Before the Scarlet Dawn by Rita Gerlach

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Before The Scarlet Dawn Abingdon Press (February 2012) by Rita Gerlach

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rita Gerlach lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town nestled along the Catoctin Mountains, amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts in central Maryland.

"Romantic historical fiction that has an inspirational bent, is one way people can escape the cares of life and be transported back to a time of raw courage and ideal love," she says. "The goal of my writing is to give readers a respite, and inspire them to live fully and gratefully."

In many of her stories, she writes about the struggles endured by early colonists, with a sprinkling of both American and English history. Currently she is writing a new historical series for Abingdon Press entitled 'Daughters of the Potomac'. See her 'Novels In Progress' page on her website to learn more.

There are other novels on her list to be published, and a proposal for another book series.

She was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in a large family in the Maryland suburbs. Her family claims that storytelling is their blood, handed down from centuries of Irish storytellers. Rita believes there just may be something to that theory.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1775, Hayward Morgan, a young gentleman destined to inherit his father’s estate in Derbyshire, England, captures the heart of the local vicar’s daughter,
Eliza Bloome. Her dark beauty and spirited ways are not enough to win him, due to her station in life.  

Circumstances throw Eliza in Hayward’s path, and they flee to America to escape the family conflicts. But as war looms, it's a temporary reprieve. Hayward
joins the revolutionary forces and what follows is a struggle for survival, a test of faith, and the quest to find lasting love in an unforgiving wilderness.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Before The Scarlet Dawn, go HERE.

Watch the book video:






My review of Before the Scarlet Dawn:


My taste in books tends to vary widely.  I don’t like to read the same types of books over and over.  Sometimes, as a reader, I feel that I can learn more and grow more from a book that might not necessarily be a “comfortable” book.  Before the Scarlet Dawn was certainly not a comfortable book.  It was actually pretty depressing and dark, but at the same time, intense and moving.  Not to mention the fact that it is very real.

There is no happy, feel-good ending here, but what we do have is a story that gripped me from very early on.  Rita set the stage early on for what readers could expect from this story, but she did not make it predictable.  There was a lot that surprised me and there were many times I found it difficult to put this book down.  I even found myself thinking about Eliza and Hayward when I wasn’t reading this book and I was always anxious to pick it back up and continue with the story.

As far as the darker tone to the story, that is somewhat refreshing to me as a reader.  I like to be challenged and forced to think about the real world sometimes when I’m reading.  While this book may not be ideal for all readers, I did find it exceptional as far as the writing and the storytelling.  Before the Scarlet Dawn is just the start of a series that I can’t wait to read the rest of.  I am hoping for a bit of a happy ending in this series, but I certainly understand an author who wants to share a story like this and I applaud the delivery.  Rita Gerlach has tremendous talent and a brave style of writing that has spoken to me and that I have responded to.





This book was provided for review by the publisher.