Customer Reviews

With Endless Sight (Crossroads of Grace #3)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1861, fourteen years old Belinda and her family leave Illinois with high hopes of starting anew in the Oregon Territory as her father wants them all to grow without having something handed to them like the ironworks shop he inherited. However, the journey, which started somewhat luxurious, proves dangerous in the Rockies.

Belinda is hurt, but survives although she knows she will never be the same as her faith in God has been battered almost as much as her body and mind when she becomes a prisoner of Laurent the killer. She shows her belief in the Lord when she forgives him. As her spirit and beliefs return stronger than ever, eventually she makes it to a brothel in South Pass City, Wyoming Territory; where her faith in God is totally restored as these peddlers of the flesh renew her soul.

The third Crossroads of Grace Americana tale (see TEN THOUSAND CHARMS and SPEAK THROUGH THE WIND) is an exhilarating inspirational thriller in which the heroine for a short time is a nineteenth century female Job as everything goes wrong ; though that occurs almost halfway into the plot. Readers will enjoy one year in the life of Belinda who WITH ENDLESS SIGHT seems much more mature in her dealing with men (except for her daddy) like her estrangement with her older brother Chester, her attraction to Del, forgiving the killer Laurent, and Buck who she hoped would make her feel like a woman.

Harriet Klausner

Belinda, the main character of "With Endless Sight", is different from the heroines of the previous books in the "Crossroads of Grace" series in two big ways: she is a woman who relies on God from the beginning the end of the story, and although she calls Jewell's brothel home for a while, she is never a prostitute. It may sound like her story makes for a fairly unexciting end to a sensational series, but that's entirely untrue.

I won't ruin the plot for you by telling you WHY her story is exciting, you'll just have to read it yourself. But I will say that Pittman's third novel shows how God can bring someone through the most horrific events and still have their best interest at heart. Through everything that Belinda endures, God is still guiding her steps, and she needs only to believe that in order to make it through. What I love about her character is that she still has times of doubt, and times when she feels further from God than she wants to, just like we all do. She has the hope and strength of God's provision... without being so goody-two-shoes that it's impossible to read, as is often the case in Christian fiction. There are times in the novel where you may find yourself thinking that nothing of consequence has happened for the last thirty pages, when will she get to the meat of the story?... and yet, this novel is still so entirely riveting that you will not be able stop reading page after page until there is no more left to read!

My favorite of the series is still the second book, Sadie's story, titled "Speak Through the Wind", and I loved seeing more of her in this novel. Even though the previous book ended Sadie's journey in a fairly satisfying way, I still hoped that Belinda's story would give a little more insight into the rest of Sadie's "happy ending". It was interesting to view Gloria from Belinda's eyes as well, and I had to keep reminding myself that Belinda knew Gloria before she had seen God's grace. It was also nice to finally "meet" Belinda after reading about her fresh-faced innocence in the previous two books; I thought it was a wonderful illustration of how no matter how perfect someone may appear to be, everyone has burdens from their past to bear, and EVERYONE needs God's forgiveness.

I love the way that Pittman used three entirely different women with completely different pasts and paths, and drew them together to tell three different tales that still have a beautiful sense of cohesion. I sincerely wish that this wasn't the final book in the series, as the jacket suggests - I wish Ms. Pittman would tells us Mae's story, too! Overall, "With Endless Sight" is a wonderful conclusion to the series, which I wholly enjoyed. I highly recommend the entire series!

Grade: A-

I could not put this book down, from start to finish. The adventures the young girl Belinda goes through are heart-wrenching and fascinating. I absolutely loved her cousin, Phoebe, she added so much spice and energy to the story. In all of the scenes of this book, I felt like I was there. The ending disappointed me slightly, it seemed a little anti-climactic compared to the rest of the story, but it was a good ending.

Allison Pittman continues in her Crossroads of Grace series with book three, WITH ENDLESS SIGHT. Belinda and her family strike out on a cross-country trek that her father hopes will lead them to a new life. What starts as an adventure for Belinda soon turns into devastation.
Belinda's strength throughout this harrowing year in her life is beyond the maturity that you would expect from a fourteen year old. Though I absolutely loved the book, as I did TEN THOUSAND CHARMS and SPEAK THROUGH THE WIND, I was a little surprised how easily Belinda adjusted to each new challenge she faced. Coming from a family of wealth, Belinda probably had little experience dealing with adversity, so her lack of fear or emotion in her extraordinary circumstances caused me to not feel the emotional tie to Belinda that I would've liked to. In fact, there was a time I had even forgotten about her vagabond brother because she never seemed driven to find him. I can't really elaborate without giving some of the story away, let's just say, at times I was looking for a little more depth in the character.
Even in spite of the lack of emotion, WITH ENDLESS SIGHT has definite highs and lows that draw the reader in and keeps you turning page after page.

