Customer Reviews

Summer of the Midnight Sun (Alaskan Quest #1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Alaskan Quest - Book 1 --- Leah Barringer and her brother Jacob have lived awhile in the Alaskan wilderness. In spite of the hard life that territory makes a body endure, they had come to love the land and it's native people. On a trip to gather supplies for their trading post, Jacob took longer than usual and brought back more than supplies. He brought his friend Jayce Kincaid - a man that Leah had loved 10 years before and who had broken her heart. Not only was Jayce a painful reminder of her unmarried state as she turned 30, but she'd never gotten over him or his rejection of her love. Not only would Jayce reignite the flames of a long ago passion, leaving Leah with unresolved feelings, but her brother Jacob was seriously considering joining up with Jayce on an arctic expedition.

When an accident postponed their departure, Leah had time to see that Jayce was indeed a changed man, and as Leah prayed for Jayce's recovery, she hoped that perhaps the future she'd once dreamed of having with him would become a reality. The entrance into their lives of a mysterious young woman, Helaina Beecham, who seemed determined to insert herself into Jayces' life might very well put a hold on any dreams Leah might have for the future.

*** Ms. Peterson does a fabulous job in researching historical facts, native customs, and the hardships of how life was lived in 1915 on the Alaskan frontier. The daily life as well as the adventures they endured traversing the unforgiving rugged terrain made this an exciting and adventuresome read. Peterson faithfully depicts Leah and her brother's great love of God, his teachings, living a good Christian life and relying on the direction God in their daily life, especially as Jacob tries to impart this knowledge to a very troubled Helaina. Leaving you with a bit of a cliff-hanger, the secondary storyline of Helaina and Jacob will be a highly anticipated continuation in the Alaskan Quest saga!

Jacob Barringer is one of the better male characters I've read. He's adventurous, confident, and loyal, but he's got a little problem with saying exactly what's on his mind, even if it's not the most appropriate thing at the time. I liked that...maybe because I can relate!
On the other hand, Helaina Beecham--the "young investigator" mentioned above--rubbed me entirely the wrong way. She causes all sorts of problems for the other main characters. An unbeliever on a mission to rid the world of evil, she has questionable strategies.
The author uses Helaina's and Jacob's differing opinions on justice and mercy to give a clear presentation of the Gospel, making this book a great gift for a lost friend. For a Christian, though, it was a bit "skimable" during those sections.
If you're looking for a learning experience in the early 1900's Alaskan frontier, you've come to the right place. Peterson paints a beautiful picture of the tundra and its people. America is debating whether to join World War I, and Alaska isn't even a state yet. It makes for a very fresh setting.
The end of the book is left wide open for the next in the series, and I plan on getting on that right away.
Although, I found it a little predictable, it's worth the read.

Okay, so before I get started on my review let me just say that I didn't realize before I picked this book up that it is a spinoff of the "Yukon Quest" series. So, if you want to get the backstory on the Leah and Jacob (two of the main characters), you should read the Yukon Quest series first. Now that I got that out of the way...

This was the first book I've read by Tracie Peterson, and it made me want to read more of her stuff. I have to agree with some who said the book was pretty predictable, but I read so much that most books are predictable to me, especially romances...I mean what romance book isn't predictable? Anyway, I loved that this story held a little bit of everything, romance, adeventure, betrayal, and even history. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Alaskan wilderness and the dangers and struggles the characters went through while living there.

All in all, this book is fabulous, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes historical Christian fiction; however, if you're not into the whole historical fiction scene, don't buy this book because you probably won't like it.

Only the fact that I am constitutionally unable to stop reading a book once I have started it kept me going with this. I spent a lot of time reminding myself that it was free (I downloaded a free Kindle edition) and even that didn't help. What were my problems with it? Here goes:

For free, the book was barely acceptable as a converted document - it was full of errors and smudges and SCANNING 101 errors. If this book had been a project someone turned in for a grade, they would have failed. I can't imagine having payed money for it.

The novel itself was horrible. It started out placing characters woodenly in different locations, and then they spent a page or two talking about faith in God. Next character, next location, faith in God. Except for the "bad" character who would need converting - who could see that coming? On and on. Character, location, faith in God. Character, location, faith in God. Some unconvincing interaction, with conversation about faith in God. Very tedious.

