Customer Reviews

First Dawn (Freedom's Path Series #1)

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In 1877 Kansas, two new segregated towns are formed out of the Great Prairie: The former slaves are to live in Nicodemus while the whites settle in Hill City. Many former slaves hearing about the new opportunity take their family to relocate, but arrive to find a tent city with abject campsites to call home. Most are disappointed and return to their former homes. One of the newcomers Ezekiel Harban decides stay although his three daughters have doubts.

Former Kentucky physician Samuel Boyle brings his family to Hill City, but his new home is devastating as there is not much more than a few abodes and "several sad-looking buildings." His accompanying family members miss their old Kentucky home with the social atmosphere especially potential boyfriends. Though going back is quite the temptation, their faith in the Lord by the Boyle family and others provide them with the encouragement to make their new home work. Meanwhile Boyle's provides medical care to both towns and soon he and his family form friendships with black settlers like Ezekiel.

Christian historical readers will enjoy this fine Reconstruction Era tale with its insightful look at the period and especially the obvious parallels to the Exodus. The story line overuses improbable happenstances to move the plot forward, but sub-genre fans will not care because the cast is solid especially the lead males whose friendship bonds starting with the birth of a newborn and solidified by their beliefs in God. Judith Miller in her solo debut (see Lights of Lowell series co-written with Tracie Peterson) opens her Freedom's Path series with an entertaining Americana saga.

Harriet Klausner

I am more a fan of contemporary fiction than historical fiction, simply because historical tends to cover the same subjects over and over again. First Dawn was refreshingly different. I had never heard anything on this topic covered in fiction before. There's no need to go into extensive character and plotting study since you can read that in the other reviews listed here. Suffice it to say, this book was an interesting read. It took a few chapters for me to get entrenched into the story, but once I did, I couldn't turn pages fast enough. I am anticipating more on this series and from this author.

This is the first book in Judith Miller's Fredom Path series, set in Kansas, July 1877. After the Civil War ended, life was hard for the freed slaves. When William R. Hill, a white land purveyor, tells the members of the First Baptist Church about the wonders of the great Solomon Valley, the former slaves are excited at the prospects of being landowners. They purschase their land, sight unseen, load up what they can take with them, and set out for Nicodemus Kanss. Jarena Harban never believed the glowing description of the land given by Mr. Hill, but her father, Ezekiel, longs to be a landowner. Since her mother died, Jarena has helped raise her twin sisters, Grace and Truth. She can't refuse to go with them. Thomas Grayson, a man with a price on ihs head is traveling with the group, and Jarena is attracted to him, although her heart belongs to the man she left behind. When they reach Nicodemus, the weary travelers are shocked to find no town, no trees, no water. Nothing but scrubby brush, dry buffalo grass, miles of flat prairie, and winter is coming on.
Dr. Samuel Bolyle, has never liked living in Kentucky. A transported northerner, he is disgusted by the way some of the whites treat their sharecroppers. He too falls for Mr. Hill's description and uproots his family, moving them to Hill City, which is close to Nicodemus, but reserved for whites. He finds a tiny ramshackled town and house waiting for them, not at all what he was led to expect.
First Dawn is the story of a desperate group of people and their trust in a merciful God. I truly enjoyed this story of the Harban and Boyle families. Looking for more from this talented writer.

Jarena Harban didn't want to leave Georgetown, Kentucky. The lure of owning land grasped her father's sense of hope, after many years as a slave, then sharecropper after the war. So Jarena and her two younger twin sisters, Truth and Grace, followed their father, Ezekiel, to a new town named Nicodemus in Kansas, along with other colored families in the community. Her beau, Charles Francis, stayed behind with a promise to reunite with her in Nicodemus.

Mr. Hill sold them the land in Nicodemus, a community for colored people. He told them this land was abundant with dark rich soil, timber, wildlife...a paradise where they could get a new start in farming.

He was also starting another town called Hill City, which was mainly for the whites. What the Harbans and other families found when they reached Nicodemus was shocking.

Dr. Samuel Boyle also wanted to leave Georgetown and start anew in Hill City. He hated slavery and often spoke against it, which was a differing opinion than most of his neighbors.

Dr. Boyle's family hated the thought of leaving the luxury and friends they enjoyed in Georgetown. Margaret, his wife, was born and raised in Georgetown. His son, Harvey, depended on the easy life he lived there. Macia, his daughter, loved her home, and her beau, Jackson Kincaid, whose family were slave owners who didn't relish the idea of colored people being equal.

Thomas Grayson joined the community of Nicodemus. His past was a mystery to the people...especially Jarena. His living with the Harbans in Nicodemus, was very helpful to the family; however, when Charles arrives, a competition arises between the two for Jarena's heart.

The lives of the Harbans and the Boyles become intertwined, as life is a struggle in different ways for the families. Both families through these struggles experience personal growth that changes their lives forever.

The first book of the Freedom's Path series, First Dawn is a story of love, heartbreak, racial struggles, compassion, survival and murder. Judith Miller writes memorable characters that touch the heart of the reader.

Eighteen-year-old Jarena Harban didn't want to leave Kentucky. Her father was a sharecropper, and by moving to Kansas, he saw an opportunity to own land and give his family a real future, but for Jarena, this was moving from the monster you knew to one you didn't know. When the Harbans and the other black settlers arrive in Kansas, the land is not as promised. There is no town, no settlement, only barren land. Winter is quickly approaching, and the settlers have no choice but to make do. With next to no money, no shelter, and no idea what to do next, Jarena and the others must fight to survive in their promised land.

