Customer Reviews

Under the Northern Lights (Alaskan Quest #2)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Under the Northern Lights is the sequel to the 1st book in the Alaskan Quest series, Summer of the Midnight Sun. It picks up right from where the 1st book ended. Helania Beecham, having proven Jayce Kincaid's innocence is now held hostage by his twin brother Chase Kincaid. Leah returns to her home in Last Chance Creek and hears her husband Jayce has returned as well. Who she finds actually is his murderous brother Chase, and she as well is kidnapped and taken far north. Jacye and Leah's brother Jacob are on Chase's trail. Will Leah and Helania be found in time?

The suspense is great in this book that it makes you not want to put it down. Another great thing is the change in Helania Beecham's heart. It is Jacob who rattles her understanding of herself and her purpose in life, and b/c of this it is how she is led to the Lord. I loved the romance played out between Helania and Jacob. Jacob tries many times to tell Helania he loves her but is always interupted by someone else calling for him or Helania herself. I'm hoping for a happy ending for those two in the 3rd book. We also get a glimpse of Leah's bitterness and hatred she has stored towards Chase.

Overall, it is a gem by Tracie that almost rivals her wonderful Heirs of Montana series. The amount of research she put into it is evident with her descriptions of how natives do simple chores and the native words used here and there. I felt as though I was in early 20th century Alaska myself. :-) If you have not read Summer of the Midnight Sun pick that one up first. And while you are at it read the Yukon Quest series as well since some minor charatcers and names mentioned in the Alaskan Quest series are major characters in the Yukon Quest series. I look forward to the 3rd book--Whispers of Winter. The only thing I'm dreading is I'll have to wait till November to be able to read it.

In her second book of the `Alaskan Quest' series Peterson continues the saga of the Barringer siblings, Leah and Jacob, in an exciting entry that will stand completely alone.

After a lengthy journey traversing the Alaskan territory newlywed Leah Barringer Kincaid walks into her home to discover her husband's identical twin brother Chase, a murder, whom both her husband and brother are chasing. Kidnapped by Chase who preys on Leah's protective instincts she is reunited with the insufferable Pinkerton Agent Helaina Beecham whom Chase had already kidnapped. Leah wants only to escape but Helaina's focus is solely on bringing Chase to justice. When Helaina falls critically ill, Leah attempts to reason with Chase in trying to bring him to an understanding of her loving God but after Chase sexually assaults Leah even her faith in God in letting such a monstrous thing happen to her is severely tested. Partly blaming Helaina for all the bad things that happened to her, Leah's faith in God, her rage over the injustice done her and her battle for vengeance vs. forgiveness would be tested in innumerable ways as would her husband Jayce as he continues the pursuit of his brother.

Later as Helaina recovers, she begins to gain a better understanding of the damage done by her impulsive and selfish behavior has caused to the people around her. With gentle guidance from Jacob Helaina comes to discover an inner strength and a new spiritual awareness of God. Even more so, Helaina would find herself tested as she realized that Jacob was a man worth fighting for when she learned she must find and save him from a cruel Alaskan `iced-in' winter.

Tracie Peterson continues to gift her fans with incredibly inspiring stories of life and love weaving adventure, excitement, and highly charged emotional examples of Christian faith into a fully robust tale that never slows down. Without being overly preachy she presents excellent scenarios that easily guide the reader with food for thought in dealing with life, while seeking reassurances that the paths one takes are the right choice for them. Her stories make you feel that you always have a place and source to turn both in joy and sorrow for strength and sustenance. In this new series she combines excellent writing, superb research, and fabulous adventures in an incredible frontier setting to add zest to the excitement and adventure of living in the frozen wastelands of Alsaka. Fans of Peterson should be thrilled with this latest entry in the Alaskan Quest series again leaving you with a cliff-hanger and wishing you didn't have to wait so long for the next entry to come!

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

Tracie Peterson's Alaskan Quest series reintroduces us to Jacob and Leah Barringer, first seen as children in her Yukon Quest series. Now grown up and independent adults, the two still live up in Alaska and have come to adore their new home. In Under the Northern Lights, the second book in the series, Leah has just married Jayce Kincaid and is ready to settle down and have a quiet life with him. Unfortunately for her, Jayce's evil twin brother Chase kidnaps her and Helaina Beecher, the Pinkerton agent searching for Chase. While the two women have to fight for survival against Chase, Jayce and Jacob go out to search for the women they love in hopes of rescuing them. When something happens that nearly destroys Leah, the four have to to depend on faith in order to move on.

I love seeing characters reappear in books. I wanted to know what happened to Jacob and Leah at the close of the Yukon Quest series when they were children. Now as their adults, the pair have had to share their own hardships and triumphs. Alaska is always a great setting because it's so vast and big and like Hawaii, familiar yet different at the same time. I'm glad that Helaina's character changes throughout the story. In the first book, she is very stubborn and headstrong because she's trying to prove to herself and others that she can survive on her own. In this book, Leah has to force her to realize that finding Chase is not the most important thing in the world. I also felt sorry for Leah with what she went through. The turn of the events at the end though are rather interesting and I bet her and Jayce would have appreciated modern technology for their situation! She rightly feels bitter and I believe that she is allowed to. The only thing I didn't like was she felt guilty over feeling bitter but I feel that in her situation she had an absolute right to. I love when I feel like I'm drawn into a book and that happened several times while reading this one. I actually felt cold when reading certain scenes and had to get a blanket. Recommended for Peterson fans and anyone who enjoys a good historical fiction story.

