fit the description. Having read eight of her books, I trusted the Christian genre, as well as historical fiction by #NetGalley, would be handled appropriately.
Characters
Isabella, I have to warn you, is a spoiled brat. Totally self-centered. Everybody is out of step except her. And her poor my-parents-don’t-understand-me pity parties get old really fast. In other words, she may be 25 but she has a long way to go before she grows up.
Diego is about as charming as a rattlesnake in a matador costume.
Aaron is the perfect choice to escort her “home” to Silver Veil. He can read her like a book and isn’t impressed by her behavior. Yet stays a gentleman.
Plot
The plot of a dying father wanting to reconnect with his daughter should pull out our heartstrings. But I couldn’t quite get to that point since the parents let her go off and live with her aunt. Let her never come home. Basically allowed her to mature to the age of 25 and yet act like a bratty 12-year-old. Sympathetic? Yes. Empathy? Sorta.
Another plot revolves around Diego who does not (no surprise) walk on water the way Isabella thinks.
What will happen to the town when her father passes? He and his wife did SO much for the people. Will that legacy continue or fall totally on her mother’s shoulders?
Isabella’s aunt is a key character that I never felt I got to know about her. Why did she let Isabella stay with her all those years? Why didn’t she curb some of the uppity behavior? Does she see Diego for who he is? And she is a senior lady — what happens to the California estate when she dies?
Of course, Aaron is our hero but again, I liked him but … Was it the swirling plots & sub-plots that bothered me or the characters? Yep, came down to the characters.
The setting is different than most western genres that seem to gravitate to somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
Tracie Peterson is a competent author. I have loved some of her books; others not so much. And sadly, Beyond the Desert Sands, falls into the latter category. For me, it was a solid three-star read. For you, it may be more.
I received a complimentary e-ARC copy of Beyond the Desert Sands via NetGalley from the publisher, Bethany House. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#BeyondTheDesertSands #NetGalley #TraciePeterson
