Beyond the Ashes
July 7th, 2015. Filed under: Tuesday's Tempting Reads.Beyond the Ashes
By Karen Barnett
“Tis better to have loved and lost…,” but can Ruby Marshall risk her heart a second time?
Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes? Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.
Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed. Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?
Note: Beyond the Ashes is the second book in The Golden Gate Chronicles series. To find out more about the series and to purchase book one click here.
ISLAND BREEZES
Ruby eagerly arrived in San Francisco to help her brother with his cancer research. What she didn’t know ahead of time was his engagement to his boss’s cousin. She also didn’t know about their living arrangements. With the fire leaving so much in ashes people are camping out where ever they can.
Ruby has many adjustments to make, including going about in an automobile, the squalid conditions in the tent city, and the disheartening cancer that her brother and Dr. Larkspur deal with daily.
Both Gerald Larkspur and Ruby need some love in their lives. Just when it seems they’ve found it in each other, Gerald turns from Ruby and that love. Why? And will it ever be possible to recapture it? Be prepared for tears near the end of this book.
This is a good stand alone read, but you’ll appreciate it more if you read Out of the Ruins first. I’m looking forward to the third book of The Golden Gate Chronicles. Thank you, Ms Barnett, for continuing to teach me more about the San Francisco earthquake and the resulting fires.
***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***
Karen Barnett is the author of Mistaken and several articles that have been published by Guideposts and other national magazines. She lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband, two children, and three cats.
Find Karen’s website here.