Monday, March 18, 2013

Blog tour and Review: Beyond the Valley By Rita Gerlach



Today, I’m happy to be apart of the Pump Up Your Book blog tour.





About the book:


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.








My Review:

What would it be like to be tricked, taken against your will, loaded onto a ship sailing for the colonies, and sold as an indentured servant? That’s what we find out in Beyond The Valley. In the midst of hardship, the courage of Sarah Carr shines through!

After the death of her husband, Sarah goes to the only family she has for help. Betrayed by them, she is tricked onto a ship sailing for the colonies. Dirty and hungry, she faces the humiliation of standing on a platform, being inspected like livestock. What will become of her?

This story reminded me a lot of Job. Through out all of the trails Sarah goes through, she never loses her faith in her Savior. She never loses her spunk either! She stands her ground when asked to do something she won’t do - for example, to become her master’s mistress. No, she won’t do it.

Sarah is a fiery red head, beautiful, except for a slight impediment. One of her legs is shorter than the other, giving her a limp when she walks. Some people see it as a weakness, but Sarah is a strong, hard worker, she holds her head up high when they look down at her.  I liked her a lot! She is very strong! Her suffering does not stop after she is bought. She endures many injustices; the threat of being sold to someone else, hunger, being killed or captured by Indians to name a few. She gets caught up in a web of deceit that is heartbreaking.

When she meets Dr Alex Hutton and his adorable nieces, she falls in love. Alex is also taken with Sarah, and he tries to convince Mr. Wentworth, Sarah’s master, to sell her to him. Wentworth refuses and sells Sarah to Mr. Thrasher, a trapper, who takes her into the frontier to help keep his house and cook for him. In the frontier,  she faces the danger of Indian raids. Will Alex be able to find her, or is she lost to him forever. 

In this historical novel, we see some of the many struggles women faced in the 1700s. They did not have many rights. It could be a very hard life, especially for a woman with no family to protect her. 

I enjoyed Beyond the Valley! This is the third book in the Daughters of the Potomac Series. It does stand alone. I have not read the first two, but I might have to!

4 out of 5 stars.

I received a copy of the book for my honest review.

Buy your copy: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
(Disclaimer for Amazon link: Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link I will receive a small commission.)

About the Author:

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.




—————————————————————-

Beyond the Valley Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule

————————————————————
Monday, March 4 - Book Review at Literary R&R
Tuesday, March 5 – First Chapter Review at The Book Connection
Tuesday, March 5 – Book Review at One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books
Wednesday, March 6 – Book Review & Book Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, March 7 – Book Review at Kaisy Daisy’s Corner
Friday, March 8 – Book Review & Book Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Monday, March 11 – Book Review at Maureen’s Musings
Monday, March 11 – Book Review & Book Giveaway at Mary’s Cup of Tea
Tuesday, March 12 – Book Review at Colletta’s Kitchen Sink
Tuesday, March 12 – Guest Blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner
Wednesday, March 13 – Book Review at Library of Clean Reads
Thursday, March 14 – Book Review at Melina’s Book Blog
Friday, March 15 – Book Review at The Bunny’s Review
Monday, March 18 – Book Review at So Little Time…So Much to Read!
Monday, March 18 – Book Review at Hardcover Feedback
Tuesday, March 19 – Book Review at LDS and Lovin It
Wednesday, March 20 – Book Review at My Devotional Thoughts
Wednesday, March 20 – Book Review at Sincerely  Stacie
Thursday, March 21 – Book Review & Book Giveaway at Bookworm Lisa
Friday, March 22 – Book Review at Reviews by Molly
Friday, March 22 – Book Review at Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
Monday, March 25 – Book Review & Guest Blogging at Jersey Girl Book Reviews
Monday, March 25 – Book Review at Bless Their Hearts Mom
Tuesday, March 26 – Book Review at WV Stitcher
Friday, March 29 – Book Review at The Self-Taught Cook
Friday, March 29 – Book Review at A Room Without Books Is Empty
Friday, March 29 – Book Review at A Year of Jubilee Reviews
Friday, March 29 – Book Review at The Book Connection

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you!

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for your wonderful review, Candy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Dorothy! You're welcome! Thanks for having me on the tour!

      Delete
  2. Dear Candy,

    Thank you for your review of Beyond the Valley. I am so glad you enjoyed it. I so appreciate that you featured it here on your blog, and I hope you will read the first two books in the series. Sarah is in book 1, Eliza's story.

    Blessings,
    Rita Gerlach
    http://ritagerlach.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rita! You're welcome! It was a pleasure to read! That's good to know - I'll have to check out book one! :)

      Delete
  3. This sounds like a great story, and I love the cover. Thanks, Candy. Will put this on my list! And congrats to the author on her virtual book tour! What a great way to promote a book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Adriana! I love the cover, too! Book tours are a fun way to promote your book. :)

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...