Ruth Logan Herne presented a modern spin of The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Back in the Saddle, a story that revolved around the main theme of finding home again.
Colt Stafford traded the cowboy life in Gray’s Glen, Washington for the corporate world of Wall Street in New York, where he was making money for more than 10 years. But the collapse of the financial market which he was involved in left him financially strapped sending him back to Double S Ranch, owned by his father Sam Stafford, the main reason why he left a decade ago.
Back home, Colt reacquainted himself with the citizens of Gray’s Glen, old friends, his father’s ranch workers, and his family (his father Sam, his brother Nick and Nick’s daughters, and later his brother Trey).
Going home was a temporary arrangement. When the market bounces back in the big city, Colt told himself he is ready to pack up and leave Gray’s Glen.
Everything seemed to work as expected.
What he didn’t expect was meeting the ranch’s new housekeeper, learning about ‘change of heart’ and how a woman named Angelina Morales has given the ranch and the people in the ranch a different glow; a glow of hope, faith, and love.
If you focus on the love story of this novel, the plot is ordinary: Former cowboy comes home, meets new girl, falls in love with new girl, new girl reciprocates the love, some shaky things happen, former cowboy decides to stay and be cowboy again, and they are happy.
What is special in this novel though is the author’s deliberate attempt to incorporate faith-based passages and teachings from the Bible without compromising the flow of the story.
The treasure is not in the story summary.
The treasure – treasures actually – is in every chapter that the author carefully wrote with precision, depth, and thoughtfulness. The minor characters are just as intriguing and I hope to “see” them in the next two books of this series along with the Stafford men.
Angelina cooks and her character makes this novel delicious. The character of Angelina is the glue that united the key characters in this story. The author did a very good job in exploring this character: her pains and sorrows, the different lives she lived, the cooking and cleaning. ..
This novel is just as heartwarming as the famous Angelina’s Cherry Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting (recipe found towards the end of the book).
If you look past the love story, you will see that Back in the Saddle is a story of different characters who found a home in the Double S Ranch in particular and Gray’s Glen in general.
This is not just a love story. Because if I focus too much on the Colt-Angelina angle, which I find sappy and a bit of a stretch, I won’t be able to see the big picture.
And that is: Back in the Saddle is a story of family — blood-related or not — and how each member of the family found love, faith, and trust in each other.
How each member of the family found their way home.
Again.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from the Litfuse Publicity Group in behalf of the publisher for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write positive reviews. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.
