A Treasure Concealed, by Tracie Peterson - a book review

I'm not usually one to read Christian romance novels, so I was hesitant about reading my very first one. I wouldn't normally have purchased a romance novel but I received the book, A Treasure Concealed, by Tracie Peterson, as a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers in exchanged for my written review.

This book is the first in a series of books called the Sapphire Brides. The author sets the story for A Treasure Concealed in beautiful Montana during the aftermath of the gold rush days. As the story opens, Emily Carver is checking in on her terminally sick mother. I liked the author's choice of dialogue because it immediately draws you into the story and makes it easy to relate to the characters. Ms. Peterson uses very descriptive language to help set each scene and to describe her characters. I was impressed at the development of the characters as the story progressed.

In the book, Ms. Peterson weaves her story around good Christian morals and values. I enjoyed seeing how she used Biblical wisdom in some of the conversations between characters. To give you an example, the geologist, Caeden Thibault, who comes to town to survey the area is in Emily's mother's bedroom having a heart to heart talk with her. Emily's mother, Mrs. Carver, begins speaking to Caeden and tells him "God never is the one who walks away, Caeden. Only we can do that. Jesus promised to never leave or forsake us. Unfortunately, we can leave and forsake Him. I think if you take a good hard look at the situation, you'll find it's an easy walk back. He's waiting there for you, and I know He'll give you the answers you need." The author used a conversation between characters to speak Biblical truth and I found that very appealing.

Since this was a romance novel, a love story was at the heart of the book, but there was nothing of a sexual nature or anything unclean. I would probably not buy this type of book again, just because I don't really enjoy romance novels, but I would recommend it to those who do. The book is well written and the author took the time to do a great deal of research on Montana and mining before writing the book. I was impressed with her attention to detail.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers for providing this complimentary copy for me to review. If you'd like to read the book, you may purchase a copy of it here.  I hope this review has been helpful for you and that you'll return again for more book reviews and information in the future.