Abby’s shattered faith in both God and man is challenged when the terrible earthquake hits 1906 San Francisco.
While her sister lies on her deathbed, Abby Fischer prays for a miracle. What Abby doesn’t expect, however, is for God’s answer to come in the form of the handsome Dr. Robert King, whose experimental treatment is risky at best.
As they work together toward a cure, Abby’s feelings for Robert become hopelessly entangled. Separated by the tragedy of the mighty San Francisco earthquake, their relationship suddenly takes a back seat to survival. With fires raging throughout the city, Abby fears for her life as she flees alone through burning streets. Where is God now? Will Robert find Abby, even as the world burns around them? Or has their love fallen with the ruins of the city?
Rating: ✰✰✰ (3 out of 5 stars)
When Abby Fischer prays for her sister Cecelia’s recovery from cancer, she doesn’t know if God is listening. When her cousin Gerald and his assistant, the handsome Dr. Robert King, arrive to move Cecelia to San Francisco for experimental treatments it seems to be the answer to Abby’s prayers. When tragedy strikes in the wake of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Abby abandons all hope as she runs through the streets of San Francisco alone in search of her family. Will Abby finally realize that God has never left her side?
I have to start with the fact that I have not exactly been in a reading mood the last few days. So finishing this book became a bit of a chore for me. I definitely liked it, I thought it had an interesting history, cute characters, and a heartfelt story. But I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have reading it at another time. That being said, let me say that this book was a very unique historical read. I haven’t read many books about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and I had never even thought about the cancer treatment procedures from back then. The author highlighted these two plotlines with two different “parts” in the book, which I thought added greatly to the story and was very interesting. While I thought the story was very unique, the characters were not as different. I felt like I had already met these characters before in previous books. A girl, unaware of her own beauty and strength, loses faith in God because of loss. I thought it a bit humdrum, though the characters were cute. I did think this book was very heartfelt and compelling. It was uplifting to see characters start to trust in God and learning a few things along with them. I know I will have the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing in my mind and heart for a while yet.
I am looking forward to reading more from this series and (fingers crossed) hopefully see Abby and Robert’s story continued! If you enjoy interesting historical reads, then this is definitely the book for you.
**I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own.
Don’t miss the debut book, Out of the Ruins, in Karen Barnett‘s new series, The Golden Gate Chronicles. Set against the backdrop of early 20th century San Francisco, Out of the Ruins will remind readers that no matter who we are or what we’ve done, God is still as close to us as our next breath.
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- Out of the Ruins by Karen Barnett
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 19th. Winner will be announced at the Out of the Ruins Facebook author chat party on June 19th. Connect with Karen for an evening of fun book chat, games, and prizes. Karen will also be answering audience questions and giving an exclusive look at the next book in The Golden Gate Chronicles series!
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