As an avid reader of nonfiction, I was excited to delve into this book. While the subject matter intrigued me and I appreciated the author's extensive research, the writing style fell short of my expectations. The prose was excessively embellished, lacking the straightforwardness I prefer in nonfiction.

Moreover, the numerous grammatical and idiomatic errors were a noticeable hindrance to my reading experience. Nevertheless, the book shines when exploring the intricate details of the fire's origins. The author's dedication to thorough investigation deserves recognition.

I was not the intended audience for this book. I love Seattle and the PNW and gravitate towards books from places that I love to visit. Although this was an advanced copy of the book, the initial grammatic and idiomatic errors were distracting. A lot of research was required for the writing of this book and I'm impressed with the author's efforts. I hope that a sufficiently edited edition finds an audience.

I think I might have been the wrong audience for this book. While I love nonfiction and learning when I read, which I did, the writing in this one was not quite what I was expecting. It was more flowery than I would like for nonfiction. I like my facts to be straightforward and, at the same time, entertaining. This was writing that others may appreciate but was lost on me. Also, this book could do with a lot more editing. There were so many grammatical and idiomatic mistakes that it really took away from my enjoyment of the book. I did, however, really enjoy the details surrounding the fire and what caused it. A lot of research went into the completion of this book and I applaud the author's efforts. This just wasn't for me.

I was given an early copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. This book is exactly why I love historical fiction.! I learned quite a bit about Americans history that I never even heard of before,, little romance is included as a side story..Several characters to follow throughout the book makes it cohesive. These are just a few of my favorite things. The fire itself was accidentally started but once it got burning, there was no stopping it. Special thanks to #NetGalley, #SkywayPress, #jordanKidd, andSeattle’sGreatFire for allowing me to review early. I would definitely recommend this book.two arms up!

This book is about the Great Fire and not about the Great Fire. This is a fictional account of the settling of Seattle with a focus on the indigenous people of the Duwamish tribe. The book spans several decades of friendship between the Duwamish chief (Chief Si'ahl, namesake of Seattle) and David "Doc" Maynard, a white settler and doctor. Decades before the Great Fire, the chief has a premonition of a fire, but more than one fire will have wide ranging impacts.

I adore historical fiction books like this where many of the "characters" are well known and the events and dialogue are speculation but also entirely plausible. I enjoyed the mix of writing styles, parts were written with beautiful descriptions of the people and places and parts were written in a very modern style with modern idioms and phrases.

If you are interested in learning more about the Duwamish people and the early days of Seattle, I highly recommend checking this book out. I have lived in Seattle my entire life and I definitely learned something new and it piqued my curiosity to learn more.

A wonderful book. This book will never let you think of the Pacific Northwest in all it's splendor the same way again.

I feel that I've learned something new from reading this book. I never knew that this happened including how the fire started.
All because of carelessness. I was floored. Not as bad as the Chicago one but bad enough.
I loved how Seattle got its name. After Chief Seattle!
This is why I love historical fiction!
I did find myself looking up these historical events and reading more into them.
This author has definitely done her research well.
The only thing about this book i didn't really like was in how it was written. Sort of of like a narration or diary form if you will.
I will still highly recommend though. This is an interesting book and you'll not want to put it down.
I gave this book 4 stars bc of that.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.