A Borrowed Dream by Amanda Cabot

This is book two of the Cimarron Creek Trilogy. It has everything you would expect for the genre historical romance: the guy, the girl, the secrets, the narrow escapes, and of course the happily ever after.  But this book has a few key things that, to me, give it a leg up above other books in its genre.

One is, it has God in it. God is close to Catherine, the main character. Her mother has died, but has left her a legacy of relying on God. Unfortunately, Catherine also blames the local doctor for her mother's death and resents him greatly for it. She is unwilling to forgive him until God gets a hold of her and she realizes she must let go of her bitterness and forgive. She is able to do that and even take the doctor a treat. I really appreciated this aspect of the book.

Another aspect that you don't always find in books like this is the abused boy. His father was a no-good father who only wanted his son for the work he could do and when it didn't go his way would beat the boy. I really liked Catherine's heart of compassion for the boy and later Austin's as well.

Another thing I appreciated is the author's research. Austin, the main male character, was a plastic surgeon. This book is set in the 19th century and these two things seem at odds with each other. But Amanda went to the work of verifying that really plastic surgeons were a thing at that point in history.

And one final piece is something I want to quote from the pastor's sermon that I think is good. "Each one of us has a God-given talent,.... For some, it's raising a family. For others, it's growing crops or ranching. For still others, it's healing. No one talent is better than any other. They're all valuable. That's why God gave them to us. So I charge you to reflect on the talent you've been given and ensure that you're using it to God's glory."  Is that what I'm doing or am I pining after someone else's talent and wishing it were mine and missing mine altogether.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun and easy read, with a few twists and turns thrown in.

I received this book from Revell and was not required to write a positive review.