Tower of Strength by Annette Lyon

"It was 1877 when Tabitha Hall Chadwick left Manti as a young bride. Now, nearly seven years later, she returns as a widow with her young son to make a new beginning. Tabitha’s strained relationship with her mother-in-law adds more difficulty to her life as a single working mother. Yet with a stroke of courage, Tabitha makes two purchases that become her passions: the local newspaper business and a traumatized horse.

"As she struggles to meet the challenges of her new roles, Tabitha welcomes the friendship of Samuel, a recently widowed British immigrant. Working together to train the abused horse, the two discover a second chance at love. But when Samuel is critically injured during the construction of the Manti Temple, Tabitha faces the pain of old wounds and the risk of new ones."

This is an enjoyable book with interesting and complex characters. The story of a single mother trying to find the balance between holding on to the past and moving into the future was well told. Tabitha must make decisions about whether she will has room in her life for a career and love or whether she is better off staying away from Samuel entirely. Some of my favorite characters were Jeremiah and Mother Chadwick. It would have been easy to write these background characters flat, but they have such life and depth to their emotions they add real color to the story.

Annette Lyon's temple books are full of little bits of information about the building of the temples. Her research is meticulous and the anecdotes included in the novel make the story that much richer and believable. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Tower of Strength can be purchased here.