Book Review-A Treasure Concealed
29 MarSummary: A Treasure Concealed by Tracie Peterson is the first book in the Sapphire Brides series. The story takes place in Montana during the late 1800s. Emily Carver and her family have been moving from gold mining camp to gold mining camp as Emily’s father searches for the treasure he just knows is waiting for him.
While he searches, his family is barely able to make ends meet. Emily’s mother is desperately sick, and Emily is left to provide for the family as best she can-taking care of her mother, raising livestock for food, cooking, and doing the myriads of other chores required on their latest claim. She tries not to think about all she doesn’t have, but with the mounting problems they face each day, it’s hard not to feel resentful of her lot in life. She just wants to stay in one place-with a home and family of her very own. It doesn’t seem like too much to ask, but her dreams seem to get further and further away as time passes.
Cade Thibault is a man on a mission for the government, and at the same time a man hiding from his own past. He loves his geological survey job as it takes him far and wide across the west-far from the expectations placed on him by his family and associates back home. Burdened by his past with an alcoholic and abusive patriarch, he resigns himself never to marry-not wanting to turn into a man anything like his own father.
The Wild West is not a kind place though, and soon both Emily and Cade find themselves in battles for not only their own property, but for their souls. Will they each be able to protect the ones they love? Will they be able to get past their own bitter life disappointments and trust in God? Will Emily’s father ever find the treasure he so desperately seeks or will a case of revenge from the past destroy everything he has worked so hard to find? And will Emily ever see her dreams realized?
My Thoughts: This was a very good book. I liked the interesting story premise, the characters were interesting, and there were plenty of twists and turns. There was also a great Biblical message about trusting God even through difficult circumstances. The book was well-written, and I enjoyed reading it. If you like stories about the Wild West, gold mining, adventure and intrigue with a bit of romance thrown in, then you are going to like this book. I know I will be keeping this book, and am looking forward to the next book in the series!
A big thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a copy of this book for my unbiased review.
Card Monday-Easter Cards
28 MarI have gotten in the habit of writing little decorated notes to the kids for the holidays lately. I made some for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and now Easter. These were simply made with some cut apart journaling cards (left over from some layouts I just finished) along with Wink of Stella, a little doodling with my black pen, and some Mama Elephant critters I had already colored and cut. A breeze to put together, and they turned out cute!
Sorry for the glare-was trying to show all that yummy Wink of Stella! 🙂
Pinterest Thursday-More Color by Code
24 MarPink Cat Studio has been coming out with more cute color by code sheets, and everyone is getting in on the action around here. The little guy just colors on it, the six year old does basic math, The Girlio does multiplication and division, and the 2nd grade girl I am watching is doing adding and subtracting! So versatile, and I love that Pink Cat Studio has added a couple of new sheets of mixed multiplication and division problems as well. We will definitely be using these for years to come! Here are some of the new ones we have picked up:
pin found here
pin found here
pin found here
SO cute and fun-as always! 🙂
Slow Down, Enjoy, and Create 