First of all… can I brag on the cover for just a moment? Breathtaking, actually. It’s not often that I choose a book based on its cover – as the old adage says – mainly because I would much rather let my imagination set the scene. But this one has me wishing on snow – and we’ve just come out of a long winter (in which I fervently hoped for spring) in Wisconsin!
Breaking open the cover to reveal the pages, however, proved to be just as wonderful a scene. I’ve been a Tracie Peterson fan for years {check out The Alaskan Quest Series} and enjoy both her historical fiction and contemporary works as well. But she has outdone herself. Maybe the Midwest backdrop of Minnesota created a bit of partiality with the snow covered ground and frigid winters, but I think it more than simply the setting.
I simply found such a wonderful friend in Merrill. Her feelings of being an outsider, of lacking in girlish charm, her keen awareness that, perhaps, she was not what everyone expected– brought to mind my own thoughts. And yet, she remained fearlessly true to herself. Reminding me many times over that when pleasing the Lord and serving others is set at the forefront, all the other things pale in comparison.
And that they did, especially to the handsome Kansas-raised farmer turned carpenter Rurik Jorgenson. Unruly hair and work trousers hidden beneath layers of skirts did nothing to deter him from Merrill’s true beauty. But as Rurik’s life in Kansas collides with his new home in Minnesota, things become more complicated than either could have anticipated.
Ultimately a story of forgiveness and trust, Tracie Peterson’s latest story is a wonder-filled mixture of faith and romance. Effortlessly tying in Biblical truths, I was truly lost in the Minnesota winter and the warm hearts that resided there.
***With thanks to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Merrill Krause has been taking care of her Father and brothers ever since her Mother died ten years before. Living with a bunch of men has left Merrill lacking in some feminine areas but she’s not afraid of hard work and she works just as hard as her brothers in helping with the ice harvesting. Merrill has begun to feel lonely and she starts to wonder if this is the life she’s destined to or if she’ll ever have the chance to marry and have a family of her own. While she’s had a few suitors in the past, most of them have been intimidated by her brothers.
Rurik Jorgenson has come to Minnesota to help his ailing uncle with his furniture business. Leaving a broken engagement behind, he’s hoping to escape from a piece of his past and be a help to his uncle. When Rurik meets Merrill, he is intrigued from the start and he can’t help feeling drawn to her. Even her brothers can’t scare him away.
Yet when Rurik’s ex-fiancee finds him, he finds himself stuck in the middle of a brewing scandal. Merrill and Rurik must look to God to sort the mess out and ultimately they must learn to put their trust in Him.

I thought this book was really good and I enjoyed it from start to finish. I enjoyed it so much that I read it within 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down! I loved the relationship between Merrill and Rurik and how it grew. I liked how the characters were going through different struggles and I liked that we could see how they grew from those struggles. Overall, I liked the message of trust and how the characters needed to base their trust on God. I also enjoyed reading a little bit about how the ice harvesting works. While the book does not revolve around this process, the author does a good job of incorporating the history into the book. I am interested to see what the next books in the series will be like. I will definitely be reading them since I found this a great start to what I assume to be a great series.

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review. All opinions stated are my own.

First off I didn’t know what to expect from Tracie Peterson. This is the first time I am reading her work and I am glad to say that I am now a fan.

Now I do have to admit in the beginning of the story I was more drawn into Rurik’s thread in the story before I became equally concerned about both Merrill and Rurik. Both characters are so wonderful in the fact that they bore their share of problems and took everything to prayer but what made me love Rurik was that he was more inclined to change his environment where there was a part of Merrill that just excepted her situation and felt that maybe she would die an old maid.

Merrill’s main struggle was that she felt there was no way out of the normalcy of working on her father’s land – basically serving her family until she no longer knew who she was apart from her family. I liked that in small ways she was given the chance to change that pattern in her life and felt encouraged to live her life, of course which ment finding her place along side the man who captured her  heart.

Rurik’s struggle was really at the center of the story. It’s his character that brought conflict into the story and caused Merrill to change for a bit without her knowledge. This was one man who was only trying to do what was best for himself and others while living in God’s will. I like that he took marriage seriously and was willing to uphold to his morals no matter what.