Well we have all had that feeling like a fish out of water,
right? Like for instance you have just moved
to a new place and everything just seems foreign, the people, the places, the
way they do things. Well that is how the poor heroine Shannon Adair of Heart of
Gold by Robin Lee Hatcher feels as she is starting a whole new life with her
widowed father Reverend Delaney Adair as they are trying to get settled in
Grand Coeur, Idaho, this rather –rougher –than- what -she’s- used –to- type of
place, so much different than where she was raised in Virginia. The setting is
1864 smack dab in the middle of the civil war and her Southern allegiances are
strong. Her father feels firmly called to this new
community of less refinement and sentiments both towards the union and the
confederacy, but people he feels called to minister to; Shannon is not so sure.
Thus begins her struggle to surrender to
God in this new place.
Shannon soon finds
purpose to her time in the gold mining town of Grand Coeur by drawing on her
nursing skills honed back home in Virginia while tending to many wounded
soldiers. But as there is no battlefield here, just a critically ill woman who
has recently arrived in Grand Coeur herself, seeking to reconnect with her
brother Matt Dubois and with her young son in tow, she is in need of much care
and help caring for her son. Shannon immediately has compassion on this woman
and a friendship is forged. Not at all
impressed by her brother Matt Dubois at first, as his political views did not
line up at all with hers, she is not immediately inclined to pay much notice of
him, but as time goes on, her interest in Mr. Dubois grows as does his interest
in her.
I enjoy books in the
civil war era for sure- such a confusing, complicated time for our country at
war against itself. I really enjoyed
this book and especially liked the character of Reverend Adair as he was a man
who really loved God, and although a southerner at heart, he still took a stand
with regards to the South’s view on slavery and how he did not feel it was
right. He also was very in tune to the
prejudice in this small town towards the Chinese population and was taking
steps to try and remedy that. I just
enjoyed that the character was able to look beyond what the North thought, what
the South thought and try to be more concerned with what God thought
concerning, people, politics and the church. I thought that was very well
done. The romance between Shannon and Matt
had a good flow to it and even that moment of crisis (a couple of them) where
you hoped that all would turn out right in the end , but you weren’t sure to
which I will not divulge how that ends up!
For those that enjoy a good civil war, historical fiction
read, this one is for you. Robin Lee Hatcher delivers a lovely read once again.
4 stars
I was graciously provided a free copy of this book from
Thomas Nelson through the Booksneeze program. I was not required to write a
favorable review. All opinions expressed
were honest and my own.
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