This story perfectly followed up Treasured Grace in the Heart of the Frontier trilogy. The consequences and after-effects of the heinous crimes in book one were on display in book two. In the midst of these consequences was a ray of hope that included compassion, mercy, and forgiveness, which beautifully expressed God’s love for us. I am loving the rich faith in these books, and I’m sad the trilogy is coming to a close after the next story. Hope’s journey was just as beautiful and emotional as I expected. It’s the romance she deserved after what she went through in the previous installment. I’m glad I guzzled this one in a single day, but I’ll be sure to take my time next go-round, to catch even more details.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I read a paperback while listening to the audio version. This review is my honest thoughts.

Beauty from ashes.
1847 Whitman Mission
Abhorrent
Indians attacked and killed the males, raped and kidnapped the women, holding them hostage for a month. Two and a half years later, they are being brought to trial – and Hope is one of their key witnesses. She is constantly having to come to terms with her life afterwards, finding it a difficult thing to get over. Having to go through the trial brings it all back to life again. And brings back the memory of the secret she keeps. Tracie Peterson works her magic as few other do, presenting the facts and bringing to life the feelings of those who were involved.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. 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.”

Beloved Hope by Tracie Peterson is a wonderful Christian historical romance which I loved. It is the second book in the Heart Of The Frontier series but can be read as a stand-alone as all the back story is incorporated into the book. However I would recommend reading book one Treasured Grace first.
The novel deals with the after effects of trauma. Her "scars weren't visible ones." Today we would diagnose PTSD but it was unheard of in 1850. Tracie Peterson explores the difficulties of living a life of fear. "I lost more than my innocence... They took my dreams of love and a family. They took my ability to feel safe." Home is no longer a refuge. Safety comes in withdrawing from people, hoping to feel better when... but it doesn't happen. Fear dominates.
Anger ties in with fear. An anger at God. He watched the (real life) Whitman Mission massacre and He did nothing to stop it. Our anger and fear need to be given to God because only He can truly heal us of our pain.
Major themes are grudges and forgiveness. Some characters find it easy to forgive, knowing "holding a grudge takes a great deal of strength." For others their pain and anger fuels them. Their physical health will suffer if they do not forgive. Forgiveness is not excusing. Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is freedom for the one doing the forgiving.
The novel explores relationship with and trust in God. "Sitting in a church doesn't make you a Christian... it's about believing and confessing." Being a Christian is all about relationship with God and each other. It is not having religion which is following rules. Christianity is about grace given to all. None of us deserve it. We cannot earn it. Grace cost Jesus everything and it is His gift to us.
The novel shows the prejudice, hatred and anger towards the Native Americans. All Native Americans are charged with the actions of a few. Ignorant white people believe them to be savages and not worthy of knowing God. This also seems to be limiting God. "Is He not able to save the Indian?" Not everyone holds backward and prejudiced thinking, knowing "Not all Indians are bad and all whites good."
The novel is about family. Family in the microcosm and the macrocosm. Family that pulls together regardless of the colour of their skin.
Beloved Hope was another wonderful offering from Tracie Peterson who writes novels that inform, entertain and are grounded in God. I am loving this series. It's on to book three now, Cherished Mercy to find out what happens next. I cannot get enough of Tracie Peterson.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

First sentence: "You can't be serious," Hope Flanagan looked at the man who sat opposite her at her sister and brother-in-law's kitchen table. "You expect me to testify in the Cayuse trial."

Premise/plot: Beloved Hope is the second book in the Heart of the Frontier trilogy by Tracie Peterson. This historical fiction series is set in the Oregon Territory in 1850. In the first book, readers met three sisters: Grace, Hope, and Mercy. Hope and Mercy were at the Whitman Mission when the massacre occurred. (Grace, a doctor/healer, was not there.) Hope suffered greatly at the hands of her captors; she was raped and gave birth to a child whom she gave up for adoption. In the second book, Hope has been called upon to testify at the trial. In the weeks leading up to the trial, she meets a young soldier, Lance Kenner. Their meeting is quite dramatic. But over months the two settle down into a very comfortable friendship. But will they remain just friends?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I am not sure I loved it as much as I loved the first book, but, Hope was a difficult heroine to get to know. She survived a traumatic event, has been haunted by it for several years. The book is definitely a solidly good read. I look forward to reading the third book about the third sister, Mercy.

