This was a unique read dealing with the Yellowstone National Park and the CCC during the 1930s. With accurate historical details about nature and the park, this is a must-read for anyone that loves the outdoors.
The descriptions of the park were riveting and the story came with a small mystery. With all of the plot twists, I could not guess the ending.
The friendship between Elsie and Mary was pleasant to read about as they supported each other in their dreams and future. I would have liked seeing more of the friendship near the end of the novel when the plot started focusing more on Elise and Nate.
Overall, this historical novel was well-written with a strong plot and I cannot wait to see more from the author in the future.
Personal Rating: 4.5 Stars
Content Rating: 3.5 Stars
*I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required and all thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

An exciting story set at Yellowstone Park in the 1930's! This book was informative and intriguing. The characters were very easy to relate to.I especially loved that faith in God was portrayed throughout the book.
Elsie struggled with her past and her mother had some wise words for her. "When you hold yourself seperate from the world, you cheat others of the light God has placed inside you. There is no love without risk, without hurt." Eventually, Elsie opens her heart to Nate a young man struggling with his own obstacles. They must fight for each other as hard as they fight against the forest fires threatening the park. ( )

I have no idea why my review of this disappeared, but I discovered it had vanished from my virtual shelf, so here it is again...

While I enjoyed the writing and thought the characters were enjoyable, something about the plot wasn't quite as compelling to me as the previous two books in this National Parks series. Having read those books, I was also expecting a little more of a wow factor in the setting. This time, the scenery took a back seat. Normally I wouldn't mind that, but it feels like such a hallmark of this series that the curtailment was noticeable. Still, it's a fun and pleasant story.

Elsie Brookes works as a maid in the lodges at Yellowstone National Park along with her two best friends. Her dream is to save enough money for college. Meanwhile, the Civilian Conservation Corps is springing up and transporting companies of young men across the country to work on the land. Many of them are uneducated and unskilled, but the program aims to change all of that. Elsie gets a job teaching some of the men who would like to earn a high school diploma. The one who is the most resistant to her classes, Nate Webber, would hate for anyone to learn that he actually can't read. He and Elsie are attracted to each other, but worry about how different they are. Elsie is also a little closed off emotionally because of some trauma that happened when she was young.

Meanwhile, fires are starting up with suspicious frequency, Elsie is being pursued by a ranger that she's always had a crush on, and the CCC boys are providing distraction and romance for more than one of the girls at the park. It's pretty enjoyable reading, and I look forward to seeing what this author has in store next. ( )

Title: Ever Faithful (A Vintage National Parks Novel #3)
Author: Karen Barnett
Pages: 352
Year: 2019
Publisher: Waterbrook
My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.
Nate Webber has been chastised his whole life for “not amount to much” of anything. He is forced to enlist in the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, when he is caught by the police taking the blame for his brother’s crime. The officer offers him the chance to experience more than the city’s mean streets by enlisting, or his brother would go to jail at the age of fourteen. Nate enlists and is shipped off to Yellowstone Park. Upon arrival, he meets a park ranger’s pretty daughter. He learns she will be teaching some basic courses for the men of the CCC to help them learn to read and write. He is in awe of the beauty he gets to see. He works hard at manual labor and soon is offered the position of foreman, but if he takes the position he has to write weekly reports and read. He can’t let anyone find out his secret because his family desperately needs the extra money the foreman position offers. What can he do?
Elsie Brookes has dreamed of being a teacher all her life. She has been saving up for college and will finally have enough for college after this final summer at Yellowstone. She has to concentrate on her career as no man wants to marry a scarred woman like her in her opinion. The summer gets underway and for the first time she has not one, but two men interested in her romantically. She still plans to go to college, so how should she deal with these two men? In the meantime, someone keeps starting fires around the park. The first one is small and quickly put out, but each fire grows larger in size. Fire during this dry summer would prove dangerous and devastating for the park. Who would do such a thing?
With such vivid descriptions of the scenery, I feel like I just took a vacation to Yellowstone! There is definitely a feeling of “you are there” in this author’s prose. Having been a park ranger herself, the author uses that to paint a picture of God’s creation that surpasses other authors. I have enjoyed all three books in the series with a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty God has given us to experience. Both characters have difficulties trusting but for different reasons. When they allow God to give them the ability to trust and depend on Him, they begin to really live life to the fullest. I’m looking forward to what comes next from this author!
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. ( )

This series just keeps getting better. I loved the characters. I loved to learn about the men and women that worked for the national parks. This story makes me want to visit these areas. I really enjoyed reading about the way Elsie started to teachNate to read. This story has a lot of twists and turns. I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )