BOOK REVIEW- TREASURED GRACE

Tracie Peterson Begins Compelling New Series Set on the 1840s Frontier
 
  Grace Martindale has known more than her share of hardship. After her parents died, raising her two younger sisters became her responsibility. A hasty marriage to a minister who is heading to the untamed West seemed like an opportunity for a fresh start, but a cholera outbreak along the wagon trail has left Grace a widow in a very precarious position.

Having learned natural remedies and midwifery from her mother, Grace seeks an opportunity to use her skills for the benefit of others. So when she and her sisters arrive at the Whitman mission in "Oregon Country," she decides to stay rather than push on. 

With the help of Alex Armistead, a French-American fur trapper, Grace begins to provide care for her neighbors, including some of the native populace. But not everyone welcomes her skills--or her presence--and soon Grace finds herself and those she loves in more danger than she imagined possible AMAZON  4 STARS


This was a good story just not one that was always easy to read because of what took place in some of it. 
This book had good main characters and also showed how tough frontier life was. Grace's sisters Hope and Mercy were also an important part of the story.  And Grace did a lot to help raise and protect her sisters.  A case in point is that non-love match to the overbearing, arrogant minister. Being called the Right Reverend, even by his wife is a telling and pretty accurate picture of who he was. Even though he isn't in the book for very long his sense of entitlement comes through pretty clearly. 
Alex friends,  Sam and Gabriel were a welcome addition and they all had been friends for many years.  Another major player was Dr. Whitman  and although he did a lot of good,  and cared about people, he also had an arrogance of a different kind.  It also brings trouble to his doors.  Dr. Whitman disapproved of Grace using her "so-called" skills and set himself up as the ultimate authority when it came to healing because he had the doctor certificate.  Something that he tried to use to make Grace stop her ministering healing and made Grace go toe to toe with him in the beginning.  She knew that it had its uses and that it was a gift from God.  It was also a knowledge, a heritage that had been handed down through several generations.  
There are plenty of difficulties, sorrow and violence and some anger at God but there is also neighbor helping neighbor. There was of course good and evil on both sides of the races.  It was good to see that not all of the Indians were murders.  I was saddened when Sam began to see that the life that he had lived was going to change for the worse and that his people and his children most likely would not live free anymore.  This is not a light story but it does have some overcoming to it.  It also shows the struggles that people often struggle with today.  "How can God allow such evil to happen?" 

On a final note or two, this book also shows the agony that Alex has been dealing with/running from in his past. 
How Grace got her name was a nice touch and helped explain the title of the book. 


The author placed a nice salute to doing her research in the short "Note to Reader". And also gave a nice dedication to the rangers of the U.S. National Park Service at the Whitman Mission.  They helped her keep it as authentic as possible.

I received a copy of this book via Bethany House and this is my honest opinion of it.