Claiming Mariah by
Pam Hillman
Tyndall House Publishers
Reviewed by Teresa Mathews
5 Stars*****
In this story Pam Hillman takes us out west to a town
named Wisdom located in Wyoming
Territory. Wisdom is a quiet town that is filled with God-fearing, hardworking
folks. Mariah Malone's father, Seth was
one of those decent and respected citizens; everyone will be shocked if the truth comes out of how he bought his ranch.
Mariah Malone has a hard time believing her father's death-bed confession of a terrible offense he committed as a young man. Seth had partnered with Jack
Donovan in a goldmine and it seems Seth did some dishonest things. After
hearing this news Mariah helps her father write a letter to Jack Donovan asking
forgiveness.
Months later when Slade Donovan and his brother Buck arrives, Mariah is
shocked to hear there was a lot more to the story than her father told her.
Slade tells her he is there to claim the ranch that was bought with his
father's money and he wants her out
of his house and off of his land!
Slade never thought he would find a beautiful young
woman running the Lazy M Ranch, in fact he hadn't thought about anything but
the life-long hatred he's had for Seth Malone on the long trip to Wisdom. Now the
only thing that matters is taking what rightfully belongs to him, and if
that means Mariah and her grandma are left homeless then so be it.
After Slade shows Mariah the deed to the goldmine;
which doesn't have her father's name on it, she feels she has to do what
he asks. What will she do? Where will she go and how will she explain to her
elderly grandmother that her son has caused them to lose the only home Mariah
had ever known?
After having a talk with his brother Buck, Slade has
a change of heart and tells Mariah that she can stay on as a hired cook until
his mother and sisters come. What a life
changing decision that will be! Does God have a plan to bring peace and forgiveness to the hearts of these two
people who have been hurt by their fathers?
This is the
first book I have read by Ms. Hillman and what a pleasure it was. Being raised
in a home with a dad who loved Westerns this book was just like a trip down
memory lane for me. There are cowboys, cattle and of course your
run-of-the-mill cattle rustlers, and let's not forget the wonderful romance
thrown in. The story line was so good it had me when I read the blurb on the
back. Ms Hillman is certainly a talented writer and I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of
this story especially how she dealt with the hurt and unforgiveness in both
Mariah and Slade's life. It served to remind me that when you hold on to
unforgiveness you only hurt yourself. Thanks Ms. Hillman for an absolutely fantastic
read!
GIVEAWAY: Ms. Hillman is graciously giving away one book this week along with the one OWG is giving away. U.S. winner - choice of book and format. International winner - ebook only. Please like Pam's Facebook Author Page and let me know in your comment. Don't forget your Email Address in case you are our winner!
Sounds like a great book! I like the name of Wisdom for a town, and I like westerns. Nice to learn about an author I'm not familiar with.
ReplyDeletesusanlulu@yahoo.com
SUSAN isn't that a great name? Wonder if it would help if we renamed DC that..think it would remind the people running our country they need more WISDOM!! lol Thanks for coming by today! :-)
DeleteSusan, your comment reminded me of where I came up with the town name. I usually try to brainstorm a series proposal for most of my stories and Claiming Mariah is no exception. Even though the book is a stand alone, my working series title was The Beginning of Wisdom series.
DeleteThe series title and ideas for the books went along with these two scriptures:
When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 KJV
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Psalms 111:10 KJV
Eventually, Slade's bitterness overshadowed much of the pride aspects of the book, but still pride does play a part: Mariah doesn’t want the community to know what her father did years ago. She gains wisdom by deciding that pride is standing in her way. Slade was ashamed of his poor upbringing. He feels a sense of pride that he is avenging the family name by demanding the ranch. But he is brought low when he realizes that all was not as it seemed.
Thank you for mentioning the town. This aspect had completely faded into the background until you mentioned it. Lightbulb! lol
Ahhh... reading your review TERESA brought back memories of this great story!! Thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteI was raised in a home with a dad who loved westerns too! Or was that everybody of our generation?? ;)
NOELA you could be right, I wish we had more of those on TV now instead of all the trash that's on.
DeleteWe all loved westerns---especially Bonanza! Loved Little Joe, too. (ahem) This storyline sounds intriguing, and your review is wonderful, TERESA!
ReplyDeleteDIANA I thought I was the only one that loved Little Joe! ;-) Slade makes a pretty good substitution! lol
DeleteI loved Hoss too, but for different reasons! LOL
DeleteAwesome Teresa !!! I have not read a western in so many years, I cannot even tell you what it was that I read.
