Sweet Vengeance by Pamela Gibson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Vengeance has many degrees of outcomes. This is the first book I have read by Pamela Gibson and while I was intrigued by the synopsis, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I don’t usually read period books, but I had to give it a try because it sounded too interesting to miss. While this is the third book in the Mission Belles series each can be read as a standalone and I found no hindrance in not reading the previous two books. Dual perspectives of Elena and Sean.
Elena has four older sisters, before her younger brother Antoine was born, she was raised as the “son” her father always wanted. She was taught to hunt and defend her home and family but at age twelve that changed, at least for a time. When her father got ill, he made her promise to look out for her brother to teach him the ways of manhood so when time he would protect his family and land as she had before him. Only when she returns from hunting, she finds Carmelo, her brother’s friend in her home, her mother devastated and told the story of how her brother was killed by an American spy. Two years later Carmelo returns after her mothers passing and informs her of the man who stole her brother’s life. Sean Mitchell, once friends with Antoine and a spy, is now a horse trainer. He has always had a special bond with animals, now free to follow his own dreams a letter changes everything. His sister Mary Catherine, now Lolita Montero hasn’t been seen in a week, her place of work wrote him telling him he should come. Without hesitation Sean leaves for San Fransico, along the way thinks of a plan to find her or better yet how to find her. Elena was enamored with Sean when younger but now she wrestles with her vow to her mother and the long thought past feelings for the man she once admired. Sean is caught off guard when the sister of his former enemy appears and offers to help find his missing sister, but things become less clear over time. Is Elena his friend or foe, or is she something more?
Elena sought revenge, a life for a life was the vow she made to her mother but what will she do when the man responsible is right in front of her? Can Sean find his sister? What secrets will be revealed as they each follow their “plans”? The historic world of years long past shows another side of the gold rush. I was also drawn to this book as I was born in southern California and once sought vengeance for my murdered brother. But I digress the characters pain and determination with every “hiccup” gives power to the saying “god gives us what we need not necessarily what we want”. Elena wanted revenge but found something more, something worth living for. At the age of twenty-eight she was still unmarried and felt this mission would seal she never would be. Her final plan was to return to her family home and live out her life alone in solitude atoning for her actions. I plan to go back and read the previous books to see more into the worlds that the author brings to life on the pages and the characters that show strength beyond vengeance but of forgiveness.

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