I was really going on endurance when, about three-quarters of the way through the book, there was one passage of expository prose that was really good. It is really the central thesis of the novel. The situation is based on a previous conversation (painfully contrived), the happenstance in which the "bad" character and the good character are thrown into living together in outback Alaska for the summer (painfully contrived) and the habit of the good character of reading from the Bible every evening. These two characters discuss the concepts of justice and mercy, as illustrated by a passage from Matthew and then from their lives. This, for me, was the one really worthwhile passage in the book. It was well written, seemed to speak genuinely from the mouths of the characters, and the use of scripture and the one character's Christian identity made inherent sense. (In direct contrast to the use of dialogue laden with faith-based discourse by all other characters during the first part of the book)

The conclusion of the novel is meant to be stirring. There is more action (as in moving around of characters), and a sprinkling of scenes that rise above the level of puppetry. The book ends on a cliffhanger, but that is easily resolved by reading customer reviews of the next book - the whole story is summarized without the pain of actually reading the book.

To summarize, this book was an unpleasant introduction to a genre I had been happy unaware of. I had no idea that there were historical-romantic-mystery-thriller books written especially for Christians. With a large C. And I truly wonder why there needs to be such a separation. Is a book not worth reading if the characters don't constantly spout their devotion to their God? And is the fact that these characters do so what makes this book worth reading for some people (because clearly, some people really like this book)?

My experience reading this was that I just hadn't drunk the Kool-Aid. I wasn't in that club. And reading this certainly isn't going to change that fact.

I admired the setting and overall plot but it got very dull and boring. I was als getting fed up with the drawn out mushy parts. Also, I am a Christian and admire stories with Christian themes but this was getting on my nerves that just about every part in the story had a moral and Christian meaning. I love morals and Christian lessons but sometimes enough is enough.

The idea behind this book was good and held promise. However, the writing was absolutely pretty bad. The author should win a medal for saying, "I've loved him for 10 years; what do I do now that he has returned?" 100 different ways. That was, basically, the first half of the book. The second half was the guy saying, "I've loved her for 10 years and I'm not going to lose her." 100 different ways. Throw in the same sermon said 100 different ways and you have this book in a nutshell. The angst, worry, and drama emoted by each character would make a 14 year old proud. There wasn't even redemption in the ending. The author had a good idea here, but her delivery needs a lot of work.

I picked up this book, excited to find another christian romance series from an author I had never read before. About halfway into the book, I realized why. The writing in this book is probably something similar to the books I wrote when I was thirteen. The plot was rushed and pointless, the "christian" characters were fake and unrealistic, and the romance? I can't stand stories of unrequited love when suddenly a light bulb clicks - "Oh, she's so pretty and smart and wonderful. Why didn't I see it before? I must be in love!" THAT is the epitome of forced, and I'm not exaggerating one bit. I did finish reading the book, but at the expense of a wasted afternoon. The story idea had promise, but lacked a better writer. I now have another author I know to avoid.

I am only glad that it was a free download, but just the time that it took to read it was painful. There was little suspense or even any real romance for that matter. Don't waste your time. I am a Christian but I felt I was lectured throughout the book with the same message over and over to submit to God.

I really enjoyed "Summer". The story felt as real as the characters. Nothing was hurried as often is the case in books. You felt like you were there with Leah and Jacob. I am looking forward to book 2 due out in July.

One thing I will mention is that Tracie's Yukon Quest Series..."Treasures of the North", "Ashes and Ice" and "Rivers of Gold" are excellent as well and in these books we first meet Jacob and Leah when they were young. You also meet Karen and Adrik who are mentioned in "Summer". It's always great to get the history! It makes the story more complete. I read "Summer" first then went back and read the Yukon series.

I have to give "Summer of the Midnight Sun" three stars because it is the most mediocre book I have ever read. It's not bad... but it's not good either.

First, I must address the "Christian" factor of this book. While the characters seem a bit too perfect and godly at times, they do have their share of struggles, which keeps the reader from getting too disgusted with them. They display fairly realistic examples of how to be a spiritually mature follower of God. The theological tangents that the characters (particularly Jacob and Helaina) go off on are a bit long-winded and contrived, but they are nonetheless theologically sound, and well-placed in the book. Since I am already a Christian, I found it taxing to read these conversations of very basic theology, and tended to skim over them. However, though the Christian tangents were boring, I was glad to see them added in to the book, as many novels that claim to be "Christian" hardly mention God or Christ or matters of faith at all.

Second, let's talk about the "plot", shall we? While there is certainly an element of adventure to the novel, with some "unexpected" twists, overall, the entire novel is totally predictable. Before I was even a fourth of the way in to "Summer", I had already figured out the entire plot of this book, and most of the plot of the second book in the series! There was no challenge, no real driving force for me to keep reading - several times I considered not even finishing the book, since I already knew exactly what would happen. Peterson's attention to historical detail and setting are really the only redeeming qualities about this novel. In fact, the ONLY thing that kept me reading this book was the fascinating setting of early 20th century Alaska, and more than likely, that alone will be enough to cause me to read the next book.