To Honor and Trust by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

Callie is a young governess working for the Bridgeport family. She travels with them to Bridal Veil Island where they vacation for the winter. The three young children are drawn to her, and she enjoys this more laid back family, but she has many things on her mind. What is the next step going to be in her life? Her parents are missionaries in Africa and would love for her to join them. Is that the way God is leading her? Or should she continue the job in front of her?

Honesty is very important to Callie, and when she starts spending more time with Wesley Townsend, one of the children's golf instructors, she begins to care for him. But will she allow him to take more of her heart when she finds out the truth about who he really is? Will she be able to let go of her past and allow herself to be cared for by someone in return?

For a historical fiction piece, it read very much like a modern story. Near the end of the book is when more of the history of the early 1900s started appearing. The characters were enjoyable to get to know, and the author kept surprises coming, which kept you on your feet.

This book was reviewed for Bethany House Publishers.

Courting Cate by Leslie Gould

 
There's a new guy in town, Pete Treger. He's looking for something better in Lancaster County. What he are a couple attractive girls, two sisters. Betsy, the younger sister, is the calmer, sweeter, and some may say more attractive of the two. Her older sister Cate calls things like they are, not afraid of stepping on anyone's toes along the way.

Betsy has one man in particular looking to court her, but her father has come up with a rule that she is not allowed to court until Cate gets married. This seems to be impossible. After all, who wants to be with the more dominant of the two sisters? People try to get Pete to court Cate so Betsy can continue with her life, but is he willing to go for someone who gives him more attitude than anything?

This was an enjoyable read. It was easy to get into, and the characters were relatable and realistic, not always perfect. The relationship that developed between Cate and Pete was interesting to see unfold, and it didn't happen as I expected. I thought the events in the middle of the book were  going to be the end, so it was interesting to see how the dynamic changed between these two people as the author changed their circumstances.