In Tracie Peterson’s A Shelter of Hope, Simone Dumas’s childhood has been fraught with terror, murder, and emotional and physical abuse. In an ultimate act of betrayal, her father sells her, along with his property, to another man. In order to avoid the physical abuse which the man surely intends for Simone, for he intends her to be his “wife,” she hits him over the head with a pitcher and flees.Convinced she has murdered the man, she steals his horse and gun and flees, leaving the remote mountain settlement she has called home for seventeen years. She takes a job as a Harvey girl working in one of the few respectable establishments in the late 1800s, the Harvey Restaurant chain that sprang up along the railroad. She finds friends and allies in both her boss, Rachel Taylor, and the man who hires the Harvey girls, Jeffrey O’Donnell. Eventually Simone, through her new faith in Christ and the love of her friends, learns to accept her past and to move toward trust, redemption, and ultimately love. Simone is a heart-wrenching character. Peterson does a fabulous job with her character arc, from an abused child to an emotionally tormented young woman to a new Christian who has to lean on God to learn love and trust. The suspense escalates from the second half of the book towards the end as lawman Zack Matthews, as well as her father, close in on her. Of course, Peterson’s writing style, as always, is easy to read, and the words flow off the page. There are some rather long dialogues about prayer and trusting God, more so than I remember from the other books I have read from her.As oftentimes happens in some of Peterson’s work, though, she does little with her hero character arcs. Perhaps more is planned for Jeffrey O’Donnell in the second or third book of the series. In this book, his sole purpose for existing seemed to be to help the character reach her story goals. We are told he comes from wealthy stock, that his mother is overbearing and determined he marry well, and that his relationship with Simone would not be accepted by his family. Otherwise, he had no goal of his own. Granted, this story was Simone’s, but I would have liked to have seen more angst from Jeffrey and a life apart from Simone’s, perhaps even goals that clearly conflict with his desire to keep her safe. We do sense that he is breaking protocol and rules in his effort to help her, but there isn’t enough to make the reader fear he could lose everything he has in his choices to help and love her. He too easily chooses to love her, and romance is never easy. I also liked him at first and found him intriguing, but by the end of the novel, for some reason, I found him annoying and whiny. While I was rooting for Simone’s peace and her happy future, I couldn’t find myself wishing Jeffrey the same. He almost seems too desperate in his effort to love her near the end, and a desperate man is never attractive. At one point, I was even hoping she would convince him she couldn’t be with him ever, and she would move on to someone else, perhaps even the lawman Zach Matthews. I definitely wanted to hear more of his story. And, alas, the romance just wasn’t there for me. But, I know when I read Peterson, I’m not going to get an “angst driven” romantic ride. That’s not the kind of books she writes, and it doesn’t detract from her as a writer and storyteller. She just doesn’t write gripping romance that shakes you to your gutt. That’s not her style. And that’s alright.Fans of Peterson will not be disappointed in A Shelter of Hope, neither will readers who enjoy stories of heroines who battle terrible odds and come out sane on the other
This was a second time read, because after reading "When Molly was a Harvey Girl," I remembered really enjoying these books about Harvey Girls, and again found this author. I like this one much better than it's sequel Having the protagonist suffer at the hands of a VERY abusive father for 17 years and then having him track her down again was quite disturbing, but the character development was good. Of course without God, it would have been very unlikely to overcome something that prolonged as readily as she seemed to, but who knows what challenges she'll continue to face in later years...
What do You think about A Shelter Of Hope (2005)?
Another good book that reflected the hardship of women in the late 1880's. Women were considered property to be used and abused in the developing frontiers...wyoming Territory. Simon Dimus had a abusive father that would beat her mother and her and little brother after he returned from checking his animal traps drunk. After one such beating, Simon's mother decided she must try to escape and bring back the law. Simon was to be left behind because it was winter and the snow was too high and she wa
—Kathryn