I won this in a giveaway, and although historical fiction is not my genre of choice, I loved this book from the first sentence: "I wasn't asleep--wasn't even pretending to be--when my cousin Phoebe slipped into my room." So many thoughts come to mind with that sentence. What time is it? It must be night because the speaker is supposed to be asleep. Why is Phoebe slipping into a room when someone is sleeping? What's she up to? Why isn't the speaker asleep? Why doesn't she even pretend? What happens next?

Allison K. Pittman can write! With the compelling plot, the main character so realistic that I felt as if I've had conversations with her, the twists and turns surprising me over and over again, all add up to make this ONE GOOD READ!

Although this is the last book in a trilogy, this story was strong enough to stand on its own. The year is 1861. I was gripped by the story as Belinda's father packs up the family and moves them to the Wyoming Territories. They leave their family and comfort in Belleville, Illinois. Dad's a dreamer and this is an adventure of a life time; Belinda's mother is not convinced. She is a dutiful Christian wife who submits to her husband (but she doesn't have to like it). Her husband was so caught up in the new frontier and the opportunities of building something big.

The adventure began with a train ride, which was followed by a luxurious boat ride. Wow, things were grand!! Then came the wagon coach ride for days and days. Life as they had known it was over. As I read about all the discomforts of traveling this way for days on end, I never thought of all the uncomfortable things that could be encountered. It really made me appreciate what we have today which I sometimes take for granted. Even with gas prices being so high, I think I would rather ride a bike then a wagon coach.

Life as Belinda had known it, is definitely over when they get to their destination. There's nothing that she can do to bring it back. But, in spite of what her mother thought, she was determined to make the most of this adventure. Her cousin Phobe wasn't helping either. Her attitude was almost worse than her mothers.

Then something unforeseen happens to rock Belinda's world even further. It was totally a whole new world out here!! Her faith is being tested and she's really torn up to find out what she really believes. Her faith is wavering. Who is this God she has been serving? God is asking her to do the impossible. Can't He see she's in tremendous pain? She can't give any more! But, she does. She hears the Lord say "Be Still". God is asking her to forgive the very man who caused so much pain in her life. How could she? (She knew that God hadn't given her a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.) She memorized the scripture, but putting it into practice was another story. It sounded great on paper, but now God was asking her to do the unthinkable. She had to let God work thru her it was the only way. "Be Still" she kept hearing. So, she waited.

How fast life can change. She didn't appreciate what she had when she had it. Food, nice clothing and a warm bed. It was the simple things in life that she appreciated now. Funny how that is. It was harder and harder to not let the circumstances of this life get her down. At one point she felt blessed to find shelter with "souls wounded as mine. (she thought) I didn't have to spell out my pain; they knew it all too well. And I could talk to God without opening my mouth." She learned how quickly one simple step could change your world and everything you thought you knew. Belinda was starting to believe that she had run out of choices. She had to play the cards that were dealt to her. But a friend reminds her that we always have choices - no one can take that away from you.

This is a book that helps me to be thankful for the little things in this life that I take for granted. When I was done reading this story, I was thankful that I wasn't a woman born during those times who had to be put through the hardships of daily life and how women are viewed. In many ways Allison Pittman reveals the struggles we deal with today, are not that much different from women back then. We are in a spiritual battle. We don't fight against flesh and blood put against principalities and powers - the bible says. Allison does a beautiful job of showing that struggle with the back drop of the wild, wild west. It's made me want to go back and read the other two books in this series.

Nora St. Laurent
[...]

With Endless Sight by Allison Pittman is the third and final book in the Crossroads of Grace series. 14 year old Belinda has set out for Oregon from her comfortable home in Illinois with her mother, father, older brother, and cousin Phoebe. They've left behind a life of luxury to start anew in 1861 to leave behind the new war and enjoy life in an undiscovered country. But tragedy strikes leaving Belinda to rely on nothing but her faith, and she has to begin her life again and again. Poor Belinda! This young girl is taken from her familiar home, then loses her family, then her only friend, then security. One by one each of her anchors are taken from her until all she has left is God. I fell in love with Belinda and her pluck. Confronted by a murderer, she shares her faith and changes a life. She manages to change those around her just by living her simple, trusting faith. By the end of the book, she's learned some hard lessons and lived through more than most adults ever will, but her faith is unshaken. I wasn't ready for the series to end: what's going to happen to Chester? What about Sadie? Pittman has a fresh voice filled with faith and truth and a great deal of promise.