Bring In The Books: Chasing The Sun by Tracie Peterson

Hey everyone! Soooo, since my Bring In The Book Series I haven't done many of these at all. But, this was too good of a book to not write one of these on. 

Summary: 
Hannah Dandridge is a young woman who lives in Texas on a ranch with her younger brother, Andrew more likely to be called "Andrew" and her younger sister Martha "Marty". The story is set in the year of 1863, and the Civil War is in full swing. Hannah's father, a strong supporter of the Confederate gained the ranch because of that reason. But news has turned up that he his missing. Herbert Lockhart, Mr. Dandridge's partner is now trying to convince Hannah, whom he has loved for quite some time to marry him and move in with him, along with her two siblings. Hannah refuses. I mean, who would want to marrying someone who is twice their age, "Fat" in Marty's words and is "losin' all his hair", also in Marty's words. As you can probably already tell, Marty is quite a character. 
William Barnett is a wounded soldier who has arrived back at his home. Or so, what he thought was still his home. It turned out that his families ranch is now in the hands of a young headstrong beauty named Hannah Dandridge. William's family lost the ranch when they moved to the North to fight for the Union. He was injured in battle and now is returning home. He and Miss Dandridge butt heads over everything, but there's an undeniable attraction through all of their fights and seething teeth. 

Characters: 
Hannah Dandridge: A twenty-four year old unmarried woman who runs the ranch now. She used to live with her father, but he has since gone off and now is declared missing. She has two younger siblings, Andy and Marty, whom she cares for. She is extremely kind (well not really to William) and has a sharp tongue. I love Hannah because she's not your usual "damsel in distress". She's not the princess waiting in a tower singing "Someday my prince will come and we'll live happily ever after." Oh no, she takes things into her own hands. She can stand up for herself and she is strong. I loved her attitude. It was actually much like Hannah's in "The Messenger" that I reviewed in my series. She is very protective of Andy and Marty and will do anything to protect them and keep them safe.

William Barnett: A young wounded soldier who fought for the Union. He now finds himself shunned by the entire for being a traitor and fighting on the other side of the war. He comes home to his family ranch to see that it is being run by Hannah. He doesn't ever miss the chance to call out Hannah on her doings that he sees as "foolish" and "dangerous". He acts in a way like a father figure to Andy and Marty. 

Juanita: Hannah's Mexican maid/cook. Despite working for Hannah, she's more of a friend. Her husband and children live with Hannah on the ranch. She's often there with tortillas and advice, and perhaps a shoulder to lean on. Overall, I loved her. She was such a nice side character! 

Herbert Lockhart: John Dandrige's business partner. He is a greedy man who tries to convince Hannah to marry him so that he can "take care of her and the children". He's a nasty character. Didn't like him one bit. 

Andrew "Andy" Dandridge: Eight years old with a heart of gold, Andy considers himself the man of the house before William arrives. Though he is young, he is a big help and always very caring. He always defends his family and is a great little brother. He immediately takes a liking to William and looks up to him in many ways. 

Martha "Marty" Dandrige: Marty is five years old and has a habit of telling lies. Though Hannah tries often to correct that and teach her the truth from a lie, sometimes it doesn't go into the brain. :) But she ends up telling more truths than lies in the end, with Andy as her witness and back-up. 

This was such a good book. I love the way Hannah and William butted heads. I mean, they did not like each other at all when they first met! As this is a Christian romance, you can probably guess what happens to them. 

Review: 
This book..... THIS BOOK! I could not put it down. I read all 347 pages in one day. Like, I'm sewing a '50's dress for my sister Samantha for the investor panel that we're going to in April for our entrepreneur class. I mean, I sewed in a zipper wrong and had to the out the stitches. Here's how my afternoon went: 
2 minutes of un-stitching
10 minutes of reading
2 minutes of un-stitching
10 minutes of reading
1 minute of un-stitching 
15 minutes of reading
20 seconds of un-stitching
15 minutes of reading
As you can see, I spent more time reading than doing what I really have to do before a deadline. That's how good it was. I loved the characters the most. They weren't one sided and they weren't boring or incomplete. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. There were only a few boring parts, but most of them contained Mr. Lockhart. The modesty level of the romance was awesome. There wasn't much more than a couple kisses and Andy telling William that he needs to know how to lace up Hannah's corset. William teases him that Hannah will teach him, instead. That's pretty much it. Hannah is a kind character, who believes more in peace and friendship than war and hatred. She makes friends with the Comanche Indians when they nurse a young Comanche boy back to health and even goes to their village to cure their small-pox that has taken the lives of many in the village. William is a man who struggles with the Lord, as he feels that God has abandoned him, while Hannah relies on God to get her through this confusing time in her life. Andy and Marty are adorable and they are great side characters along with Juanita. 

Overall, I give this book 5 stars. There was nothing that I didn't like about it. Well, I'll slim it down to 4 3/4 because no book is perfect, except The Bible. So, there you have it! One of the greatest Christian romance books I've ever read! This is Book 1 of the Land Of The Lone Star Series. I plan to read the others, I'm just really glad that I read book one before all the rest! 

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