A #RomanceTuesdays #25PagePreview | feat. #LoveInspired author Tina Radcliffe’s Hearts of Oklahoma series: “The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice” (Book Four)

Posted Tuesday, 20 July, 2021 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. This is how I came to love discovering the Harlequin Heartwarming authors & series as much as it has been an honour to regularly request INSPY stories and authors. Whenever I host for Prism, I know I am in for an uplifting read and a journey into the stories which give me a lot of joy to find in my readerly queue of #nextreads. It is an honour to be a part of their team of book bloggers.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice” direct from the author Tina Radcliffe in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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How I originally crossed paths with Ms Radcliffe:

Before I became a book blogger seven years ago in [2013] – I was an avid reader of bookish blogs specifically group author blogs like Heroes, Heroines & History and Seekerville; the latter was focused more on the process of writing and getting published as each of the authors featured on Seekerville originally were in their season of finding publication whereas HHH’s blog was devouted to authors who were either publishing for the first time or were established in their respective genres of INSPY Fiction.

This goes back to at least a full year before the end of March, 2013 when I developed Jorie Loves A Story as I would regularly converse with authors who are today’s well-known Christian Fiction authors across publishers and outlets of the pub world. Quite a few of those authors I was engaged with during my blog hops and commentary are authors who are still on my TBR List!! I even have a list of #nextreads featuring INSPY Authors on my 70 Author’s Challenge whilst each New Year, I hope to draw closer to reading each of the authors I originally sought out to read as a blog commenter ahead of becoming a book blogger myself!

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And, why I am in love with reading her stories:

I definitely love unexpected inheritance stories! And, Ms Radcliffe hasn’t disappointed me either – she’s set the stage for such a wicked wonderful inheritance story I was thrilled just to hear the details of the will being read as both Claire and Reece were trying to process the news themselves as this was a twist of fate for them to hear as her father never shared any information about what would happen after he passed. The fact he’s left her and Reece in a pickle whilst he’s gone felt a bit fitting because he doesn’t have to explain his actions and he can leave them to ask the questions he never answered. The interesting bit of course is how the inheritance was divided and that leads you as a reader to ask questions of your own about why a father would want to give part of his assets to the neighbour next door.

Oh! I definitely need to find a copy of the first novel in this series now – apparently, Mitch and Daisy’s story involves adoption (as Daisy relates how she adopted her nieces and nephews to Claire) as I am constantly seeking stories which touch on adoption and/or foster care families as I’ll be adopting in the future from foster care myself. It is nice to find stories which present adoptive and foster families in a positive light – even those families where it is a kinship placement like it would have been for Daisy, as it any story which can talk to the positives of adopting children is a winner in my book! I was dearly thankful Radcliffe mentioned Daisy and her husband so very early-on in the timeline for Ready to Trust. It helped fill in a few of the questions I had about what came before this novel but also, it gave me a purposeful reason to collect the first novel rather than to focus on the third which comes out later this year.

Radcliffe has written a romance which in of itself isn’t a romance as it is more of a healing of hearts and a second chance at a new beginning for two characters weather worn from life. She takes you through the motions of how one of them is more willing to let go of the past than the other whilst at the same time, there is this little girl in the middle of it all, too. Young Zoe has the innocence of a five year old and the charm of a father’s girl about her as she sweetens the story by her presence. The story also evokes a reckoning of thought about independent farming and ranching – how those operations have to think outside the box to survive and be sufficient in the worst of times as well as in the best of times. Overall, what I loved most about the story and the characters is how grounded Reece is now in his life and how important family is to him and his brothers. This is a story about how brothers and siblings can redefine their own lives after something goes horridly wrong and seeks to define their futures.

Ms Radcliffe places you into her characters’ shoes quite immediately after you open her novel – the joy therein is getting to have such a clear path towards understanding the emotional angst of her characters’ lives! In this case, Claire seems to be shouldering more than she is willing to share and Reece is a man with purpose who counts his hours as carefully as he completes his duties on his ranch. To see how their personalities both clash when they are together was a bit telling in of itself – as Claire was definitely confused by Reece’s presence as much as he was to be in her company. This is a lovely set-up as these are two people who haven’t seen each other in several years and because of Claire’s father’s will they are now back front and centre into each other’s life! I mean, what could you hope for more than a situation of convenience and unexpected inheritance to reunite two people who lost touch with one another!?