This was such a powerful story. I couldn't imagine living with all that Hope endured. The truth is, she wasn't really living. She was full of sadness, hate and revenge-like feelings. To be honest, I'm glad the author chose to portray her in this manner, as I felt it made me connect with her character easier. Who's to say if we were in a similar situation that we wouldn't feel the same?

But then, there's that voice inside our head telling us to forgive, let go and move on. In this story, that voice belonged to sweet Mercy. I really enjoyed her character. She was so full of wisdom, certainly beyond her years in maturity. She quoted scripture so naturally and made no excuse for it. As much as Hope endured through the book, and was obviously the focus of the book, I really felt like Marcy was the star.

While this book touches on some difficult topics that some readers may struggle with, I will say that it was done very tasteful. It was not too descriptive or offensive at all. Truth be told, these occurrences provided the necessary background to see how difficult things really were, as well as allow for us as readers to see just how much the characters really grew.

This book provides hope, and reminds us of our need for forgiveness. It is a must read!! I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Beloved Hope is the second in a series Heart of the Frontier by Tracie Peterson. It can be a stand alone but there is helpful information to be had if you read Treasured Grace first.


Hope struggles with the trauma and violation she endured as a captive during the massacre at the Whitman mission. Even more a reminder, it the fact that she became pregnant and bore a child as a result, a child she gave up. Now she is being asked to testify at the trial for some of those who perpetrated the crime.


Lance Kenner, an army lieutenant, commissioned to protect the defendants observes the young woman in the courtroom and becomes intrigued; then he finds her, as she slipped past his men into the jail, with a gun pointed at the man who had raped her repeatedly. He calmly disarms her and escorts her home. Thus Hope begins, reluctantly, a relationship with the Lieutenant which they labeled only friendship.


However, Lieutenant Kenner has a history of his own and harbors a revengeful heart against the man who killed his brother. That man unbeknownst to both him and Hope, until later, is Hope's brother-in-law, Alex, married to her sister Grace.


Everything comes to a head when Lance, now out of the military, is asked by her family to go after Alex, who has been severely injured by a bear and bring him home.


Will Hope learn to let go of her hurts and to love and trust again? Will Alex let go of his plans for vengeance and learn to forgive, instead?


Beloved Hope has many lessons to teach us of faith, love and Hope. I recommend this for your reading shelf, especially the whole series. I received this book from Bethany House and Netgalley for my honest review.

This book series is so powerful that I can't wait for the next one (I know there will be as it is set up to have a third book.) In this book we find more of the story of Hope who seen her love of her life murdered during the Whitman massacre and raped while being captive now she is having to testify against the leaders and her rapist. While she is healing from this her pain we find soldier Lance Kenner healing from his past and what starts as friendship well you kinda know where it will go. Normally I can't stand romance but this one was not so much about romance as it was about healing and forgiveness. The story is so powerful and I highly recommend it.

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Bethany House. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Although I do not read many romance novels in the course of my voluminous devouring of volumes of material, from time to time romance novels do cross my path, and this is the second one by the author that has done so [1]. Given the generally high quality of romance novels that I read, I have to admit that this is the second time I have been disappointed by a Tracie Peterson novel. Simply because someone has written dozens of novels does not mean that their novelists are pleasant even to audiences that might be receptive to historical romances, in this case dealing with the Pacific Northwest in the area in and around Oregon City. This is, it should be noted, an area I know well, and this novel, like the preceding one, hit close to home. Perhaps it hit a little too close to home, as this novel features a sympathetic heroine in the PTSD-afflicted Hope, and her mysterious and decent and reluctant beau. Although the couple themselves worked out well, I just did not really enjoy this novel. The framing of the story and most of all, the heavy-handedness of it, kept me from getting in the story, as I kept on getting pulled out of it my my irritation with the author.