Thomas Grayson is on the run when he falls in with the Harbans. As he works with the Harbans to ready for the winter, Jarena catches his eye, but she has eyes for someone else. By the time Jarena notices Thomas, the men searching for him arrive in the neighboring town.

My main complaint with many historical novels is that they sound and feel much like a contemporary novel in a historical setting. This was not an issue with FIRST DAWN. As I read FIRST DAWN, I was warped back in time to 1877 Kansas. Ms. Miller captured the dialect, culture, sights, smells and sounds of the time period expertly. The plot rolled smoothly and characters became real. I even found myself wanting to shake Jarena occasionally to get her to see Thomas. This is the first book by Judith Miller I have read, and definitely not my last.

Reviewed by Deatri King-Bey
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

Janette Oke was perhaps one of the first popular authors who brought the pioneers to the forefront of Christian fiction. Her characters were called to give up all security and to travel miles on uncomfortable, canvas-covered buckboard wagons with no hope of air-cushioned shocks; endure the roughest of climactic conditions with no thought of the comfort of micro-fleece; and stave off death with a fierce stubbornness.

Judith Miller follows in this tradition with First Dawn, yet with a twist. The first book in the Freedom's Path series from Bethany House Publishers contrasts the life of two families who choose to pursue land settlement in Kansas: a doctor and his family who live a life of privilege in Georgetown, Kentucky, and the Harbans, a family of former slaves who dream of farming their own land.

In the late 1800s, after the end of the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves, parts of the frontier states began courting former slaves to buy land and settle it for five dollars per homestead. The entrepreneurial dream of working for themselves coaxed many to travel hundreds of miles away from everything they'd ever known to help settle the west. Ezekiel Harban is such a man. Father to three daughters, he uproots the family and moves them from Kentucky to a new town being settled by Negroes: Nicodemus, Kansas, named for an African prince brought to America in chains and reportedly the first slave ever to buy his freedom.

Contrast this with Yankee doctor Samuel Boyle who married a Southern belle and moved to Kentucky. Yet with his staunch convictions about black men being treated as equals, he's never found his niche in the South and decides to start a new practice in Hill City, Kansas, the white settlement in the Solomon Valley. And so this storyteller begins to weave her storytelling magic.

Armchair Interviews says: Miller is a wonderful storyteller who unravels a fascinating part of history artfully and tastefully. The suspense is mild, but the story is a good one.

There really IS a town called Nicodemus in Kansas, and Judith chose her solo series to begin that town's life and her people. The Haban family were some of the "Coloreds" who believed the lies of an infamous Mr. Hill and headed for their first taste of actually owning land. The group of freed slaves had been told the town already existed. It did not. They faced incredible hardships staying alive, let alone trying to start a town.

Just a ways up the road, the town of Hill City was being settled by "White Folks" who had been lied to by the same Mr. Hill. A kind doctor brought his frail wife and family to this town to try to make a difference, he just thought there was more town and progress than actually existed.

Based upon the location of the two towns and the interaction of the inhabitants of each, many side stories are starting to come to life. Jarena endears herself to the reader as does Dr. Boyle. Hardships cause real people to emerge from the shallowness of their former life. Some for better, many for worse.

I finished book one yesterday and bought book 2 today. Thank you Judith.

It was well written, the story flowed extremely well, and the historical aspects of the novel were interesting. I definitely recommend this author that is now writing her own novels.

Through FIRST DAWN, you will gain a hint at what it was like to settle the plains of Kansas. The story has two predominate threads: you learn about the African American family Ezekiel Harban who travel to Nicodemus, Kansas full of hope and expectation. These former slaves have purchased land to begin a new life. They arrive and learn their expectations have been too high because there is nothing there. They are forced to rebuild their lives in a harsh situation.

The second main story centers on Dr. Samuel Boyle who has uprooted his family from a comfortable life in Kentucky and moved them to the sister town of Hill City, Kansas. Dr. Boyle and his family become connected to the Harban family in this well-drawn historical.

I fell in love with the characters and the historical setting because of the rich storytelling from Judith Miller. I highly recommend this first book in the Freedom's Path series.

Ms. Miller has woven a very descriptive tapestry of words that will place the reader directly into 1877's Kansas. As a result the reader is in for a treat as they follow the ups and downs of families trying to settle in the unforgiving plains with little to no experience, supplies, and at times, faith.

This is actully the story of two families. One an African American family who is setting out to finally settle on their own after the end of slavery. This family of three daughters and one father are not the only ones that are trusting the words of one man leaving all that they know behind in order to settle a new town. Ezekiel and his daughters Jarena, Faith, and Truth are disappointed and dismayed when they arrive with the other families only to find open spaces, and no town plan, structures, or help. Jarena is having a serious problem with her faith in God and this will be a test of not only the settlers, but one of Faith as well.

Doctor Samuel Boyle is a successful doctor in Kentucky but he wants more for his family. He decides to head west in order to be the doctor of the new settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas. His family is not in the beginning sharing his outlook or his plans but trust in God, that things will work out. This family though will soon see that there is more to life than wearing pretty dresses, and having beau's coming to call. Soon their lives will entwine with those who call Nicodemus home, their lives will never be the same again.

Ms. Miller is truly a gifted storyteller as she manages thru words to bring to life the hardships of those early settlers. Her characters are "real" in the fact that they react as you would think a person would react in such strained circumstances. still the belief in faith is a strong portion of this story without being overbearing. Ms Hattie is a wonderful character and her faith is amazing! This is the first in "Freedoms Path" series and if this read is any indication, it's off to a great start.

Official Reviewer for Romance Desings