Footprints on the Horizon

I can see this novel made into a television series. I'm not kidding! When I first saw the cover I wasn't sure I'd like the story despite the intriguing summary on the back of the book. But I wasn't disappointed. The characters were rich and the drama contained real-life conflict that kept me reading. I was totally into this story and fell in love with the different romances as they occurred in their unique settings. One of a married woman and her battle-scarred husband, the other of a woman who denied herself true love until old age, and the most amazing story of all...the woman who falls in love with the "enemy" who is a brother in the Lord. I just love stories with such impossible barriers, yet the love of Christ breaks through as long as His children follow His will and not their flesh, which is often deceptive and leads to heartache. Forgiveness and looking beyond the outward appearance are strong themes in this novel. You will be holding your breath in several places and swiping tears from your eyes in others. If you want to read a story that will move your heart and warm your spirit, then you will want to read Footprints on the Horizon. Trust me!

All of the books in the Pine Ridge Portrait series score a 5 according to me! They are great! Clean and Christian, with a perfect blend of romance - and horeses! I do recommend starting with the first book, Secrets on the Wind, rather than this one - the third. Read them all and enjoy!

Stephanie writes book three in this series in Nebraska with our good friend CJ Jackson all grown up and running a horse farm. She has never married the love of her life, Will. The preacher's family includes daughter Jo who loves horses and works summers for CJ. Mia is a little girl whose daddy is a large part of this book. As men and women leave and return from the war, lives are changed, some are torn apart forever, others are completed. Many hometown boys come home as statistics and this has made the town leery of the prisoner of war camp that is established just outside their borders. However, a few of the townsfolk realize these young Germans are no more to blame for the war than are the young men fighting for America, they are all just doing their patriotic jobs. There are good and bad among all of them. Prejudice and hate have overtaken some of the town people. They cannot allow any happiness or decent treatment to befall the prisoners. Others have the desire to help, feed, educate and hold church services for them. Still others, like CJ, decide to use prisoner labor for their farms, decisions which literally divide friends, families and lovers. Jo is a young woman with emotions she cannot understand nor control. The whole town is waiting for Will's son Johnny to come home to marry her, while she is fighting feelings she has for a handsome blond German prisoner of war. A feisty, expensive horse is the common thread that allows her near the prisoner. It is interesting to see the changes made when crises cause men and women to really think about what matters. Men who are disfigured rethink their priorities, children come to their senses. Pain and suffering know no nationality and it is heartening to see prisoners become patients and receive excellent care at the hands of Americans and see hardened hearts soften. Thank you Stephanie for another great book and a return to many of our past friends and the addition of some great, new ones.