Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett

Ever since I read the first book in this series, The Golden Gate Chronicles, I have looked forward to reading the next one in the series. I was absolutely hooked on this series from the first page of the last book and I wasn't disappointed in this one. I immediately picked up where I had left off after the earthquake and fire of San Francisco.

Ruby is a woman who isn't afraid to take chances. As a new widow, she left the old to start a new life. Albeit, she thought that she was going to San Francisco to help in the recovery and to help her brother not be so lonely. When she arrived, she realized that he may not be as lonely as she had thought. I was glad to see her come go back into nursing and helping others. Her relationship with her patients were sweet. My favorite relationship she had was with a lady named Dee. Of course, I liked Dee anyway!

Dr. Gerald Larkspur wants a wife but he also has something going on with him physically that he needs to determine what it is. They symptoms point to something worse, but he is trying his hardest not to worry or cause anyone else to worry about it.

Ruby has to decide if she can possibly open her heart to love again and overcome her fear of something happening again. Dr. Gerald has to decide if there's someone out there that he can truly love.

I cannot wait for the third book in this series. I have thought so much about this first book and that has been awhile since I read it. Now I'll be thinking about this one for quite a while, too. I enjoy the history that fills the series. It's a page turner and one that is hard to put down.

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About the Book

                       Beyond the Ashes (Abingdon Press, June 2015)
Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?
Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.
Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.
Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?
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Karen Barnett

Karen Barnett is the author of "Beyond the Ashes," "Out of the Ruins," and "Mistaken." Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.

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I received this book free from Abingdon Press and Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.