This is a great story about how life is lived in the villages of Alaska. It has suspense, and holds your interest. I can't wait to read the next book. Great series

This book is tragic. The first book was okay, (If you can even call it that). Under the Northern Lights went too far. After the first book in the series, Summer of the Midnight Sun, she should have stopped writing and stopped the series. I enjoy Christian books very much; they usually end up on my list of books to read again. This book however, might as well go in the trash can. After reading that Leah Kincaid was sexually assaulted by her brother-in-law, Chase Kincaid, and then found out she was pregnant and did not know who the father was, I almost put the book down. After finishing the book, I realized I should have. Instead of reading this book, read MaryLu Tyndall's books, or skip to a book by Tracie Peterson that has favorable characters and a creative plot. This book is disgraceful, do NOT read it.

I was well pleased with my purchase. The book arrived with in the time frame presented. I was also pleased with the number of choices I had to choose from.

Under The Northern Lights by Tracie Peterson


I received this entire series for review purposes from Bethany House Publishers. I am under no obligation to write a positive review, just an honest one.

Under The Northern Lights is the second book in Tracie Peterson's Alaskan Quest series. You can read my review of the first book in the series, Summer of the Midnight Sun, by clicking here.

Under The Northern Lights picks up right where Summer of the Midnight Sun left off, which is good because it left off with a huge cliffhanger!

WARNING! SPOILERS FOR SUMMER OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN AHEAD!

I wanted to give you a heads up because to discuss book two, I have to give away parts of book one, so stop now if you want to read the first book first!

At the end of the first book, we found out that Helaina Beecham has been kidnapped by Jayce's brother, and now she must be rescued. Jayce and Jacob head off to try to find Chase and save Helaina, while Leah Barringer Kincaid (who is now married to Jayce Kincaid) heads back to her home.

Shortly after arriving, her neighbors tell her how Jayce is there too, and anxious to see her dear husband she runs home, only to find out that it is not Jayce, but rather Chase, his dark and twisted twin. Now Chase has Helaina in hiding and has taken off with Leah, but Leah was unable to inform anyone in town that it was, in fact, Chase, that she was leaving with because he threatened to kill them all if she so much as breathed one word.

Leah is trying to figure out how to escape without endangering the lives of everyone she knows and loves, but Helaina is far more determined to capture Chase, even though it would be safer to escape and leave Chase behind. But Helaina is falling steadily more ill, and Leah knows her time is short, their lives depend on her quick thinking.

Will Leah and Helaina escape from the grasp of Chase? Will Helaina's insistence that they capture Chase, rather than just escape be their downfall? Just how dark and twisted is Chase, or is there a chance of redemption? Will Jayce be forced to make the ultimate choice to take Chase's life, even though he is his own flesh and blood? And just what happened between Chase and Leah that seems to have affected Leah so deeply?

Read Under The Northern Lights to find out!

This second installment was a great followup to the first book in the series, though I didn't enjoy it quite as much. It seemed to drag slightly in a few places.

However, what I did really like about this book is that it addresses some very serious and nitty-gritty topics.

As a result, I would say that this book probably has at least a PG RATING.

Why? Not because of in-depth descriptions of interactions between characters during their intimate moments, but because

SPOILER ALERT

At one point in the book, Chase actually forces himself upon Leah, raping her. While Tracie Peterson does not describe the event in great detail, the idea of rape is a much more adult concept, regardless of how much the actual event is described. But it is a pivotal part of the book, because it greatly affects Leah (as it would any woman!) and severely shakes her faith in God. So much of the story is Leah trying to find a way to recover her faith in God that has been so damaged and battered.

END SPOILER ALERT

So, I highly recommend this book, and indeed, this entire series! I look very much forward to reading the third and final book in this series, which will pick up right where this one left off. Just know that while it is a beautiful story in some respects, it tackles some very serious topics (hence the PG Rating) that cause some characters to question their faith in God.

4.5 out of 5 stars!

After reading Summer of the Midnight Sun, I knew I had to read the other two books in the series. These are the first books I have read by Tracie Peterson.
These are the best books I have read. I loved the way Tracie made Alaska so real. I am glad I did not read a lot of reviews that gave a lot of details. This was a wonderful Christian historical novel.

I couldn't put these books down! This book series was exactly the type I love to read: Historical, full of adventure, with just enough romance, and a lot of focus on God! The setting is awesome- I learned a lot about Alaska, and enjoyed the outdoor adventures the characters had. I also appreciated the themes of forgiveness, faith, loyalty, contentment, and simplicity. The use of Scripture is rarely seen in "Christian" books, so I am thankful she included verses!! And finally I enjoyed how the relationships moved on in a realistic manner; marriage and kids happen, and their real lives are portrayed. The books weren't JUST focused on dating, but showed the loyalty and faithfulness after marriage also. I will definitely be reading more of Tracie Peterson's books again!

This is a continuation of the Alaskan Quest & the stories of both Leah & Jayce along with Helaina & Jacob (Leah's brother). This is an almost horrify experience for me to know that people get so stranded without rescue for months ... and their loved ones knowing nothing of their fate. Here we are in almost the instant technology age ... not to say we always know but the chances are so much better ... this had to be almost unbearable at times .. and I find that the way the chose to live very interesting. I am not saying that I don't find the Amish ways interesting and yet they chose maybe not the easiest ways but they certaintly are not the way back of beyond in the frigid cold and no amenities ... and absolutely no complaining ... well let me say that is from Leah .. originally Helaina definitely knew how to complain ... but I can't imagine chosing to live like that although I found incredible interesting to learn about.

As I said in my earlier review ... I loved the fact that these 3 books continue throughout the story of the 4 of them ...and I felt I learned alot as I almost always do with Tracie Peterson's books.