One of the things I liked about the book was that it was written differently than the first book. What I mean by this was that two stories were being told; of course the continuation of Anna’s story, and a more detailed story of Anna’s childhood friend Emily. I also enjoyed the determination of both Anna and Emily, they worked through their struggles with grace. This book was such a joy to read, each time I picked up the book I didn’t want to put it down.

Were there things I didn’t like about the book? Honestly, there wasn’t much. The only thing at the beginning was the switching between the two stories, there definitely were some frustrated sighs along the way. Jamie kept the momentum of the stories of both women going throughout the whole book in tandem which now as I re-read the book I understand and really enjoy. 

Synopsis

Anna’s Story

The book starts with Anna dealing with the reticule of Seattle society being less than thrilled about her secret attempt to summit Mt. Rainier. Her family bookstore is vandalized on multiple occasions; once with a brick being thrown through the window. She also has to manage the disapproval of her soon-to-be father-in-law who believes Anna should not be attempting to climb mountains but at home keeping house and raising a family. Through all of the challenges and doubt Anna is determined to attempt the summit once again but, this time with her new husband along for the adventure. 

Emily’s Story

Moving on to Emily’s story; as stated in the first book, Emily is one of Anna’s close childhood friends. She grew up in poverty on her family farm. Though her father made a modest living as the Seattle police chief, they were barely able to make ends meet due her mother’s illness. This is part of the reason Emily decided to marry an established man of society, Charles, instead of marrying for love. When Charles falls ill the doctors decide to use a modern method of anesthesia for frontier medicine which turns disastrous for Emily and she finds herself in the depths of poverty once again.

What’s coming next?

Jamie isn’t done yet with the Rainier Series; the 3rd book in the series In the Heart of Paradise will be released on November 2nd! It is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this series as much as I have and I cannot wait to hear what you think.