A Matter of Trust

Champion snowboarder Gage Watson had lucrative sponsorships, his dream career, and a budding romance until the death of a fan. These days, he makes his life in Montana's rugged mountains as a ski patrol and emergency rescuer. In the past three years, he's not been able to forgive himself or make peace with his past. Then Ella Blair, his former love interest who betrayed him, arrives and insists on helping rescue her brother. As they work together, Gage is forced to acknowledge his past and finds hope for a future with Ella. But a secret still lies between them. Will buried secrets keep Gage and Ella apart or could the truth set them both free? Read more in A Matter of Trust by Susan May Warren.

A Matter of Trust is the third full-length show more novel in Susan May Warren's Montana Rescue Series. It is not necessary to read the prior two novels, but they are excellent reads and I do recommend them.

As usual, Susan May Warren's writing style was captivating. Within the first chapter, Warren introduces Gage and Ella separately, as they are in the present, but with hints of their rocky past that engage the reader's curiosity. The story ushered me into it at page one and held my interest throughout. The sizzling tension, unwarranted forgiveness, secret betrayal, heady romance, and self-sacrifice created quite a story. I loved it and can easily recommend it to fans of contemporary Christian romance. My only warning is that, if you are, like me, a native Floridian with little knowledge of snowboarding, you might have to google some snowboarding terms. :)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 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." show less

Great read! Inadvertently read this before book 2 (oops) but that seems to be what I do best. :D No problems reading it out of order beyond spoiler alerts for book 2, haha! An excellent, action-packed read, as per usual with Susan May Warren. Loved it!

I have read this series out of order, having discovered the PEAK Rescue team when I won a giveaway for a later book in the series. (Which means I already know how some things turn out.)

Like another reviewer, I wasn't so sure I would like this book when I read the beginning. But it did come together for me.

As the title implies, trust is a big issue in this book. It seems many of the PEAK team are hiding secrets. Jess is hiding her past and doesn't trust telling the man she thinks she's in love with. Ty is hiding that he wasn't at his best when the helicopter crash that injured him and Chet occurred. Sierra is hiding knowledge of Esme from Ian. Ella is hiding knowledge that would have mitigated the impact of Dylan's death on Gage. In a show more sense, it is a wonder to me that this team can function together at all with so many people keeping secrets.

Plus so many of them need to learn to trust themselves and their instincts as well as learning to trust God. Gage doubts himself because he wasn't able to save Dylan and because it seems, years later, that there are still people who want to emulate his freeriding style even at the expense of their own safety. He also feels as if God went back on "their deal" when Dylan died--as Ella pointed out God doesn't make deals.

Ella's friend Brette isn't very trusting of men--there are strong hints that she was involved in an abusive relationship in the past, though we don't get details of that here. She finally decides that Ty is a good man--one worth fighting for--only to drop that thought when she learns that Ty knew Jess's secret and didn't tell her. She feels betrayed. And I can understand that, but it sure was a quick turnaround for her.

Both Brette and Oliver mention food poisoning, but I'm not clear on how they both ended up with food poisoning or if it was related to each other. Brette's may have been a different medical problem that she just blamed on food poisoning.

I did learn that red drinks are probably not the best thing to have if you go on dangerous excursions since it did make Gage think that Oliver might have internal bleeding. I also have a greater appreciation for ski patrol and for extreme skiers and snowboarders.

All in all, it's a good series and I know I will be reading more of it. I have already requested the two previous books to this one just to get caught up on the background. show less

Gage Watson is known for his award winning skills at backcountry snowboarding. But when a snowboarder died and Gage was blamed, he was sued and lost all his sponsorships. Wanting to remain in the mountains, he now works ski patrol and also joined the PEAK Rescue team, in an attempt to rebuild his life. Ella Blair had a major crush on the famous Gage Watson. She finally got to meet him and it was instant attraction. The future seemed very promising until, as a junior attorney, she’s finds herself on the team that was suing Gage Watson. Three years later, Ella returns to Glacier National Park to find her brother who is going to attempt a very dangerous peak once done by Gage. Ella begs Gage for his help in finding her brother but how show more can he help the woman who cost him his career? And not only does she want his help but she insists on going with him. He finally agrees to let her go and they soon fall into a comfortable rhythm as old feelings begin to stir. But both will have to face not only the extreme elements but a truth that Ella has yet to share.

