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A review by turquoiseavenue
Out of the Ashes by Kimberley Woodhouse, Tracie Peterson
3.0
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts below are my own.
This tender story is sure to melt your heart! As this story begins, you'll learn about the two main characters, Katherine and Jean-Michel - two people who loved each other but were torn apart. As their lives moved on without each other, their hearts are scarred by battles they each endured separately as the result of the paths their lives take. When Katherine's grandmother becomes involved, the two former lovers are given the opportunity to reconnect and reunite their love from years ago.
I enjoyed the story line and felt both Jean-Michel and Katherine were genuine, endearing characters. They were easy to relate to and their separate journeys in understanding themselves, finding their faith and rekindling a long lost love was so touching.
While Out of the Ashes is clearly the second book in the Heart of Alaska series, I didn't feel like I'd lost anything by not having read book one, In the Shadow of Denali, first or even at all. Out of the Ashes works well as a stand alone novel.
The book opens with all the interesting details readers need to know about the main characters' backgrounds and lays the groundwork for the story. Roughly halfway through, readers might find themselves anxious to skip ahead as there's a bit of a lull in the drama. But keep reading because 3/4 of the way through the story, just as Katherine and Jean-Michel reconnect on a deeper level, an influenza epidemic becomes a very serious concern for the little town. Then, as you would expect, this novel will wrap up quickly and neatly, with the warm-gooey ending you anticipated in the beginning.
I gave this book three stars because I enjoyed the history that I learned in the book and the journey of personal faith for Katherine and Jean-Michel. The two things that kept me from giving Out of the Ashes a higher review was that, for me, the novel had too many perspectives on the story. While I enjoyed learning about the other characters that made up the Curry Hotel staff, I found myself feeling like the novel jumped between different characters' points of view too often and left me wanting more from one character's point of view. As a result of that rapid shift in perspective, I felt that things moved too quickly and that I missed out on the details and depth the story could have held. I believe, however, that the reason for multiple perspectives is because this book IS a part of a series and the authors wish the readers to be able to connect with all the lovely staff of the Curry Hotel in order to enjoy the series as a whole. I am certain that we will find in the book to follow that the lives of these dear characters continue. Secondly, the novel uses the influenza epidemic as a crisis point in the story, but then downplays the reality of it later, with all the characters miraculously getting well but not attending the six funerals of those who passed. I found that hard to fathom in such a close knit little community. Also, little is mentioned of the outcome for the four people who contracted the disease while camped outside of town during the quarantine. At that point in the story, things start to move quickly and wrap up with a predictable ending. Overall, though, this book is truly heartwarming if readers focus on the journey that Katherine and Jean-Michel embark on. By the end of the story, readers have fallen in love with these characters, the Curry Hotel staff and will find themselves wanting to pick up other books in this series.
This tender story is sure to melt your heart! As this story begins, you'll learn about the two main characters, Katherine and Jean-Michel - two people who loved each other but were torn apart. As their lives moved on without each other, their hearts are scarred by battles they each endured separately as the result of the paths their lives take. When Katherine's grandmother becomes involved, the two former lovers are given the opportunity to reconnect and reunite their love from years ago.
I enjoyed the story line and felt both Jean-Michel and Katherine were genuine, endearing characters. They were easy to relate to and their separate journeys in understanding themselves, finding their faith and rekindling a long lost love was so touching.
While Out of the Ashes is clearly the second book in the Heart of Alaska series, I didn't feel like I'd lost anything by not having read book one, In the Shadow of Denali, first or even at all. Out of the Ashes works well as a stand alone novel.
The book opens with all the interesting details readers need to know about the main characters' backgrounds and lays the groundwork for the story. Roughly halfway through, readers might find themselves anxious to skip ahead as there's a bit of a lull in the drama. But keep reading because 3/4 of the way through the story, just as Katherine and Jean-Michel reconnect on a deeper level, an influenza epidemic becomes a very serious concern for the little town. Then, as you would expect, this novel will wrap up quickly and neatly, with the warm-gooey ending you anticipated in the beginning.
I gave this book three stars because I enjoyed the history that I learned in the book and the journey of personal faith for Katherine and Jean-Michel. The two things that kept me from giving Out of the Ashes a higher review was that, for me, the novel had too many perspectives on the story. While I enjoyed learning about the other characters that made up the Curry Hotel staff, I found myself feeling like the novel jumped between different characters' points of view too often and left me wanting more from one character's point of view. As a result of that rapid shift in perspective, I felt that things moved too quickly and that I missed out on the details and depth the story could have held. I believe, however, that the reason for multiple perspectives is because this book IS a part of a series and the authors wish the readers to be able to connect with all the lovely staff of the Curry Hotel in order to enjoy the series as a whole. I am certain that we will find in the book to follow that the lives of these dear characters continue. Secondly, the novel uses the influenza epidemic as a crisis point in the story, but then downplays the reality of it later, with all the characters miraculously getting well but not attending the six funerals of those who passed. I found that hard to fathom in such a close knit little community. Also, little is mentioned of the outcome for the four people who contracted the disease while camped outside of town during the quarantine. At that point in the story, things start to move quickly and wrap up with a predictable ending. Overall, though, this book is truly heartwarming if readers focus on the journey that Katherine and Jean-Michel embark on. By the end of the story, readers have fallen in love with these characters, the Curry Hotel staff and will find themselves wanting to pick up other books in this series.