Radcliffe has writ a realistic storyline which brokers itself to discuss single parenthood and the secrets people keep from others when they are attempting to safeguard themselves. Those secrets of course have a way of spilling forward in the future at some point and that is at the heart of the story Radcliffe has written. With a realistic nod towards a scenario you can see happening IRL – Radcliffe guides her readers towards understanding both sides of the coin – in this case, the motivations and reasonings behind Claire’s omission and secret from Reece and the periods of growth Reece undertook since Claire last saw him.

Ms Radcliffe has an easy manner about her storytelling – she lets you dip into her world and see the flaws of her characters and challenges you a bit to understand their personal motives for what they are doing in their lives. For me, the true hero of the story is Reece because of how far he had come in his life and how he was rooted to his family. His siblings and him forged a life and lifestyle many might not have taken advantage of curating but because of their willingness to succeed and to remain in close touch with each other, I felt they had the best kind of life anyone could lead.

-quoted from my review of Ready to Trust

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A #RomanceTuesdays #25PagePreview | feat. #LoveInspired author Tina Radcliffe’s Hearts of Oklahoma series: “The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice” (Book Four)The Cowgirl's Sacrifice
Subtitle: Making new dreams is never easy...
by Tina Radcliffe
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

This cowgirl has wandered back home…

Will she choose her past or her future?

Needing time to heal after a rodeo injury, Kate Rainbolt heads to her family ranch to accept the foreman job her brothers offered her months ago. But the position’s already been filled by her ex-boyfriend, Jess McNally, and the only open job reports to him. With Jess as her temporary boss—and turning into something more—might he finally convince Kate to put down roots?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Romance Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Western Fiction, Ranches & Cowboys, Western Romance



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335758699

Also by this author: Ready to Trust

Published by Love INSPIRED

on 27th July, 2021

Format: Trade Paperback

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The Hearts of Oklahoma series:

Finding the Road Home by Tina RadcliffeReady to Trust by Tina RadcliffeHis Holiday Prayer by Tina RadcliffeThe Cowgirl's Sacrifice by Tina Radcliffe

Finding the Road Home (book one) : Daisy & Mitch’s story

Ready to Trust (book two) : Claire & Reece’s story (see also Review)

His Holiday Prayer (book three) : Jena & Tucker’s story

The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice (book four) : Kate & Jess’s story

Published by: Love Inspired (@LoveInspiredBks)
an imprint of Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)
which is now an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing (@HarperCollins)

Note on Formats: Happily Love Inspired novels have the same kind of flexibility as Harlequin Heartwarming wherein you can receive these print copies in Regular Print, Larger Print or True Large Print for those who are vision impaired and/or have low vision. I personally love the Larger Print editions for Harlequin Heartwarming, Love Inspired Contemporary Romance & Love Inspired Suspense as it is much kinder on eyes of a migraineur! Generally I receive Larger Print copies of Love Inspired and/or Harlequin Heartwarming novels – however, I do on occasion receive Regular Print which I can’t read whilst in the throes of a migraine or shortly after one but when I’m migraine-free I can soak back inside them; hence why having different sized fonts available is a lovely gesture by the publisher for readers like me.

Converse via: #INSPYbooks and/or #INSPY, #SweetRomance and #LoveInspired

as well as #ChristFic, #ChristianFiction, #ContemporaryRomance or #INSPYRomance

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About Tina Radcliffe

Tina Radcliffe

Tina Radcliffe is the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award-winning author of inspirational romance. She is an ACFW and Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, and a four time ACFW Carol Award finalist. Tina is the author of fifteen inspirational romances for Harlequin HarperCollins.

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#25PagePreview banner created by Jorie in Canva.

I originally planned to read the whole series:

I wanted to go back to the beginning of the Hearts of Oklahoma series – to see how it all began and where the foundation of the series had begun. I had good intentions – I was also going to progress into re-reading the second novel and reading the third for the first time as much as the first novel itself – before moving into the fourth, the current release: The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice. However, the storms in June & July had other plans for me as a reader and as a book blogger – the angst of those lightning storms were felt far and wide for me – to where if I wasn’t kicked offline due to the lightning itself, I was having connectivity issues and/or I was working so many hours at work – I honestly didn’t have any downtime which didn’t involve a lightning storm which of course cut into my hours to read as well.

