The Spark of Love

January 24, 2022
Cabot (Dreams Rekindled) takes readers to 1850s Texas in the intrigue-filled final installment of the Mesquite Springs series. Alexandra Tarkington flees New York to get away from a menacing suitor who is only interested in her inheritance. She heads to Mesquite Springs, Tex., hoping to reunite with her wayward father, Calvin, but he resents her arrival, as it’s a distraction from his business plans. As Alexandra strives to win her father’s respect, she befriends the charming Gabe Seymour, who unbeknownst to her has been hired to probe Calvin’s shady investment dealings. When Alexandra asks her father to become the manager of his hotel, Calvin, also unaware of Gabe’s true identity, secretly hires Gabe to divert her with courtship, believing women are unfit for business. Meanwhile, Gabe develops feelings for Alexandra but realizes that she will despise him when she learns his reason for coming to Mesquite Springs, and after dangerous men from Alexandra’s past show up, Gabe must risk his life to keep her safe. Cabot’s heavy-handed treatment of her themes of anger and faith—as when, for instance, a minister delivers a lengthy sermon—drag down an otherwise tight plot. For readers willing to look past the author’s didacticism, the juicy schemes and blossoming romance will keep the pages turning.

February 15, 2022
In the third book in Cabot's Mesquite Springs series, following Out of the Embers (2020) and Dreams Rekindled (2021), Alexandra Tarkington is an heiress whose father is busy increasing their fortune. Since her mother's death, she's been living in New York City with her aunt Helen. A suitor, Franklin Beckman, proposes in hopes of gaining her inheritance. Alexandra refuses him, and he threatens her. She escapes to Mesquite Springs, where her father, Calvin, is overseeing the building of a new hotel. Gabe Seymour is an investigator from Cincinnati, hired by a client to look into Calvin's questionable business dealings. Gabe blames a bad investment for the ruin of his deceased father. When he meets Alexandra, their connection is immediate. But can Gabe be honest with her? Is Calvin involved in illegal dealings? What happens when they uncover the truth? As in Cabot's previous novels, there is plenty of action and suspense, combined with believable characters. Here she delves into questions of honesty and reconciliation as justice defeats greed and revenge. An appealing read for fans of westerns and Christian romantic suspense.

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