About the book: As this standalone sequel to The Undaunted begins, four years have passed since the first Mormon pioneers made the harrowing journey to carve the Hole-in-the-Rock trail to the region of the San Juan River in southeastern Utah. In that time, the settlers have dug in deep to try to establish roots in this untamed and unforgiving desert, but life is still far from easy. Biting winds, devastating floods, scorching heat, barren terrain, and tensions with everyone from Indians to outlaws to competing ranchers have threatened the pioneers' ability to thrive—or even survive.
But the call from Church leaders to establish peaceful, stable settlements in the volatile region still stands, so young Mitch Westland and his family must find a way to make a home amid the harshest of circumstances. They soon learn that their only chance of success lies in uniting together with the other faithful Saints—including the Zimmers and their charming daughter, Edie. Can the families withstand the blows that seem to come every step of the way as they struggle against man, nature, and their own fears to heed a prophetic call? Many settle will try to conquer that rugged territory, but only the brave will prevail.
My review: I was way excited to get to read this new book by Gerald Lund. I have loved all of his books that I've ever read, and his book The Undaunted holds a special place in my heart. I loved the faith and courage that those pioneers who settled the San Juan area had, what amazing people. This book is set four years later, and the San Juan pioneers are working to create the kind of communities that they have in other locations, but they have many more obstacles to overcome. Things like sand, extreme heat, the San Juan river that flooded and the local Indian tribes all combine to make this mission unlike any other in the Church.
I loved that the author created new characters for this book, I loved the characters in The Undaunted as well, but sometimes it's great to start a new book with fresh characters to learn to love. The characters in this book are really well written, I loved Mitch and his family, especially his mom. She is really a courageous woman, having to put aside her own fears and do what a Prophet of God has asked her to do. I loved the way that the real people in this story interact with the characters in the book. I really love the end notes of each chapter telling you about history, it's always fun for me to learn about the things that really happened. I'm most excited that Mitch and Edie's story is going to continue being told in future books! I can't wait!
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
About the author: Elder Gerald N. Lund received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in sociology from Brigham Young University. He served for thirty-five years in the Church Educational System, and he served as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 2002 to 2008. He is a prolific and bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction and is best known for his historical novels, including The Work and the Glory series, Fire of the Covenant, The Kingdom and the Crown series, and The Undaunted. He and his late wife, Lynn, are the parents of seven children.
Giveaway: Deseret Book has kindly offered to give one of my awesome readers a signed copy of this great book. I'm going to keep this simple on entries and just use comments this time. You get one entry for commenting on this post, please make sure you leave an e-mail that I can contact you at. You get one entry for following my page, either on the blog or on G+, both options found on the side of this page, then leave me a comment saying you did so. You get one entry for liking Gerald Lund's Facebook page, just leave me a comment saying you did so. And you get one entry for posting about this book on either Facebook or Instagram, yep, just leave a comment. You have until next Friday, the 13th, at 12:00 am. Then I'll pick a winner. Now get winning!Labels: Deseret Book, Gerald Lund, Giveaways, LDS Historical Fiction
