Refining Fire (Review)

This review is for the book "Refining Fire" by Tracie Peterson. This is the second book in her Brides of Seattle series, but I read this as a standalone novel and understood the plot and characters perfectly.

I am a fan of Tracie Peterson's novels, even the historical fiction she does, even though I really am not a very big fan of the historical romance genre generally. This novel had to be one of my favorites. This book is set in the late 1800's in Seattle, Washington, at a school created for ladies to learn how to become a proper wife. The story follows Militine Scott, who is in training but is resolved never to get married, and Abrianna Cunningham, who grew up at the school run by her aunts.

I have to say, Abrianna is one of the funniest characters I've ever "met" in a story. She is always getting into trouble, speaking her mind, and standing up for her beliefs. She is certainly unlike most women in the rest of the story and she will bring a few chuckles to the reader.

Honestly I felt that the story had a LOT of storylines to follow and there were a couple of things I wished were wrapped up that didn't get wrapped up - but I do realize this is part of a series, so that's probably why the author chose to finish the novel in this way. I still really enjoyed the book and would like to revisit these characters in the next book in the series.

Thank you to Bethany House for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.