I decided to cut my readings a bit short – picking up the lovely first novel Finding the Road Home as I wanted to learn more about Mitch and the foundation of the series before I opened up the pages of The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice. This would allow me the grace to re-trace my steps in the series at a latter time where lightning storms and connectivity issues wouldn’t prevent me the joy of reading a series I’ve come to love as a reader who discovered it during a blog tour for the second novel. Until this past weekend, where I was struck down by a migraine which prevented me from reading outright. I barely was able to host my chat @SatBookChat and had to duck offline shortly thereafter to simply rest and ride out the migraine itself. I was truly looking forward to reading this series but between life, lightning and a migraine, I felt like everything was conspiring against me towards that goal.

Which is why I sadly had to cut this full review back into a preview of insight into what I’m loving about the story and the characters as well as the series itself. I’m planning to pick up the threads of where I left off within Finding the Road Home this coming week and hope to reveal my review for #INSPYSundays. From there, I’ll continue to read through this series and will be sharing my impressions of the novels as I read them leading into my full review for The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice.

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| The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice | by Tina Radcliffe

I oft wondered how people managed to stay safe and healthy long term as a rodeo clown as they are constantly placed into extreme danger by the animals their trying to distract from the riders. I’ve wanted to attend a rodeo but part of me worries about what I might witness whilst watching it as I know how dangerous it is for the bull and bronco riders to take their chances in their contests. I have long felt the clowns who are out there with them have as much bravery and bold confidence as the riders as they truly have to have some kind of grit in them to face that kind of danger themselves time after time. It was an interesting twist of events for me to see this perspective played out by the eyes of a woman who is a rodeo clown. In clips I’ve seen on television, all the clowns have been men but I’ve always been a firm believer that any woman can do any job a man can do himself if she’s interested in pursuing it. In other words, I’ve been a supporter of Gender Equality for a very long time.

One of the reasons I love reading the Hearts of Oklahoma series are the lovely back-histories Ms Radcliffe gives us for her characters. Within only a few pages, you immediately understand Kate and what is weighing on her heart as we enter into her life. She’s trying to put on a brave face to take stock of her life and to re-group after a major injury but part of her is determined not to let her guard down which is why I knew seeing her ex-boyfriend so early-on into her arrival back into Rebel is what truly was affecting her more than anything else. The shock of seeing him a decade after they broke-up might jolt anyone but it was the circumstances of why he’s returnt himself which I felt had a more numbing effect on Kate.

Kate struck me as the type of woman who didn’t like to lean on others when she needed help but would rather sort out her own troubles herself. Which in this case was a bit impractical considering she has a wonderful set of brothers who love her dearly and have missed having her nearby. Her homecoming to Rebel was immediately greeted by both Mitch and Reece; the two brothers I’ve been coming to know most as I’ve read the series. Mitch and Reece are quite protective of Kate but she’s more about being independent and self-supportive of her own affairs than letting her brothers try to give her a reason to let them care after her whilst she recovers from her injuries. There is a bit of unspoken angst between them as well – Kate is a hard nut to crack in other words. She has a loving family ready to be by her side but something in her continues to buck and bolt whenever her family tries to overstep their help and advice.

The ranch itself has expanded tenfold and it was clever I felt how Radcliffe wrote into the plot how all the siblings would share in the wealth of the holdings and operations. Wherein per each new endeavour they tackle, there is a mutual benefit for the siblings as it is run as a whole company rather than separate entities spread throughout the town of Rebel. I even loved the idea of the ranch which serves as both a working ranch and equine facility but also a guest ranch with a cosy Bed and Breakfast renovated next door. It is a clever approach to where you can spilt your profits between the large expanse of a guest ranch and the more intimate setting of a B&B for different kinds of visitors who want to experience something unique which suits their own needs.

