The Long Way Home

This was an excellent book in the continuing sequence. I do hope the author writes another book, because she still leaves several issues hanging with no indication as to how they will work out.

I loved all three books in the Secret Refuge series until the end of book 3. Snelling does an outstanding job of developing the characters and their stories. I couldn't put the books down. But now I feel betrayed as she left all the characters and their stories unresolved. What happened to Twin Oaks, to Louisa, to Zachary etc. For that reason it was hard to give this book 4 stars. She owes her readers a Book 4.

Whew!  Fasten your seatbelts.  Lauraine Snelling has brought us a tale that from the first page keeps you wishing you could read and turn pages faster to keep up with the action.This book follows the adventures of two sisters whose home in Kentucky was destroyed in the Civil War.  The story opens when a disastrous decision by a wagonmaster forces Jesselynn Highwood and her companions to separate from the wagon train, race back to Fort Laramie to look for another guide to take them to Oregon.  Back East, Louisa Highwood and brother Zachary live in ahome which has been turned into a hospital for wounded soldiers.  They must sneak across enemy lines for medical supplies.  After several successful trips, they are captured by Union soldiers for smuggling medicine.  Both sisters face almost unsurmountable odds, but their faith in God keeps them from harm, inspiring their companions and the reader to trust in God in every situation.One particularly tender scene occurs after Jesselynn has delivered a baby, and in the middle of the night she hears a voice.  She crawls out of the tent and looks up the hill, seeing Meshach, formerly one of the family slaves, standing with something in his hands.  "She paused in the shadow while moonlight outlined him in silver.  He raised his cupped hands andlooked heavenward, his arms strong and unwavering, his face radiant with glory.  "Lord God, see my daughter, my daughter who is free.  No slave but free!"  His voice rolled over the land, his words ringing like cathedral bells.  Like the angels who came to the shepherds, his voice spoke of freedom from fear.  "My daughter, Lord, who is born free. . . She be yours."This book is the third in a series, but you don't have to read the first two to enjoy it.  However, after reading "The Long Road Home" I must find and read the first two.  Ms. Snelling creates characters so real and endearing you feel you know them.  The way they handle tragic situations and sorrows of the heart resonates with the reader. I've never been disappointed in a book by Lauraine Snelling, and I highly recommend you read as many of her stories as you can find.

I have enjoyed this series, and can only assume by the abrupt ending that there will be more to come. The last 10 pages jump ahead 2 years and are rather hurried along. This happens at times during the series. We talk about training the horses for pages upon pages and then in a small sentence it says, "Meshach and Ophelia were married last week." So, be prepared for surprises like that. But overall, I enjoyed these books and the girls' struggles throughout. Great romance, christian applications, and action.

Truely, each of us can recall a time when we have felt we could not go on. This book brings new meaning to the word perserverance. Each sister and her courage and their daily, and I do mean daily, struggles can uplift us with the exsample of how to carry on. Great writing by the author, I felt like I was right in the middle of all that was happening.