Beyond Forgiveness

Summary (from the publisher): Tracson Cordera and his cousin Billy were best friends. they'd built their cattle ranches side-by-side during the Gold Rush years in Montana territory. One spring day Trac made a foolish bet with his headstrong cousin. Billy was killed, leaving his young wife Janie a widow. Trac's guilt and Janie's hatred of him changed everything. He couldn't stay and he couldn't go, but one thing he knew...He could not abide Janie's contempt.

Review: I won a signed copy (!) of this novel as a giveaway on Goodreads. This novel is a sweet, Christian story of a man wracked by guilt after his cousin and best friend dies, leaving behind a young widow. Plotwise, it reminded me a lot of Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke, which is about a young widow and widower who find love together. That likeness is definitely a good thing because Love Comes Softly is one of my favorite books and series. I felt like Trac was a good man who worked hard to do what was right by his family and Janie. I liked how close he was to his sister Louisa and her two daughters.  I thought it was really interesting that Strefling chose to write the novel from Trac's perspective instead of the female perspective of Janie, but I thought she pulled it off. 

From a technical standpoint, this book had some minor grammatical issues with punctuation and a few fragments. Also, there were a few sections that I felt needed some expanding or more details. But nothing major and certainly nothing that got in the way of enjoying the story.

Definitely an enjoyable, inspiring story of loss and moving on to find love again. I was so happy when Janie finally came around to liking Trac! Thanks to the author and goodreads for the free copy and allowing me to read this touching tale.

Stars: 3