A Model of Devotion

Author: Mary Connealy
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Lumbar Baron's Daughters #3
Release Date: October 11, 2022

She's finally claimed her independence . . . how far will she go to keep it?

A brilliant engineer, Jilly Stiles has been educated since childhood to help run her father's lumber dynasty. With the company safe from her stepfather after the marriages of her two sisters, Jilly can now focus on her dream of building a mountaintop railroad--and never marry.

Nick Ryder came into Jilly's life when he saved her mother from her no-good stepfather, and he's prepared to protect Jilly from anything that threatens to harm her--as long as he keeps his heart from getting involved.

But when a cruel and powerful man goes to dangerous lengths to make Jilly his own, she must make a decision between her safety and her hard-won independence.

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Reviewer: Diana Varela

Beautiful book. 

I love the female role. Women in this time period weren’t treated as equal to men, at least as far as I know. The Stiles women were treated as equals. To be fair, they were super smart, so they were smarter than most men. 

Edgar and the evil rich man got on my nerves, more so the rich man. Connealy makes you despise those evil men, which I liked. She pours so much into her characters that you actually feel like they are real. 

I liked her style of writing. Every page kept you interested. There was never a moment that it got boring. It was a real page-turner. 

I also like that this book had a good message and was clean. I like reading a good book, that I have no worries about anything popping up. There are a few implied stuff, but it’s never shown, which I liked. 

I received a review copy courtesy of Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley and Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.

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Reviewer: Rebecca Maney

"Tell me about the dream, Jilly."

"Jilly Stiles always came back to the mansion on Nob Hill. She was alone, and that never happened . . . When had she ever been alone in her life? . . . In the black hour before dawn, walking through the upstairs hallway with a burning candle . . . fear wound tightly in her chest. . . . "

It had happened over and over again, that particular dream. Sadly, her mother's life depended on Jilly keeping the details to herself, or so she had been convinced by the one who stalked those recollections, making her photographic memory a curse rather than a blessing. But Jilly had bigger fish to fry. She had a railroad to build, and build it, she would. There was just one little problem, actually one big problem, the project was being sabotaged. Would Jilly have to get married to save her family's lumber business?

Nick Ryder thought Jilly Stiles was just about the prettiest woman he had ever seen. If he was noticing, which he shouldn't have been since she was technically his boss lady. But it was hard to ignore anything about Jilly. Protecting her, her mother, and her sisters ( who now had very capable husbands to fill that position) against continual threats from their ex-stepfather and husband had been Nick's overriding goal. Until one day, his mouth worked way ahead of his head, causing him to blurt out a proposal that sounded an awful lot like, "I think we should get married, Jilly." It wasn't a bad idea, not a bad idea at all. . . . . if the lady would agree. "She didn't slap him." That was good.

What a laugh-out-loud, silent gasp, fist pump kind of story! Jilly's awkward antics and brilliant brain games are on full display. This means Nick has to work overtime to love every curl on the top of her engineering head while racing to thwart a very evil man with the worst intentions. Readers will love this ride to the finish line of an entertaining series.

I received a copy of this book from Baker Publishing Company through Interviews and Reviews. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.

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Reviewer: Paula Shreckhise

What an exciting conclusion to a stellar series. I felt like I was watching an episode of The Wild Wild West when Jilly and Nick gave chase on the train!

These three very smart sisters plot how to run the family lumber business they inherited. “Jilly’s math brain. Michelle’s invention brain. Laura’s chemical brain. They were a trio of mad scientists, for a fact.” And with the help of three very capable men, they try to outsmart the villains bent on destroying them and Stiles Lumber.

With the voice of reason and godly wisdom from Parson Caleb, the girls and their mother trust God to get them out of trouble. Jilly takes Nick’s wise words to heart. “Take the work that you do on your own strong, capable shoulders, but let God take the weight off your soul.” Nick and Jilly” turned and walked toward promises. Toward danger. Toward their future.”

Ms. Connealy has given us another outstanding book with unique characters that teach us spiritual truths in a very enjoyable way.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Bethany House on behalf of the author and Interviews and Reviews. I was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

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Reviewer: Billi Varela

This was the perfect book to end the series. I’ve been waiting for this book since March, and it was worth the wait. 

I loved his character when I first saw Nick in The Element of Love. He is such a sweetheart and a very protective person. He dropped everything to protect Mama Stiles and eventually quit his job to be near her. Honestly, Connealy did an exceptional job on Nick’s character. 

I also loved Jilly’s character. It was the mathematician gene in her. I love math, so seeing a character love math made me love her even more. 

This series has to be one of the best that I have read. I loved the sisters and their bond. I loved the story plot that continued through the series. After reading the first book, it made you anticipate the second. And after reading that one, it made you also anticipate the third book. It was perfect. I loved her writing style. It keeps you interested in what will happen next. 

This book was clean from any profanity and sexual content. The only sexual content is a few kisses and an implied sex scene. Nothing is shown. 

I requested and received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews. I was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

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