At its heart, this is a novel about divine providence. It features three orphaned sisters, who are adapting to life in Oregon City in the 1850’s. The novel is set after the previous one, when the resumption of peace has led to some of the Cayuse to be tried for the crimes of rape and murder in the sack of the Whitman mansion. Hope, as a survivor of rape from one of the accused, is asked to try and finds herself unable to. Much of the novel deliberately keeps the hero and heroine apart, and forces characters to wrestle with honesty and moral courage before the inevitable ending. All of the barriers to happiness in this novel–Hope’s PTSD, Grace’s pregnancy and struggle with cholera, Alex’s wounds from a bear attack, and so on–seem rather contrived, which is a fatal mistake in a novel that depends a great deal on the reader putting up with the most dramatic events being “off-screen,” as it were. The dramatic events of the book are not shown, but told, and when they are told in such a heavy-handed way that serves the agenda of the author and not the pleasure of the reader, a great deal of the enjoyment of reading a novel is lost. If I wanted to read a narrow-minded examination on divine providence or theodicy, there are any number of books I could read, some of which I already have given my own personal struggles with the aftermath of trauma. I expect novels to be written with more grace and tact, and the author was not up to the task here.

During the novel, there are numerous occasions where characters are given the chance to avenge themselves on those who are tormenting them, and respond with a great deal of restraint. Unfortunately, even those readers who have a strong belief in divine providence will find the conflation between divine providence and authorial providence to be off-putting and irritating. At least I did. All of the action of this novel made it at least possible that there will be a third novel set in a couple of years after this one where Oregon is on the verge of statehood where Mercy, the annoying but bright third child, finds a suitable husband for herself after dealing graciously with a land-hungry and overly persistent would-be young lover here. Perhaps at least a bit of my frustration at this book is at the disconnect between the author’s providence for her schizoid PTSD heroine and the distinct lack of providence in my own life. It is hard for me to cheer on the romantic bliss of someone who stands on ground very close to my own when I look at my own state. Novels should not be written to mock their readers, but rather to encourage, and this novel just does not satisfy this reader, even if it has many pieces that would make a good novel in more talented and compassionate hands.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/03/19/audiobook-review-pride-and-prejudice/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/03/16/book-review-treasured-grace/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/12/08/book-review-a-love-made-new/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/11/07/book-review-the-divine-summit/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/07/22/book-review-mr-darcys-daughters/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/12/09/book-review-at-loves-bidding/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/09/04/book-review-a-noble-masquerade/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/03/05/book-review-after-a-fashion/

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Beloved Hope is a story of love, trust, forgiveness, healing, and FAITH. What a wonderfully unabashedly hearttouching book. It shows the grief of a loved one and the process she goes through to learn to love and while she does this she decides to go to court and relive through the deaths in court - she has to also trust in GOD for healing. A new man walks in to her life - will she open her heart - trust GOD with her heart? Will these men who killed every one she loved and knew get away with it? can she trust GOD with that? Can she face them again? Can she trust GOD for that? Can she trust GOD?

Hope is one of the fictional survivors of the Whitman Massacre in the book by Tracie Peterson. Hope and her sisters, Grace and Mercy are still recovering from the events of the massacre, Hope more than any of them. She is mistrustful of all men and of the natives particularly. When the instigators come to trial, Hope is afraid that she will be called on to testify against her particular attacker and it scares her spitless that she will have to face him in the courtroom.

There are several spiritual lessons to be learned in Beloved Hope, first to put your fears in God's hands--there will be no peace from them unless you do. Second, forgive your tormentors, holding onto the hate only imprisons you. Third, never take for granted any support God puts in your way.

