Beyond The Valley by Rita Gerlach ~ PUYB Blog Tour with review

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (February 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426714165
• ISBN-13: 978-1426714160

This book is also available as an e-book.

Publication Date: February 1, 2013 | Series: The Daughters of the Potomac (Book 3)

When Sarah Carr’s husband Jamie drowns, her young life is shattered and takes a turn that she never expected. Pregnant and now widowed, she reaches out to Jamie’s family for help, but they are unwilling. Instead they devise a plan to have her kidnapped and taken to the Colonies to live a life of servitude. Sarah’s new life in the Colonies finds her surrounded by a family’s whirlwind of secrets, while she hopes the young doctor she loves with will bring her freedom.

Rita Gerlach writes inspirational historical fiction with a romantic bent, with unique settings in both America and England. She lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town nestled along the Catoctin Mountains amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts in central Maryland.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

My take on this book:

Sarah grew up in a workhouse for children, she always felt like no one would ever want her because one of her legs was shorter than the other causing her to limp. At the age of seventeen though she meets Jamie Carr someone who offers her marriage, after six short months though Jamie drowns leaving her a widow with a baby on the way. The only thing she knows to do is to go to Jamie's sister but instead of helping her they put her on a ship bound for the Colonies so that she can be sold into a life of servitude. What will happen to Sarah once she gets to the colonies?

I couldn't help but be drawn into Sarah's story. She was such a strong character that went thru so many trials. My heart broke for her so many times, she grew up feeling unwanted and unloved only to find six months with Jamie before her world was turned upside down all over again, thing was as Sarah's story unfolds we can see how God's mercies are at work. I found myself enjoying the realism that the author wove into this story, from the historical accuracy to the way she allows us to see bondage, or slavery. She doesn't always paint things in a rosy way, instead she allows us to see things as they really were, making the time period and the situations seem so very realistic. 

Even though "Beyond The Valley" is the third book in The Daughter's of the Potomac series, I didn't read the first two books but had no problems following this story, that said, I enjoyed the historical flavor of this novel so much that I have already ordered the first two books and can't wait to read them. Overall, if your a fan of historical fiction, where the author blends together hardships, romance, and pulls it all together with wonderfully realistic characters that will inspire you with their faith then you are going to want to read "Beyond the Valley." 

Click here to follow along on the blog tour to read what other reviewers are saying as well as a chance to win a copy of this book.

ABOUT RITA GERLACH:

Rita Gerlach writes inspirational historical fiction with a romantic bent, with unique settings in both America and England. She lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town nestled along the Catoctin Mountains amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts in central Maryland.

Her latest book is Beyond the Valley.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK