Embers of Love (Striking a Match, #1)

by Tracie Peterson

The logging industry in eastern Texas is booming, and Deborah Vandermark plans to assist her family's business now that she's completed college. Unexpectedly, her best friend, Lizzie Decker, accompanies her back home--fleeing a wedding and groom she has no interest in. Deborah, the determined matchmaker, puts her sights on uniting her brother and dear friend in a true love match.

Deborah soon meets Dr. Christopher Clayton, a much-needed addition to the town. As their lives intersect, Deborah realizes that she has a much greater interest in medicine and science than the bookkeeping she was trained in. But when typhoid begins to spread and Lizzie's jilted fiance returns, Deborah wonders if true love can overcome such obstacles...for those dearest to her, and for herself.

• ISBN10: 0764206125
• ISBN13: 9780764206122
• Publish Date: 1 November 2010 (first published 1 October 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Imprint: Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[cherryblossommj]

I definitely should have written this review before starting the second book in the series [b:Hearts Aglow|8125720|Hearts Aglow (Striking a Match, #2)|Tracie Peterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435464147l/8125720._SY75_.jpg|12921385]but I was eager to jump in. I'll try not to give my feelings away on that book quite yet... Tracie Peterson was one of my first introductions to Christian Historical Fiction and although I have not been a fan of her contemporary novels (too sad and emotional for me) I really love her historicals. The last Song of Alaska series left me off with a poor opinion of the third book [b:Twilight's Serenade|6973766|Twilight's Serenade (Song of Alaska, #3)|Tracie Peterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454562478l/6973766._SX50_.jpg|7213846] yet enjoying the series overall so I was eager to read her new series and see what I thought.

[b:Embers of Love|7794853|Embers of Love (Striking a Match, #1)|Tracie Peterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435810806l/7794853._SY75_.jpg|10760056] is great. It is also very different in it's own way which is very exciting to me as a frequent CHF reader. By the back cover it appears that Deborah is the main character, yet when I just jumped in I thought it was Lizzie. I was delighted to find that there really were two main characters and that through out the story you follow both of their lives and not just one. And what really looks to be even more exciting is that it appears that the rest of the series is a complete pick up where you left off instead of the normal Christian Historical Fiction Romance series that often has each book in the series on a different character finding love and so on. Not to say that the book doesn't end with a happily ever after, but it closes off enough to find you satisfied yet leaves plenty open to make you desire more without the frustration that some cliff hangers leave.

I'm eager to read the rest of the series. I highly recommend this series so far, but without a doubt this is one that it is necessary to read in order.

*Thanks to Bethany House for providing a copy for review through the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.*