Book Review: "Beloved Hope" by Tracie Peterson

​About the Book

​Shackled by Her Past, One Woman Searches for Healing, Forgiveness, and Love

Hope Flanagan survived the massacre at the Whitman Mission, but at terrible personal cost. Safe now in Oregon City, the gentle rhythm of tending her family's flock of sheep is slowly healing her mind and soul, but her precarious new peace is shattered when Hope is asked to testify against the Cayuse responsible for the massacre. She's not sure she can bear to relive the events of those horrific days, but neither can she risk her attackers being released if she doesn't tell her story. 

As Hope struggles to make her choice, an Army lieutenant named Lance Kenner becomes an unexpected ray of light in her life. Perhaps she is still capable of love after all. But will Lance still want her if he learns the whole truth of what happened to her at the mission? Or are the secrets that lie in his own past more troubling?

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​My Review

​Tracie Peterson was one of the first Christian Fiction authors I ever read, and I have enjoyed reading most of her books since. And I must say that with Beloved Hope, the second in her “Heart of the Frontier” series, Ms. Peterson has written another great book.
 
It centers on Hope, a survivor of the Whitman Massacre, who is struggling to overcome what happened to her there when she’s asked to testify against her Indian attackers at their trial. She harbors anger and a desire for revenge toward them for what they did to her and the others. Hope is a great character. She’s determined to put it all behind her but she can’t, not even once the trial is completed. Hope struggles with leaning on God in the wake of this traumatic event and it is something that I deeply empathize with.
 
I also appreciated that none of the secondary characters, especially Hope’s two sisters, felt her feelings were necessarily wrong in and of themselves. They worried about the damage to Hope herself with her inability to move on from the tragedy by keeping a hold on those feelings.
 
Lance is the other main character, and he’s also a good character, though his development isn’t quite as noticeable as Hope’s is. He’s a soldier at the beginning of the book, tasked with making sure the Indians on trial for the massacre are kept safe during it. He and Hope develop a friendship that eventually blossoms into love.
 
Lance’s main struggle is trying to forgive the man who engaged in a duel with his brother, and to learn to lean on God. The journeys that Hope and Lance take throughout the book are thought provoking and believable.
 
The secondary characters, especially Hope’s sisters, Mercy and Grace, are excellently drawn. None of them feels as if they are a mere plot point. Grace is the heroine of the first book, and Mercy the heroine of the next one. I am definitely picking up both stories. Though they are a series, each book works perfectly well as a standalone.
 
Ms. Peterson always does an excellent job of setting the scene, and this one is no exception. You can definitely see Oregon City through the eyes of the characters.
 
I give this book 4/5 stars and recommend it to lovers of Christian Historical Romance who appreciate tough topics being handled deftly.  There is one part of Lance’s forgiveness story that feels contrived, but it doesn’t distract from the overall themes and didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story.
 
**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Bethany House. All opinions are my own.** 

​About the Author

​Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 100 novels. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Learn more at www.traciepeterson.com.