Refining Fire

Although I didn’t read the first book in the Brides of Seattle series by Tracie Peterson, when I started reading the second book, Refining Fire, I was immediately hooked. Luckily I was on a beach vacation, so I basically read this book nonstop the whole time I was away. I liked all of the characters, and Abrianna was an especially endearing character.

 

Abrianna lives with her aunts at Madison Bridal School, and some of the residents of the school are her closest friends. She is the sort of character who always is putting together new skits or having great ideas and then recruiting all of her friends to help her. In Refining Fire, Abrianna is determined to serve those who are less fortunate than her by opening a food house with her friends Militine, Thane, and Wade. As you can imagine, there are many obstacles she has to overcome in order to make this undertaking a success.

 

Militine is a young woman who lives at the Madison Bridal School with no plans to get married. She had a difficult past, and she finds it hard to put her trust in a man after her experiences. Thane, who serves as an escort for the women of the school, also has a past filled with difficulties. From the first page of the story, it’s clear these two have a lot in common and have shared similar past experiences. I really liked seeing their relationship grow within the pages of this book.

 

Each of these characters was interesting to read about, and I liked learning more about their pasts and what brought them to this point in their life. I was especially interested in seeing the romance develop between the characters. There were some interesting aspects of this time period also addressed in the book. I liked the focus on the volunteer fire department at the time, as well as reading about the differences in how a church chose a new pastor in 1888. I cannot wait to read the final book in the series, and I’m planning to go back and read the first book as well!

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from Bethany House, a division of Baker Books as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”