Susan May Warren: A Matter of Trust

By Kelly Bridgewater

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.

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My Thoughts:

I enjoy Susan May Warren's writing. She knows how to dig deep into her characters and bring the setting to life. I have enjoyed everything she has written from the romantic suspense to the contemporary romance. She seems to have a magic touch when it comes to writing stories that reach her audiences. As for her newest edition to the Montana Rescue series, A Matter of Trust, I enjoyed the setting with the snow and enjoyed the rescue down the mountainside.

The writing is clear, crisp, and concise. Just the way a good story should be written. Warren does such a great job at bringing her audience into the setting. It is her greatest strength in my humble opinion. With a touch of snow and trials, Warren allowed me to feel the wind in my hair and see the sparkling snow as I traveled down the mountainside with Ella and Gage. This has been one of my favorite settings of Warren's novels.

As for the plot, the rescue of Ella's brother, Oliver, hinges on the ability for Ella to keep up with Gage. Ella is a brave woman who has put on the mask to appear worthy of her parents' legacy. Ella's transformation story is a great lesson to us all. On the other hand, Gage is a wounded man who is trying to hide from his past and his deep wounds. I adore men with long hair, so it could be why Gage seemed more swoon worthy for me than the previous heroes. The plot started out kind of slow moving, but then it picked up pace and kept moving alongside like an avalanche, taking down everything in its path.

The romance was the type of romance that started three years later and was burnt, but Warren allowed them to pick up where they left off and heal some bridges to hunt for the reality of love. If Ella and Gage didn't have the history, I would have said the romance was too rushed, but because of their shared history, it wasn't rushed.

The spiritual element becomes stronger the further I traveled in the novel, but nothing too preachy. It deepened the characters, making them more relatable. The story is predictable and the plot reads like most mountain rescue stories I have read, but there aren't too many of them, so Warren should be safe. I recommend A Matter of Trust to fans of Warren's previous' writing.

I received a complimentary copy of A Matter of Trust by Susan May Warren from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars