Escape with Peace River

Peace River

By: Jaclyn M. Hawkes

The Goodreads Blurb: The police didn't understand the danger, but she did. Her father had always been abusive, but now, with a ten million dollar Thoroughbred farm on the line, and a powerful bookie leaning on him, her father had become out of control. But how do you get away and take a world famous stallion with you? Carrie was getting desperate when a handsome and honorable but thoroughly cynical rodeo cowboy from Wyoming happened to show up with a horse trailer. He didn't ride a white horse, but he was definitely a knight in shining armor. He'll protect her from the mob, but can she survive falling in love with a bull rider?
First I want to make readers aware that this is a LDS contemporary romance. So if religious aspects or mentions are unappealing to you then don't read this book. I felt that the religious aspect was well written and it added another dimension to the characters. Being a Christian myself I felt it made the characters more realistic to me and think that it doesn't detract from the overall story, but adds to the theme of the book.
This book had a lot of things I enjoyed. I read it on a plane ride where I was delayed and had to sit on the tarmac for over and hour. It was the perfect escape from the diaper smelling plane I was stuck on. I loved horses and enjoyed reading about the cowboys and horse events. Being a horse back rider I could tell immediately that Jaclyn Hawkes was also a rider. She was so realistic when writing about the experience of traveling to horse shows and caring for horses.
I loved Carrie and could see why she had so many loyal friends. Despite the many things that go wrong for her she had this quiet personal strength that I really admired. I felt that she was a wonderful example of persevering through life and the trials we are given.
The reason Peace River lost a star for me is I couldn't quite accept that depiction of the police. While I know that sometimes police forces don't intervene when called upon, it seemed to me that I couldn't understand why they weren't getting involved here and if that was realistic or not. I also found it strange that she mostly stayed in Carrie's perspective, but occasionally would throw in another point of view and it wasn't always a smooth transition.
Overall if you want a enjoyable clean romance that has horses, hot men, and religious tones take a leap of faith and give Peace River a chance.
Check out Peace River on Goodreads and Amazon.