Review: The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas

The Promise of Forgiveness

by Marin Thomas

Publisher: NAL

Pages: 352

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  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.


Kritters Thoughts:  One woman has had a pretty tough couple of years and then she receives a note that changes the past, present and the future - she was adopted and never knew and now her adoptive parents have deceased, so she can't ask why and her birth father wants to reconnect.  Ruby must go back to where she was born to fit all the pieces together and its just at the right time as her teenage daughter needs a redo also.

I adored this story.  It had all the right elements - family drama, romance, and a little mystery (no one died), just trying to find answers.  The pacing was spot on and I never felt like there was a lull, but it also didn't feel overly dramatic.  This is one of those books that just hits the sweet spot.  

This book is Marin Thomas' debut in the women's fiction world and after looking at her long list of published books in romance, I love that she tried this new genre and I think she nailed it.  I would absolutely read Marin Thomas' next book, maybe without even reading the synopsis!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.