A Matter of Trust by Susan May Warren

Series: Montana Rescue #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Revell
Released: July 4, 2017
320 pages

About the Book:

Champion backcountry snowboarder Gage Watson has left the limelight behind after the death of one of his fans. After being sued for negligence and stripped of his sponsorships, he's remade his life as a ski patrol in Montana's rugged mountains, as well as serving on the PEAK Rescue team. But he can't seem to find his footing--or forget the woman he loved, who betrayed him.

 

Senator and former attorney Ella Blair spends much of her time in the limelight as the second-youngest senator in the country. But she has a secret--one that cost Gage his career. More than anything, she wants to atone for her betrayal of him in the courtroom and find a way to help him put his career back on track.

 

When Ella's brother goes missing on one of Glacier National Park's most dangerous peaks, Gage and his team are called in for the rescue. But Gage isn't so sure he wants to help the woman who destroyed his life. More, when she insists on joining the search, he'll have to keep her safe while finding her reckless brother, a recipe for disaster when a snowstorm hits the mountain.

 

But old sparks relight as they search for the missing snowboarder--and suddenly, they are faced with emotions neither can deny. But when Ella's secret is revealed, can they learn to trust each other--even when disaster happens again?

My Rating & Thoughts:    🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟  (4 stars)

“We shouldn’t base God’s desire to help us on our opinions of ourselves.”

 

This is book 3 of Ms. Warren’s Montana Rescue series which focuses on the members of the PEAK team. There are multiple storylines weaved throughout the book, some that carry over from previous books, some that leave you hanging for the next book and one that feels completely told over the course of the book. This could be read as a standalone as there is enough background information included that you wouldn’t be lost if you haven’t the previous books, however I would highly recommend reading them in order as you don’t want to miss anything.

 

Ms. Warren does a wonderful job of sharing God’s love and faithfulness while writing a story that keeps readers intrigued, on the edge of their seat and cheering for the characters.

 

Gage joined the PEAK team after he loses his snowboarding career due to a tragic accident 3 years ago. He never expected to see the woman he once loved and who played a role in destroying his career ever again. But now she comes to him asking for his help to stop her brother from doing something dangerous and she insists she must go with him. There is a lot of hurt between the two of them because of the past, secrets kept and feelings of betrayal. Now that they are on a rescue mission together they must put their past history behind them and trust one another in order for the mission to be a success. Can they learn to trust each another and rebuild the relationship they once had? There were quite a few times I began to question if they would make it out safely.

 

I am not a skier/snowboarder (hate the cold) and do not know much about it, didn’t even know there was such a thing as free-riding so there were a few times I was a bit confused with some of the terms used or what exactly they were doing. However this did not take me away from the story too much, I was still able to understand the basic concepts of what was going on.

 

I found the side stories just as intriguing as the main story (at times maybe even more). I really liked getting to know Ty & Brette and catching up with Pete & Jess. The interactions between the various team members seemed realistic and each character felt genuine. I am sucked into this series and can’t wait for book 4 to be released. I want to know what secret Brette is keeping, what will happen with Jess & Pete and will Ian & Sierra ever get together.

 

“The problem with keeping a secret is that you don’t give someone a chance to come through for you, to prove to you that they love you unconditionally.”

 

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley;

opinions expressed in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)