Beloved Hope

It has only been a few years since Mercy, Hope, and Grace Flanagan came west....alone.   Hope finally had resolved herself to her new home in the West and had found love only to have it stripped from her during an Indian massacre that ripped her future from her and left her with an unwanted pregnancy.  She is finally putting her life together and moving beyond when she is asked to testify in court against the Indians she watched murder so many in her village.  While one of the last things she wants to do is relive that day, she also doesn't want there to be any danger of the Indians going free and others having to watch over their shoulders the rest of their lives.

A young officer assigned to the trial, Lance Kenner, is taken by Hope and prevents her from taking matters into her own hands.  Hope has vowed never to marry but could Lance possibly begin to melt her hate-filled, terrified heart?

I have never been a bit disappointed by anything Tracie Peterson has written and this book is no exception.  I read the first in the series, Treasured Grace and couldn't put it down.  This second book in the series followed suit and I am anxiously awaiting the third and final installment this fall when more of Mercy's story is shared.  Peterson seems to be well researched with just enough history to appeal to those of us who love historical fiction but not so much that will bore the average reader with details and dates.  Beloved Hope is a beautiful story of how hate can rob us of all joy, blinding us to everything good but also about forgiveness and how God can take ashes and make something beautiful of it.  

It is essential to read this series in order.  For the most part, the first two are capable of standing alone but Treasured Grace leaves so many unanswered questions in regards to Grace's sisters and Beloved Hope, if read first, would leave you little reason to read the first in the series.  In other words, the series includes the same main characters and builds on each other.  If you are like me, wait until September 2017 and you can get them all and read them sequentially.  I get frustrated sometimes when I have to wait a year or more for books in a series but Peterson doesn't make us wait that long.

I did receive this book in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.  Two thumbs up for Peterson's "Heart of the Frontier" series if you have an interest in historical fiction.