The Promise of Forgiveness

Marin Thomas

Mar 2016 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A novel of love, forgiveness, and the unbreakable bonds of family from award-nominated author Marin Thomas . . .
 
When it comes to family, Ruby Baxter hasn’t had much luck. The important men in her early life abandoned her, and any time a decent boyfriend came along, she ran away. But now Ruby is thirty-one and convinced she is failing her teenage daughter. Mia is the one good thing in her life, and Ruby hopes a move to Kansas will fix what’s broken between them.
 
But the road to redemption takes a detour. Hank McArthur, the biological father Ruby never knew existed, would like her to claim her inheritance: a dusty oil ranch just outside of Unforgiven, Oklahoma.
 
As far as first impressions go, the gruff, emotionally distant rancher isn’t what Ruby has hoped for in a father. Yet Hank seems to have a gift for rehabilitating abused horses—and for reaching Mia. And if Ruby wants to entertain the possibility of a relationship with Joe Dawson, the ranch foreman, she must find a way to open her heart to the very first man who left her behind.

Ratings and reviews

A deeply emotive story with complex characters, The Promise of Forgivness pulls at the heartstrings, drawing the reader into the lives of the characters in the book. As Ruby and and her daughter Mia step off the bus in the town of Unforgiven, it is with the intention of staying long enough to meet her biological father and then to move on. Only things don't work out that way. Grit and dirt are a way of life in the small town and Ruby's soul is just about as barren. The characters in this book were drawn with a fine hand and one could see and hear them, as Mia bonded with her grandfather Hank, and Ruby fought to protect her heart. Joe's bleakness touched me deeply and I felt his loss. Despite the pain being carried by all the main characters, they are basically good people who need to be loved and forgiven. In spite of themselves and the long held self image each of them carry, they find there is a capacity to reach out and bridge the gap, leading to the crumbling of the walls they have built around their hearts. This is a beautifully written book with a deep understanding of the nature of men and women. I received a copy of this book as a gift, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

For me this was a powerful book because there is so much power behind forgiveness. It's not easily given and most often then not so very painful for the person who is giving that forgiveness. Ruby hasn't had the best of luck and has made some bad mistakes, but who hasn't made decisions that they later regret. One thing she never regrets is her daughter. She may regret becoming a teenage mom, but never her daughter. Right there for me no matter what Ruby wins in my book. Blow after blow comes for Ruby and she decides answering the summons from her biological father may give the closure she needs on her past. She's surprised by the ornery man that meets her with a shotgun, but she has no idea that this decision will change the course of her life forever. Ruby has trust issues no one would blame her and now her relationship with her daughter is struggling. As she gets to know the man who didn't keep her she realizes there is more than meets the eye. Trouble is brewing and it has Hank's ranch in it's sights. Ruby has an inner struggle of stay or go. On top of that ranch hand Joe is sure easy on the eyes. Joe has his own demons to work through himself. This unlikely little family blossoms into something really special. From thinking that this could be the worst mistake of her life could potentially turn out to be the best thing to happen to them all. I cried, I laughed, I smiled, and I shook my fist while reading this one. It's an overall great read that I highly recommend!

About the author

Marin Thomas is an award-nominated author of more than twenty-five novels, including the Cash Brothers series. She grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin, and attended college at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she played basketball for the Lady Wildcats and earned a BA in Radio and Television. Following graduation, she married her college sweetheart in a five-minute ceremony at the historic Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. While her two children were young, Marin coached youth basketball. Now that her son has graduated college and her daughter is in graduate school, Marin writes full-time. She and her husband currently live in Houston, Texas. The Promise of Forgiveness is her first women’s fiction novel.