ReplyDeleteI knew the cover I loved on this book but I have it still on my must reads list, thanks for the great review.
Linda
Faithful Acres Books
faithfulacresbooks@gmail.com
Hi LINDA I love a lot of different genre of books but there's nothing like a western to give me warm memories of my childhood. Thanks for being a faithful follower and dropping by!! :-)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKANNAH what a great comment! I'm sure PAM would love for you to win and do a review and I would to read it!! Thanks for coming by and making me smile!! :-)
DeleteI can do nothing but agree. Cross my heart! Honest! :)
DeleteDiana, thank you for the wonderful review!!! :) I'm so glad you enjoyed Claiming Mariah.
ReplyDeletePAM thanks so much for interacting with the followers, it makes them feel special. I'll take the compliment about this being written by DIANA, she writes such amazing reviews! :-) I want to thank you for all the hard work that you put into your books...it certainly shows!
DeleteOops! Sorry about that Teresa! Diana, Carrie, Teresa, Noela...it's like having 15 kids and going through all of their names before getting to the right one! :)
DeleteLol Pam no worries I have been there done that and I only have two kids. :-) Besides Diana and I have been friends for years.We are like twins, we attend the same church and we have been known to show up in almost identical outfits. lol
DeleteTeresa, great review. Ahhhh, westerns and cowboys! My favorite type of story to read. And while I hadn't yet been born when these awesome TV westerns were created, some of my favorite shows are Gunsmoke, Rawhide, and Cheyenne (think Clint Walker *sigh*). So I am definitely interested in reading Pam's work. Please enter me in the drawing. I am following Pam's author page. Thank you! :)
ReplyDeletebookwarp(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks Angi...now I have the Rawhide theme music running through my head for the rest of the day. It could be worse, couldn't it?
DeleteANGI I know what you mean those old shows are so good! Most of those were on before my time but Gunsmoke was still on when I was born. That was one of my dad's favs. Mom on the other hand wasn't a fan of TV at all so she was forever telling Dad to turn off those "bang bang shoot 'em ups". lol Thanks for coming by; here's hoping you win one of PAM's books!!
DeleteWhat a fantastic plot! I'm looking forward to reading the book to see how it all turns out! Thanks so much for the review and giveaway!
ReplyDeletecolorvibrant at gmail dot com
HELLO HEIDI! So glad you dropped in! I hope you get to read it too, PAM is such a good writer, I know you will love her books. :-)
DeleteToo fun! Hope you enjoy it, Heidi!
DeleteTeresa, Thank you for review . I loved the post. This book looks great! the characters and story line drew me right in and I can't wait to read it . I have read a few of Pam's books before and once I picked it up I had to keep reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for giveaway.
I liked Pam's F B page
mcnuttjem0(at)gmail(dot)com
JACKIE I hope you do get to read this, it's wonderful. Thanks for coming by.
DeleteJackie, you've read my work before? Oh, happy dance from down in MS!!!! :) Thank you for sharing that. And thank you for liking my FB page. You rock!
DeleteI LIKED her! :) I've been really wanting to read Claiming Mariah! :) Plus all the great reviews I've been seeing have only peaked my interest even more!!! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance to win a copy Ms. Hillman and Teresa! :)
Amada (pronounced: a.m.a.th.a)
amada_chavez{AT}yahoo{DOT}com
Waving at you AMADA, good to see you. Sure hope you get to read this, winning it would great wouldn't it? Good . Luck :-)
DeleteAmatha, thanks lady! I've been blessed with a host of great reviews. Reviews can be such an eye-opener, and I mean that in a good way... :) Once a lady wrote a review on one of my books and gave some great ideas that would have worked perfectly. I thought, "Man, I wish I'd thought of that!" lol
DeleteGreat review, Teresa!
ReplyDeleteTeresa and Diana, I ALWAYS thought Little Joe was the cutest cowboy on TV, I loved Hoss also - because of his gentleness, and sensitivity! Other favorites were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and The Cisco Kid - cowboys, and cereal in front of the TV, were a Saturday morning staple!!
Would love to read "Claiming Mariah", Pam!! Sounds like a wonderful, eye-opening, story of forgiveness, and redemption, filled with secrets, suspense, and romance!! I haven't read any of your books yet, and appreciate the opportunity to win a copy of "Claiming Mariah"- thank you SO much, Pam and OWG!!!
bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com
OWG
LIKED Pam's FB page!
