Reviewer Comments: Following on the heels of her highly acclaimed debut A BRIDE MOST BEGRUDGING, Ms. Gist again engages and delights the reader with another inspirational historical set on the Pacific side of America – San Francisco, 1849.
The Van Buren family had set out for California with the same gold-rush fever as most. By the time their ship docked their father died leaving Rachel, the eldest, in charge of her two younger siblings – fifteen-year-old Lessa, and fourteen year old Michael. Arriving in San Francisco they did not find gold lining the streets, rather quagmires of mud that led into a town where civilized behavior seemed a foreign concept.
Wanting nothing more than to leave immediately and head back East, Rachel was faced with the reality of having to make due and create a good Christian home for herself and her siblings. The best option offered led her to make a bargain with handsome Johnnie Parker, missionary-turned-gambler, whom she negotiated a work for board arrangement. As Rachel worked towards the day a ship could return them home, her head fought her heart from falling for Johnnie and his sinful life. At the same time, her younger siblings were being lured away – Michael by the enticements of easy riches and Lessa by a forbidden relationship. Each had grown up knowing God but they would grow in rediscovering Him and learning the true values of love, family, and compassion.
*** Once again, Ms. Gist does her homework offering a wealth of early San Francisco historical tidbits in an engaging and lively story that pits a stalwart black and white type personality whose biggest lesson in life was to learn the true ‘measure of a lady’. While Rachel’s ‘holier than thou’ attitude was a bit trying at times the plot, story and wonderful secondary characters made this a terrific read. I personally loved Johnnie who was a fabulously charming and romantic character. His fortitude in waiting for Rachel to learn the true meaning of acceptance, compassion, and second chances was, for me, the mark of a true Christian.
