Touching the Sky (Land of the Lone Star, #2)

Title: Touching the Sky
Author: Tracie Peterson
Labels: Fiction | Historical Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: June 1, 2012
Recommended To: Women, Adult, Romance Lovers
Contains: Clean.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: When Laura Marquardt first meets Brandon Reid, their encounter is anything but pleasant. But when the two are seated together at a dinner party, they soon find that they share similar interests--Laura desires to educate blacks, and Brandon, as a white officer over colored troops, eagerly supports her cause.
When Laura's sister, Carissa, marries her Confederate beau, Laura finds herself in a difficult situation when she overhears plots to kill Union soldiers. Though in her heart she feels she should share this information with Brandon, Laura fears she will betray her sister's trust and possibly endanger her sister's life. And when Brandon's motives for pursuing her come into question, her heart is even more conflicted. Where is God leading her?
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          Laura and Brandon meet in an amusing and unlikely way, and soon find their paths crossing. Both have an attraction to the other, but problems arise under the surface when Brandon decides to court Laura, despite the fact he knows his motives will eventually be questioned. He's left working in secrecy, all the while wondering if he should tell come clean to the girl he loves. Laura, on the other hand, begins to have her suspicions, adding a whole new level to this complicated relationship.

          I was slightly disappointed at the lack of involvement I felt as this story unfolded. I didn't feel quite as able to relate to the characters or as "walking in their shoes" as I would have liked. Other than that, the book was pretty good. The plot unfolded smoothly and the impending decisions of the characters kept me interested to the end, though slightly distanced. I'm interested to read the next book in the series, Taming the Wind, to see where the continuing story takes Laura's heartbroken sister, Carissa.

        Recommended. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Chasing the Sun (Land of the Lone Star, #1)

Title: Chasing the Sun
Author: Tracie Peterson
Labels: Fiction | Historical Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: March 1, 2012.
Reading Range: YA | Adult
Contains: One random crude comment.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher
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Blurb From Goodreads: Bestselling author Peterson launches an exciting, romantic new series about a feisty young woman fighting to protect her family's Texas ranch against mounting threats.
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          After being pulled up from her previous home and disengaged from her beau, Hannah is stuck living on her fathers Texas ranch taking care of her two young siblings, while her father is off looking after her sick grandmother, inconveniently close to the heart of the battlefields of the Civil War. The more time passes the more she begins to wonder if her father is even alive anymore. These suspicions aren't helped by a scheming "friend's" implications of such as he tries to quietly take over the ranch. Enter William Barnett. Will is a wounded soldier come back to reclaim his ranch, the very same ranch the Confederacy has handed over to Hannah's father and is now her home. William isn't the type to force innocent women and children off of the only home they've known for the last few years, but he believes the ranch is indeed rightfully his. So what now?


          This book was interesting, though maybe a little slow for me. Both William and Hannah are upright, honorable Christians with values, although Will has strayed a bit in his belief. Hannah is the one who almost immediately is attracted to Will, and eventually Will begins to develop feelings of his own. Meanwhile, Hannah's 'friend', Mr. Lockhart, is sneaking around trying to take the ranch from both of them. He comes off --at least to me--as a not-so-smart but sneaky character, consistently attempting to manipulate Hannah into submitting to his plans.


          The only problem I had with this book was the dialog. At times it was fine, but then other times it felt stilted and forced, like the author was trying just a little too hard to have them speak just as they would during the Civil War. And then once in a while I came across a phrase really did sound out of place, and too contemporary for the time frame.


          Overall this was a pretty good read with an interesting plot line. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.