Book Club: Book Review of Rocky Mountain Rendezvous

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page for more information. Thank you.

I enjoy a good historical fiction novel, especially those that involve a mission. I was very pleased to read and review Rocky Mountain Rendezvous by Misty M. Beller. Her latest adventure is set in 1837, telling the story of four sisters seeking the woman who helped their father. 

About the Book 

We join four sisters—Rosemary, Juniper, Faith, and Lorelei Collins—in July 1837 at a trapper-trading rendezvous in Green River Valley (future Wyoming). They have traveled to the locale with the trading wagons. They are seeking the Piegan Blackfoot woman who helped heal their father years ago. On their father's deathbed, he asked his daughters to seek her out and return her beads to her. Even though the trip and the mission were dangerous, all four sisters agreed to try and find Steps Right to honor their father. 

When they arrived at the camp, they met Riley Turner when the coyote pup Lorelei was nursing escaped. Riley took it upon himself to escort and protect the girls. The men at the rendezvous had not seen a white woman - especially one from the East - in at least a year or more. So Riley wanted to protect the girls' virtue and honor. The Collins sisters hired Riley and, eventually, his campmates to help them on the journey and mission to find Steps Right. 

In addition to the dangers at the camp rendezvous, the Collins sisters and Riley also faced dangers in the wilderness and from the different tribes they questioned regarding the whereabouts of Steps Right.

 

My Thoughts 

Misty M. Beller has crafted another well-written and intriguing work of historical fiction. Her words in Rocky Mountain Rendezvous brought the location to life. While reading the book, I really felt like I was on the trail with Juniper (the Collins sister the story focuses upon) and Riley.

"The sun beat down on Juniper relentlessly as they rode past the morning hours and into early afternoon. Dragoon's tracks—and those of the horses he'd been following—had been winding around several mountains, staying to the lower rocky terrain" (218). 

I also felt like Beller did a good job of being respectful of different groups and beliefs. With recent anger towards other Christian authors telling stories set in the West during the 18th and 19th centuries, I can only hope critics will read Beller's book before making a decision. 

At no point does Beller write disrespectfully of the Native American tribes that the main characters come across on their mission. I am eager to see how Beller continues the story in the series as the Collins work more closely with the tribes in the area. 

While Rocky Mountain Rendezvous is published by Bethany House Publishers, the story focuses on the journey and mission and less on God and His hand in the Collins sisters' lives. God is still present but not as central as He is in some other Bethany House publications. 

I would recommend Rocky Mountain Rendezvous to those who enjoy historical fiction and Christian Romance. The pace of the story is excellent, and the characters are well developed and interesting. 

Read my review of Hope's Highest Mountain, too!