Good morning all!! I am still reeling with the excitement of some new found loves... Go carts and laser tag! Our youth pastor is always planning fun things to keep us busy kids entertained and last night, he chose Putt Putt fun center. I still can't forget the thrill of laser tag, sneaking around corners and holding the laser gun just right. I felt like I was straight out of a suspense novel... Obviously in reality I was terrible but we can't live in reality all the time!
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*Summary*
Struggling to put the pain of her loss behind, Ruby does her best to serve the city of San Francisco and help heal those in need...but will her heart heal in the process through an unexpected miracle?
Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes? Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.
Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.
Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?
Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.
Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?
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*My Thoughts*
Wow, wow, wow! Confession time: This cover was such a stunner, I didn't even stop to read the description before signing on for this tour. I'm not a bit sorry I did either!
This was kind of a tough read for me. My dear grandmother passed away from a return battle with cancer when I was 6 months old. Though I never knew her in the sense that some of my cousins had, I've always felt that piece of me is missing. It's like a hole in your heart that you learn to live with but never quite get over. That is the reason this was so near to my heart. It was a hard thing to "witness" in my mind the pain and heartache of losing so many patients to the deadly disease and even harder when it came to Gerald.
Another thing that made it hard to stick with...I made a mistake. Something I call a "rookie reader" mistake. I was reading the ebook, typed in the location to find my spot and...landed at the end pages of the book. You wouldn't think one sentence could change the entire outlook a book. It can. That one deadly sentence kept the guess out of the book but I still loved it! In my minds eye, if I essentially ruin the book for myself and still loved it, starting from the beginning should be a real treat!
Ruby is my kind of girl!! This red haired girl was a can-do spitfire in her finest form! As if being a widow wasn't hard enough, in the midst of her pain, she did her best to help and to heal. One of my favorite "strong women"!
I'm completely impressed with Karen's ability to take horrific tragedies and still show God's light at the end of the tunnel. This first work of art is my first book that I've read of Karen's but it cannot be the last because it is such a gem!
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*My overall thoughts*
Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett is a gem among the ashes for sure! Karen takes a hard tragedy and turns it into something of beauty, shining God's light along the way! An intricate web of beautiful characters, a broken city, and enough spunk to keep you on your toes!
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*My Rating*
I give Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett...
5 stars!!
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*Where to get it*
*I received this book from litfuse, the publisher, and the author in exchange for an honest review, which I have given. All thoughts were my own and I was not compensated in any other way.
Have you read Karen's novels before?
Happy Reading,
Nicki
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