Book Review: Follow the Dream by Heidi M. Thomas

Follow the Dream by Heidi M. Thomas follows the life of Nettie Moser who finally has what she’s longed for–life on a horse ranch and the freedom to ride rodeo with her handsome cowboy husband, Jake Moser. Her dreams are coming true.

Then along comes an opportunity of a lifetime. Her friend, famous bronc rider Marie Gibson, offers Nettie an opportunity to go to London and ride with Tex Austin’s International Rodeo. It’s almost too good to be true. Riding rodeo in London!

But dreams don’t always come true. As family responsibilities become more of a reality, dreams sometimes have to take a back seat. Nettie still dreams, but the dreams become more distant. Survival occupies her time and energy now. Riding rodeo, let alone going to London, seems even farther away.

Life is hard in the late 1920s and 30s. Money is scarce and even the weather turns against them, leaving dust where once lush grass grew. It’s a constant struggle to find enough grass for the horses to graze. Although the Mosers own their stock, they don’t own the land. As the drought drags on, they decide to trail the herd of 50 horses to Idaho, 300 miles away. The drive, an exciting, pivotal adventure of the book involves excitement, hardship and many anxious moments.

Moving back to Montana, life changes. The need for horses in the work-a-day world is dwindling with tractors replacing plow-horses and engines replacing the need for horse-drawn logging equipment. Their treasure isn’t worth what it once was. Their home becomes what they can find for shelter–tents, tarpaper shacks, a run-down hotel, even a granary. Jake takes whatever work he can find. Enduring love make the hardships easier to bear and again Nettie watches their dreams shift and change.

Thomas weaves an exciting, strong, credible tale with this story of love, hardship and adventure that spans 14 years. Follow the Dream is a sequel to her previous novel, Cowgirl Dreams, but each book stands alone as strong and engaging.

Follow the Dream is available through your favorite bookstore, through publisher Treble Heart Books www.trebleheartbooks.com/sdheidithomas.html in both print and e-book formats and autographed copies from www.heidimthomas.com

Review: Cowgirl Dreams by Heidi Thomas

Nettie Brady dreams of being a rodeo champion, but she suffers challenges from more than wild steers. Her mother’s strong disapproval and disappointment weigh heavily on this conscientious teen. It seems everything stacks up against her dream of becoming a rodeo star–family crises, a broken wrist, even nature pits its wrath against her. But no obstacle is tough enough to keep Nettie from the freedom and elation she feels while riding a half-ton of writhing muscle and bone.

Later, when her life is full of Jake, a young cowboy, her dreams appear to be within reach. But Nettie again is torn between family expectations and her own preference for a simple wedding ceremony. She loves Jake, loves working beside him, but her heavy heart longs for her mother’s approval. Will her dreams ever become a reality without pangs of guilt?

Heidi Thomas excels in describing the flavor and excitement of the early rodeo days. But more than that, she captures the social attitudes of the times, and the daily drudgery of every day living on a Montana ranch in the 1920s. Cowgirl Dreams captures readers’ hearts with the throbbing cheers of a rodeo audience and with the aching desires of a young girl who yearns for her family’s love and acceptance.

Publisher: Sundowners, a division of Treble Heart Books