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Synopsis of Lonestar Sanctuary
Lonestar Sanctuary jumps right into the action when someone breaks into Allie’s trailer at a rodeo and threatens to kill her. Allie takes her daughter and runs to Bluebird Ranch hoping to find a sanctuary and hoping that working with the horses will help her daughter Betsy to talk for the first time in a year. Now she just has to figure out how to find, and explain the situation, to Rick, her deceased husband’s best friend, and hope he is willing to help her keep custody of her daughter and protect them from the crazy guy who killed every member of her family.
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First Impressions
I picked this book up because I thought it would be a good western Christian romance novel. Surprisingly, this is a contemporary noel instead of a historical novel. I didn’t realize that until after I started reading it. Next, there are many layers to the conflict. Multiple unrelated problems are pulling them apart and pushing them together at the same time. At some points, all of the conflicts can make it feel unrealistic. However, real-life can sometimes feel as if everything is conspiring against you. This is a marriage of convenience story where they end up falling in love.
Lonestar Sanctuary Parent Guide
Overall: PG-13 for passionate moments and intense sequences
Violence: PG intense sequences knife in a door crack, car crash, kidnapping, and attempted murder;
Language: G
Adult Content: PG-13 for passionate kisses
Reading Level: Grades 7+
Quotes
“The horse stepped closer to where Allie stood with Betsy. The little girl put her hand out, and the horse nuzzled it. Hope shimmered in Allie’s heart. Maybe he was right. Maybe this horse was the key to unlocking Betsy’s heart.”
– Colleen Coble, Lonestar Sanctuary
“There are always choices in life. People are going to pull you in all directions. Where you end up is a direct result of how wise your decisions are.”
Colleen Coble, Lonestar Sanctuary
“She looked like she’d been handed a life sentence, and Rick had to admit he felt like he was facing a stint in a Mexican prison.”
Colleen Coble, Lonestar Sanctuary
My Thoughts
Lonestar is an okay easy read with some action and undertones about God. This is a clean romance novel. In some places, there were too many story elements and they were going in too many different directions to try and find the bad guy. Sometimes I forgot what the real conflict was, or I would forget why they got married in the first place. I do like how they talk about how love is an action and you can choose to fall in love and choose to stay in love. In the beginning, it is a bit slow and I really didn’t like Rick from the beginning because of his perception and reaction to Allie. It was just confusing to see him going from not respecting her and not liking her to falling in love.
Lonestar Sanctuary is classified as a Christian novel but I needed more of that in the story. I would have liked to see more of the character’s relationship with God and how it changed through the experiences they went through. Most of the mentions of God in Lonestar Sanctuary are the characters thanking him in an offhand way for his divine intervention in a dangerous or nerve-wracking situation.
Ultimately it is an okay easy read with a few suspenseful parts. I think the situation and reasoning behind needing to get married right away is a bit shaky but if you suspend disbelief a bit it works out because they fall for each other. I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters at first and actually I like them better in subsequent books and secondary characters rather than primary characters. It is great if you like horses and the ranch or rodeo life.
What to Read Next?
If you are a fan of this book check out the next book in the series Lonestar Secrets. Here is another post with more great clean romance novels.
Happy Reading!
Emily
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and decide to buy, I make a small commission for referring you. This helps me make a few cents for doing what I love.