Support came for Hope in the person of Lance Kenner. He was attached to the Army when Hope first met him, but he mustered out and stayed in the area where Hope was living, wanting to earn enough money to go back to his plantation in New Orleans. The more time Lance spends with Hope, the more he feels something for her, but he has his own past, and people to forgive--and they teach each other the freedom of forgiveness.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and the freedom to forgive

My thanks to Bethany House for choosing Tracie Peterson as an author, and for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book is the second installment in Tracie Peterson's Heart of the Frontier series. In this novel Hope Flanagan is struggling to live her life as a survivor of the massacre at the Whitman Mission. She is content to live a reclusive life out in the country with her two sisters and brother in law until the Indians responsible for the massacre are arrested and brought to Oregon City for trial. Hope is asked to testify against the men. She is forced to relive the most horrible time in her life. She isn't sure she can be in the room with the Indians and testify.

Lieutenant Lance Kenner is charged with insuring the safety of the Indians until after the trial. He meets Hope when she attempts to kill one of the Indians. Though he can understand her sentiment, he can't allow her to kill his prisoner. He decides to help Hope get past her fear and hopefully closer to him.

This is a beautiful story about God's faithfulness. Hope was so lost after her ordeal at the mission. She was angry, afraid and ashamed. She was existing, but not truly living. It wasn't until she drew closer to God and started seeking His counsel that she was able to find the peace she so desperately sought. 

I loved the characters in the story. I think the author did a beautiful job of making the Flanagan sisters people we can identify with. They are strong, willful women who love each other with all their hearts. They are also compassionate women who do their best to help others in need. The men in their lives have the perfect characteristics that each sister needs.

Hope, the middle sister, hardened her heart to everyone except her two sisters and maybe her uncle’s family. After the demoralizing personal attack on her at the Whitman mission, she has good reason to be wary. Older sister Grace and younger sister Mercy gently encourage her to give the fear and hate over to God. Hope, though, is resigned to her delicate hold on a normal life. Given an opening, though, God can get in and do wonders.

Hope Flanagan survived the massacre at the Whitman Mission, but at terrible personal cost. Safe now in Oregon City, she lives with her sisters, Grace and Mercy, and Grace's new husband, Alex. As she spends her days tending their flock of sheep, Hope's mind and soul are slowly healing. Yet, though she was once surrounded by suitors, she has no interest in giving her heart again after the man she loved died in her arms.

Hope's precarious new peace is shattered when those responsible for the massacre are captured and put on trial. She is asked to testify against them, but she's not sure she can bear to relive the events of those horrific days.

As Hope struggles to free herself from the pain of her past, Lance Kenner, an Army lieutenant, brings an unexpected ray of light into her life. But what will Lance think of her if he learns the truth behind her anguish? And what secrets lie in his past?

This is Hope's struggle with healing from the attack at the mission and the aftermath of her kidnapping. She has hate in her heart for what was done to her. Lance helps bring about the healing and self worth of Hope. Hope doesn't feel that any man will want anything to do with her after what was done to her. She has to rely on God to help her through this time in her life.

I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in anyway.

This is the second book in Peterson’s Heart of the Frontier series. Book one, Treasured Grace focused on the eldest of the Flanigan sisters, while Beloved Hope focuses on the middle sister. Set in the area of Oregon City in the mid-1800s, this second installment largely revolves around the trial of five Cayuse men being tried for the atrocities of the Whitman Mission Massacre. Many townspeople and survivors of the massacre feared the men, including the one who repeatedly abused Hope Flanigan, would not be put to death in an effort to appease the local tribes and thus ward off future attacks. Hope was counting on their death to ease her fears, fears that had taken over her life, but would it?
Hope, convinced her ordeal had ruined her for any decent man, had put aside any idea of falling and love and marrying. Lieutenant Lance Kenner, tasked with guarding the Cayuse waiting to stand trial, was fighting his own demons, filled with resentment toward the man he held responsible for both of his older brothers’ deaths. Now, ready to return from Oregon City to his plantation in New Orleans, he was not interested in forming any romantic alliances. Yet, Hope and Lance feel drawn to one another. Is there any chance for them, or will bitterness darken any hopes of happiness for either of them?
I am anxiously awaiting the third book in this series, to learn of the important life decisions made by the youngest Flanigan sister as she considers a path just opening up to women, a college education, I highly recommend Beloved Hope, and Treasured Grace for fans of historical and romance fiction. Both readers of secular and Christian fiction will find this series appealing. While there is enough information provided to make this book comprehensible as a stand-alone read, much of the emotion will be lost by not reading the series in order.
I thank Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Beloved Hope in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for providing the review.

