Beloved Hope by Tracie Peterson Series: Heart of the Frontier #2
Published by Baker Publishing Group on July 4th 2017
Genres: Christian, Fiction, Historical, Romance
Pages: 336
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A Compelling Novel of Forgiveness and Hope from Leading Author Tracie Peterson
Hope Flanagan survived the massacre at the Whitman Mission, but at terrible personal cost. Safe now in Oregon City, she lives with her sisters, Grace and Mercy, and Grace's new husband, Alex. As she spends her days tending their flock of sheep, Hope's mind and soul are slowly healing. Yet, though she was once surrounded by suitors, she has no interest in giving her heart again after the man she loved died in her arms.
Hope's precarious new peace is shattered when those responsible for the massacre are captured and put on trial. She is asked to testify against them, but she's not sure she can bear to relive the events of those horrific days.
As Hope struggles to free herself from the pain of her past, Lance Kenner, an Army lieutenant, brings an unexpected ray of light into her life. But what will Lance think of her if he learns the truth behind her anguish? And what secrets lie in his past?
If you read my review of ‘Treasured Grace‘ then you are ahead of the curve on what to expect in this review. If you haven’t read the first book I strongly urge you to do so. Though it’s now two years later there is still much carryover which prompts me to include a disclaimer again. Yes the massacre, the killing, the sexual assault are over but they are still a part of this book. The Indians responsible for the attack are found and brought in to face trial. It may have been two years but not everyone, Hope, is ready to move forward. These are real events in our real history that are the catalyst behind this book. History is messy. Faith can be messy. Life is messy. I applaud authors who take the messy hard things and aren’t afraid to have the difficult discussions.
All that being said I really like ‘Beloved Hope’. Hope had such a personality and depth to her that was refreshing after her sister, Grace. Where Grace came across as overbearing, Hope came across as dimensional. Yes, she was emotional but she was also steady in her convictions, she was centered in her decisions (even when they were off base!) and she was relateable. Don’t get me wrong, I found myself getting so very frustrated with Hope. I found myself thinking how whiny she came across. I mean it’s been two years right? I had to stop myself a couple of times. Yes it’s been two years but. . . I had to stop and remember what she had been through. She’d been assaulted, multiple times, by one of the natives. A man who had made her uncomfortable months before the attack in the way he looked at her and treated her and spoke to her. A man who’s child she conceived during the assaults. A pregnancy she wanted to end or to end her own life because of the pregnancy. I child she gave birth to and gave to another couple. Yes it’s been two years but it’s only been two years. Any one of those things could affect her the rest of her life. She was coping with more than any one thing. It was a reminder that sometimes the healing is harder than what you are healing from.
I appreciated the faith elements of this book as well. For the most part they were seamless and integrated and so very real to the characters and circumstances that brought them to light. However, at times it felt a bit overdone (for example: a characters thinking on a specific verse but spelling it out in completeness with chapter and verse in a thought. I know I don’t think like that, so it just felt awkward.). I also liked the tangled web of Lance and Alex’s history. Lance was in interesting character as well and his friendship with Hope, in my opinion, was a blessing to her healing. This is the second book in the Heart of the Frontier series and I can’t wait to read Mercy’s story next week.
About Tracie Peterson
Tracie Peterson is a bestselling author who writes in both historical and contemporary genres. Her novels reveal her love for research as well as her strong desire to develop emotionally meaningful characters and stories for her readers. Tracie and her family live in Montana.
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