Waving at ya BONNIE!! Thanks a million for stopping by and making me smile thinking about my Saturdays as a kid. :-) I know you will love Pam's books so good luck in the drawing!
DeleteBonnie, ah, Saturday mornings. I got to watch just a little bit of Saturday morning cartoons. For some reason, (maybe because we were farmers and had a dairy farm) the old TV we had wasn't turned on until all the work was done at night. Then, it was turned off as soon as daddy watched the 10 o'clock news. But I'm sure I got plenty of cartoons and Saturday afternoon westerns in! :)
DeleteThank you for liking my page. Good bless!
I enjoyed your review. The story sounds great. I love Westerns. I have been drawn to books that deal with forgiveness. Guess God is trying to tell me something. I would love to read and review this book. fishingjan[at]aol[dot]com
ReplyDeleteJAN glad the review piqued your interest, it's a wonderful book. Here's hoping you win a copy and can write that review! :-)
DeleteJan, sounds like Claiming Mariah would be right down your alley, then. Forgiveness is a huge theme in fiction, even if it's not the overall theme, there's usually some aspect of forgiveness involved. Maybe that's because we all deal with it in some form or another, and as we discussed earlier, it's hard to forgive. Hope to see you on the 'net again, Jan. :)
DeleteI would love too read your book. Reading is my absolute favorite.
ReplyDeleteoh.hello.hiya@gmail.com
Wow, Danie, you are a night owl, girl! ;) Reading is a girl's best friend, isn't it? Hope you grab a copy of Claiming Mariah soon.
DeleteSome times I can't sleep so I look for free book giveaways I also do Pinterest too. You can follow me at Danie Walther. And I was in NY on Feb 5.
DeleteTeresa, what a wonderful review of - what sounds like - a great book! Thanks for making me add another book on my TBR stack! ;)
ReplyDeleteMARIAN what's a mom to do but "encourage" you to read, read, read!! lol :P
DeleteWhat a great day and a wonderful interview. Thank you Teresa, and OWG! Also, friends, don't forget about the Goodreads Giveaway. Tyndale is giving away FIVE copies of Claiming Mariah on Goodreads. Click here to throw your hat in the ring for a chance to snag one of those copies! :)
ReplyDeleteWOW! PAM thanks for sharing this with us. I read Claiming Mariah on my kindle but it would be great to have a copy to hold and admire the beautiful cover! :-) Headed over there now to throw in my hat...oops I don't have a hat on...better run grab one first! :P
DeleteAn other good review Teresa. You made me want to read this book and the new one too. Thanks Pam. I know it will be good. Love westerns anytime. And, Teresa and Diana, you two are just babies if you weren't around to watch Bonanza, Big Valley(more good looking guys there), Chyenne, Wagon Train, John Wayne in so many westerns(by the way I got to meet him and eat with the crew and watch them make a movie.) and so many more. Can't remember them all but there was a lot of good one. Used to watch Roy Rogers and Gene Autry at the small theater we had in our small town. I loved reading the westerns by Lewis La'Amour. He's the best and had so many books made into movies. I use to have quite a collection. Some got ruined in a flood. If you can find any you should read them. I sure would love to win one of Pam's books. Please put my name in the drawing. I just might get lucky. Hello to the other OWG gals. Love you all. God bless.
ReplyDeleteMaxie mac262(at)me(dot)com
lot.
Hallo, Hallo Ms. Hillman!
ReplyDeleteGuess what!? I'm first in queue for Mariah!!! I couldn't believe it!! Eek. I wonder, will this be the week the book arrives? I cannot wait to share my reaction with my librarians, too! Happy, happy me! I saw your lovely tweet but I've been happily coming back round to OWG as well! I finally was able to sort out how to get back into my regular blog adventures! Must say, I *miss!* touring my favourites!!
Ms. Flowers thank you for bringing the story back to the forefront of what I remember from last year!! Soon, it shall be my turn to duck underneath the covers!!
*I am linked to Ms. Hillman on Twitter not FB, therefore I opt out of the bookaway!
Oh, too FUN, Jorie!! Tell that delivery guy to HURRY up. I can picture you now, all comfy and cozy, readin' and relaxin'....but not TOO relaxed as you're falling in love with Slade from Claiming Mariah. lol
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