Expansion west in the mid-1800’s was fraught with many hardship and dangers. Native Americans resented the influx of white settlers as an intrusion to their very way of life. Many missionaries traveled west hoping to bring Christianity to the Natives. Some were met with open acceptance, and some were met with resentment and viewed it as a threat to be neutralized.

After serving the Massacre at the Whitman Mission, Hope Flanagan has withdrawn from everyone but her immediate family. She prefers to spend time with the sheep and taking care of their wool. Hope has even withdrawn from God and struggles to understand how a loving God could have let something so awful happen to His children. Over time she begins to understand that it isn’t so much that God let bad things happen, but the freedom of choice that we all have, and sin itself has a negative effect on everything on this earth.

Lance Kenner has one assignment to finish and then his tour with the Army will be over. He is to guard the Native American prisoners until after their court hearing. Lance has plans to return to his family Plantation in New Orleans. One afternoon after the court hearing Lance is surprised to find a women holding a gun on one of the prisoners. He finds himself drawn to Hope and convinces her that he needs a friend.

I enjoyed the plot line and found the characters to be believable and realistic. The sweet romance in the story is slow, which is fitting for a character who had gone through a traumatic event. I did find the story a little slow at times. It could be due to the fact that I had not read the first book in this series. I would suggest that anyone picking up this book, be sure to read Treasured Grace (the first book). I’ve read other books by Tracie Peterson and feel that other fans of her writing will also enjoy reading Beloved Hope.

This being the second in the series you definitely want to make sure to read the one prior so you can understand the full scope of the story, heartache, strength, loss and everything in between that Peterson is throwing at her readers upon the pages of this emotionally powerful piece of Christian Fiction.

Hope Flanagan is the kind of woman that if I lived back in those times (thank GOD I don’t because me without WIFI and Starbucks is not pretty) would hope to befriend. She’s that person who will help keep you strong, fight challenges with a quiet yet ferocious tenacity, and use her head to survive another day. She’s the epitome of strength on the frontier. At the same time as we see when this story picks up, Hope has faced some truly terrible and deep heartbreak that is enough to shatter any one. We find ourselves shedding tears as she goes through the grieving process, cheering her on as she begins to heal, and wanting to hug her to make sure she knows she’s not alone.

I love how Peterson writes characters that feel as if they could be your real friends, you can’t help but become emotionally invested in her stories. One of the other things I like about reading her books is that even though they are fiction she does a great job tending to details so you become transported back to a much harsher time period. You can practically feel the dust get kicked up on your legs from the unpaved roads, the sweat fall down your skin from the lack of A/C – then again I’m reading this in Texas during the summer so some of that could actually be from the environment around me lol.

Even when she begins to throw a bit of possible romance in, the storyline is done with respect to Hope’s grieving process so it feels real instead of like okay one day she’s sad but she met this hot guy so he has completely won her over and healed her heart just with a snap of his fingers. Thankfully you can count on Peterson to create a decent story instead of one you want to roll your eyes at.

Very enjoyable addition to the series. After the massacre, Hope must pick up the pieces and move forward. The struggle between punishment for the Indians or clemency rang true even in today's society. I do believe that forgiveness needed to be emphasized more as Hope struggled. Love this series! Hopefully there will be another book. Highly recommended!

I enjoy Tracie'so books & this was no exception. Being reminded of how we all face challenges & how God weaves people into our lives was great. Seeing how others deal with what life sends their way was a reminder of the need for family & community.