Wow! This story was intense and pretty much kept my heart racing from beginning to end. I felt like I was right there on the mountain with them, taking in the scenery as well as feeling the apprehension of their tasks. I really liked Gage and the down-to-earth kind of guy he was. Ella was someone that I could be friends with; no pretense, just real. I enjoyed watching the two of them together. The romantic tension was beautifully done and keeps you rooting for them all the way through. The secondary stories going on, and there are several, really added a lot to the story. That said, I would recommend reading this series in the order it was written, for a much richer reading experience. I have enjoyed all the books in the Montana Rescue but I have to say this was my favorite so far. I just felt like everything flowed together really well. There is a conclusion to this story but the secondary stories are left for the next book which I cannot wait to read! A Matter of Trust is a high octane, tightly written adventure you won’t want to miss!

*This complementary copy was provided by Revell through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

A few moment from the story:

I thought by doing the right thing, it would protect me, and him. But life doesn’t work that way. Doing what’s right comes at a cost. I just wasn’t ready for it.”

“Chet says the same thing. That we shouldn’t base God’s desire to help us on our opinions of ourselves. Otherwise we’d always be in over our heads. We need to start believing that he wants to help us. Even when we make mistakes.”

Their eleven-person team consisted of three EMTs - Gage, Pete, and Jess - their chopper pilot Kacey Fairing, their administrative assistant Sierra Rose, team incident commander Miles Dafoe, country crooner Ben King, and his father, Chet, who started the team way back with it’s founder, Ian Shaw, and their sheriff department liaison, Sam Brooks.

For more information about this book or other books by this author, I encourage you to visit her website at http://www.susanmaywarren.com. show less

A Matter of Trust by Susan May Warren started out slowly but quickly gained momentum like a snowball on that mountain. It got to the point that I was quickly turning pages to see what would happen next. There were many intense moments when lives were in danger. This book focuses on Gage Watson and a new girl the reader has not been introduced to yet. Ella and Gage know each other. They have history and Gage still harbors hard feelings for what he thought was a betrayal from her. Gage has to get over the past temporarily in order to help her in a desperate situation. What follows is a roller coaster of events. I could not stop reading and stayed up late to finish this book.

This is the fourth book in the series, not counting the prequel. show more I don't know if he is my favorite hero or not. They are all good but I think he is the best looking of the bunch and I'm the type of gal who usually doesn't like long hair on a man but he does it well.

I loved the love story that slowly unfolded. It was not too rushed so therefore believable. We were also introduced to Ella's friend Brett. Now there is something mysterious about her. She is probably hiding a secret of some sort but it was not revealed to us in this book. Maybe we will find out in a future book? Maybe the next book? I certainly hope so. I am really enjoying this series. I loved the Christensen series but I do believe I like this series better. I can't wait until the next book, Troubled Waters which is due to be released either in 2017 or early 2018.

I was provided a copy of this book to read and review by the author, Susan May Warren and the published Revell, a division of Baker Books. This book is due to be released on July 4, 2017. show less

Love this. Snow ❄️ cold setting 🏂🗻/ 💃🏻🚶🏻hot hot 🔥 story! Definite page turner with substance, perfect summer romance read. I'm going to have to read the whole Series.

"A Matter of Trust" is just that, a book that makes you trust the author and her delivery from the beginning, while settling you so far into the story itself that you also forget the talented Susan May Warren is in the background, weaving the story of Gage and Ella as it comes alive before you.

Their story takes place during winter in Montana, with an ex-freeriding-snowboarder turned rescue EMT/ski patrol, and an immigrant American who is now the State Senator of Vermont, (and who also happens to have some talent on the slopes herself). I've been show more to this very area in Montana in the summertime, and continually long to go back. "A Matter of Trust" showed me the beauty and danger of the mountain in the winter, all while it made me very curious as to what was going to happen to every single person in this story. It was like 90210, only with so much more meaning (does that make it #911-90210?), so I loved experiencing the stories of the additional team members, too. I also loved reading a ski story, something else I fondly remember from my youth. "A Matter of Trust" was a great vicarious trip that only served to enhance my desire to revisit the area.

I know myself. I'm going to have to pick up Book One of the series and go through it all to find out the stories as they develop from the beginning. Even so, jumping in at Book Three was not at all distracting.

This is a great summer read, because it is so well done, it is good escape and easy to digest, and because it is about something so cold while the heat of the story is always there. I also like the smidgen of faith element sprinkled in here and there, just that way many of us encounter in real life.

This is yet another "Highly Recommend" book that I would never have found were it not for this Lone Star Book Blog Tour. I encourage you to enter the giveaway, and add to your TBR pile. *Also I noticed a Bonus: this book is coming out in Audio form at the end of the month.

Thank you Ms. Warren for providing me a copy of your book for an honest review. It was so good, a definite page-turner, and I'm looking forward to more! show less

This was a fun romance with a twist of suspense. I have not read the first two books in this series but it was not a problem to understand what was going on in this book. Gage and Ella are very personable people and I liked the rwst of the characters in the book. I like the Peak rescue team and look forward to learning more about the ongoing mystery within this series. I received this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.