Giving Love by Sophie Dawson is the third book in the Cottonwood series and is a touching story of love between a man and a woman and of the love of parents for their children. Katie Reed’s husband and three month old son died in a fire and Sheriff Drew Richards’ wife Rachel died in childbirth just the week before. Drew is at the cemetery to ask a huge favor of Katie. His baby Annie was born early and her stomach will not tolerate cow’s or goat’s milk and Katie is the only woman in the community who can nurse Annie. She agrees to feed Annie and to care for Joel who is three years old and missing his mama terribly. Drew eats all his meals at home and spends as much time as possible with Joel but he sleeps at the jail at night so that there will be no gossip in town about him and Katie. The arrangement works just fine and then one day Joel in all his three year old wisdom suggests that he and Drew marry Katiemama. After lots of soul searching by Katie and Drew, they decide to get married but both are sure that they will never love again.

Drew is trying to solve several petty thefts that are happening in the town but is having absolutely no luck in catching the thief. Only old and worn out clothing and food are taken. Aggie decides that she will solve the mystery and in her typical take charge way she begins by putting a plate of food and warm clothing on her back porch railing at night. After a few nights she manages to catch the thief. Will not say more about the thefts but will say that solving the mystery brought great joy to Aggie. Aggie gets a wonderful surprise when her brother, David Nathaniel Ryder II, comes to town with his wife and grandson. He is known as Nugget Nate because of all the large gold nuggets that he found in his gold mine. He is one of the richest men in America but to see him and hear him talk you would think he was just a poor, uneducated, and maybe even a little simple minded mountain man. He might talk as if he were uneducated but he has business savvy that is not taught in any school and every business venture he undertakes just adds more millions to his fortune.

As with the first two books in this series, the author did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life and the characters from the first two books show up in this book also. And the scenes in the book were so real that I felt as if I were right in the middle of what was going on. She has a special ability for developing the character and dialogue of young children. Little three year old Joel stole my heart with the first word out of his mouth. The dialogue of Nugget Nate made for lots of good laughs. One character that everyone in town disliked was Beulah Taylor, the wife of the bank owner. She was a first class snob and a down right mean gossip. The person and action that finally reached Beulah and brought about a change in her life was one of the highlights of the story but I do not want to reveal what happened for I do not want to spoil the story. Not only does the story have romance but there is nerve wracking suspense when Katie is injured in a fall in the kitchen when Joel bumps into her. The love of God, forgiveness, and the power of prayer are an important part of this story.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes a wonderful story with romance, a little suspense, quite a bit of humor, and also has the message of God’s love and forgiveness. I would suggest that one read the first two books before reading this one for I think they are more enjoyable in order. Unless you are one of those readers who never cries when reading a book, I would suggest that you have a box of tissue close at hand.

A big thank you to the author, Sophie Dawson, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

Katie Reed is reeling from the death of her husband, as well as her young son Kenny in a house fire, and is unsure how she will go on. Drew Richards has just lost his beloved wife Rachel during the birth of their second child, and knows the only way his newborn daughter will survive is if he can find someone to become her wet nurse, and the only person in town that can help is Katie. The only way that it can work is if she moves into Drew's home to take care of his newborn daughter Anne and his two year old son Joel. Katie soon becomes ingrained in the children's lives and they decide for the sake of the children they should marry. Can a marriage for the children's sake ever work?

Sophie Dawson grabbed my emotions from the beginning pages with this story! She weaves together a tale of loss and heartbreak, but blends it well with hope,love and inspiration to make for a satisfyingly rich historical fiction tale that was a real page turner for me.The story revolves around Katie Reed and Drew Richards and his children. The story unfolds so naturally that I felt like I became a part of the characters lives, feeling their hurts, shared in their grief but also glimpsed their love and strong faith in God.I felt true heartbreak not only for the main characters, but for the people who loved Rachel as well. The solution seemed perfectly plausible and I enjoyed seeing the characters grow and move forward as the story progressed.One of my favorite characters had to be young Joel. His character was so endearing, and just seemed so realistic, the author even describes a temper tantrum that he has on his third birthday that was perfectly written.Ms. Dawson creates a story that certainly tugged at the heart, but balanced it well with instances of humor that gave me a few laughs.There are several citizens in town who are a vital part of the story,and keep the plot moving along. Mrs. Taylor was a stand out citizen, as the busybody in town her character reminded me of Harriet Olsen from "Little House On The Praire!" There is also a bit of a mystery surrounding stolen items in town that added an extra element to the story.

While "Giving Love" is the third book in the Cottonwood Series the author provides plenty of background information so that it can be read as a stand alone story, but if your a fan of historical inspirational fiction you are going to want to read all three books in this wonderful series. Filled with endearing characters whose stories beckon you to step back in time, each story in The Cottonwood series leaves me feeling as if I have had a visit with long time friends and has me waiting anxiously for the next installment! Each story in the series has left me feeling blessed for having read it! I highly recommend this entire series!

reviewed for Readersfavorite.com ( )