One of the benefits of having a ranch is having different houses on the property where a large sibling group can tuck away themselves into different corners of the ranch. I had a feeling Mitch or Reece or both of her brothers might suggest Kate stay on the ranch directly as they knew she was holding back quite a heap from what needed to be shared about her personal situations as only brothers (or sisters) could intuit. The house they set her up inside was a charming one and it also gave Kate and Jess another moment together. They both were a mixture of emotions – as apparently neither of them had dealt with their past nor had fully moved past it either. Which I found especially interesting given the fact they had parted company and cut ties to one another. Sometimes I think those choices are made in either haste or made at a point in their lives where they couldn’t quite understand the future they might be sacrificing by their choice.

I loved where my readings into this story took me – I was happily re-settling into a series I am appreciating to having found through the blog tour for Ready to Trust whilst I am eagerly giddy to delve back into the pages of all four novels to re-step through this portal of family drama Ms Radcliffe has given us all to enjoy reading.

On the Contemporary Inspy styling of Ms Radcliffe:

Ms Radcliffe has created this wonderfully large family drama set in Rebel, Oklahoma – where readers who appreciate Western Contemporary Romances will soon want to lay their hat and heart inside this series. It is a curiously addictive series to read as you can’t wait to learn more about each of her characters per each new installment of the series itself. In this installment, you are caught inside the emotional interior conflicts of Kate – she is definitely a rebel suits for Rebel – as she wants to live on her own terms even if that means she’s sacrificing things left and right. The worst part is that I believe her brothers wanted to do more for her but she has this way about her where if she can’t do it herself or prove her own worth, she doesn’t want their assistance. Which of course is most likely why it rubbed her wrong where a job she was considering went to her ex-boyfriend though in truth, as her brothers mentioned, she’d stay out of communication for so long it was hard to know the way her mind was thinking about anything much less the job itself.

Radcliffe pulls you back and forth into the dramas of this family – each character we’ve previously greeted has a role in each of the installments wherein I am in love with the continuity of the series. She has a way of peering into their lives with an empathsis on where they are in their lives and where we can see them improve their lives moving forward. Each of the siblings has undertaken a period of growth and I’ve especially enjoyed following after them seeing whose charmed their hearts and has won over their respect. These are the kind of romances I love most – built on strong relationships and with the realism of our everyday world intersecting into their lives.

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This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours

The Cowgirl's Sacrifice blog tour banner provided by Prism Book Tours and is used with permission.

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By clicking this badge you can find out about the giveaway associated with the tour;
my particular tour stop doesn’t host the giveaway as I’m a review stop, however,
you’ll find many other bloggers who are hosting the information!

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I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it.
I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst
readers who gravitate towards the same stories to read.
Bookish conversations are always welcome!

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{SOURCES: Covers art of “Finding the Road Home”, “Ready to Trust”, “His Holiday Prayer” and “The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice” as well as the book synopsis for “The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice”, author biography, author photograph of Tina Radcliffe and the blog tour banner were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #RomanceTuesdays badge, #25PagePreview banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2021.

I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

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Posted Tuesday, 20 July, 2021 by jorielov in #RomanceTuesdays, 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Blog Tour Host, Child out of Wedlock, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Western Fiction, Cowboys & Ranches, Family Drama, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Modern Day, Nurses & Hospital Life, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Single Mothers, Singletons & Commitment, Small Towne Fiction, Small Towne USA, Western Fiction




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2 responses to “A #RomanceTuesdays #25PagePreview | feat. #LoveInspired author Tina Radcliffe’s Hearts of Oklahoma series: “The Cowgirl’s Sacrifice” (Book Four)

    • Hallo, Hallo Ms Radcliffe,

      Thank you for stopping by today,… your stories are such a heart lift of joy to be reading. I am continuing to soak into Rebel, Oklahoma as my eyes re-adjust back into reading post-migraine this week and I couldn’t be happier for the respite its giving me. I worked a solid three weeks without days off and getting back into this series has been such a balm of solace. I am in love with this family and the overall continuity of the series. You’ve writ such a wonderful family drama and of course, being a Western Contemporary Romance series set in/round a ranch, wells, its an ideal setting for me!! I’ll be sure to contact you and update you on my readings and posts as I move through the books. Thank you for blessing me with your stories – both in sending them to me and in writing them. My heart is full of gratitude.

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