📷💕 “Remember Me” (Pictures of the Heart #1) (2023) 💕📷 – Book Review

MY REVIEW

 

Series: Pictures of the Heart (Book #1)

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Bethany House (March 7, 2023)

Language: English

ISBN: 0764237381

ISBN-13: 978-0764237386

⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information  

 

“From the Yukon to Seattle, the hope of a new beginning waits just around the corner.
 
 Addie Bryant is haunted by her past of heartbreak and betrayal. After her beau, Isaac Hanson, left the Yukon, she made a vow to wait for him. When she's sold to a brothel owner after the death of her father, Addie manages to escape with the hope that she can forever hide her past and the belief that she will never have the future she's always dreamed of.
 
 Years later, Addie has found peace in her new life as a photographer, training Camera Girls to operate and sell the Brownie camera. During the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle, Addie is reunited with Isaac, but after the path her life has taken, she's afraid to expose the ugliness of her former life and to move toward the future they had pledged to each other.
 
 When her past catches up with her, Addie must decide whether to run or to stay and face her wounds in order to embrace her life, her future, and her hope in God.”

 

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Bethany House (a division of Baker Books), for providing a complimentary review copy through the author’s launch team. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.

 

Tracie Peterson is a new-to-me author. And, after reading this book, I will likely be reading the next two books in the series.

 

Historical fiction is, for me, a new favorite. I didn’t always read it. But, lately? I have come to enjoy it. Just like any book, the story has to grab me. The characters also have to be interesting. A dark, mysterious, ominous cover usually grabs my attention as well. The cover is beautiful, haunting as well.

 

And, one of my interests other than reading – photography – is one of the main plot arcs.  

 

Unlike some authors, despite how good the book is, they tend to throw all the characters at us in the first book. Sometimes, they give them too many scenes and the story gets bogged down.

 

Peterson introduces the characters, but keeps the focus on the main story and main characters. She uses only three main POVs (Addie, Isaac, Hiram) and a fourth for a limited amount of time (Esther).

 

While this is a clean read, there are going to be some disturbing elements in the story. Addie’s background is one of abuse (by her father), she is sold to the owner of a brother (human trafficking), there is some mention of prostitution, and Addie is physically assaulted by her brothers as a teen and as an adult.

 

Though they are not graphically depicted, some are described. As a result, this could be disturbing for some readers. I will say it was part of the book I didn’t like, though understood it.

 

Peterson introduces us to:

 

📷 Addie

🏫 Isaac

💰 Hiram (Addie’s older brother)

💰 Shep (Addie’s brother, younger than Hiram)

🎞️ Pearl (co-owner of Fisher Photography and Otis’ wife)

🎞️ Otis (co-owner of Fisher Photography)

📷 Bertha (camera girl)

📷 Mary (camera girl)

📷 Eleanor (camera girl; book #2 will feature her)

📷 Esther (camera girl; hooked up with Hiram for a bit)

⛪ Pastor Jenkins

⛪ Mrs. Jenkins

👩🏻 Elizabeth (Isaac’s sister)

👧🏻 Mena (Isaac’s niece)

👧🏻 Lina (Isaac’s niece)

 

Peterson starts off the story (and series) with Addie and her birthday, which also sets off the plot – her gold nugget bracelet from her “husband” Sam. While he’s been good to her, she feels chained to the life. Sam is later killed, and Addie sneaks away to Seattle.

 

She’s there for seven years when the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in 1909 is kicking off. The actual expo started June 1^st and ran until October 16^th.

 

Readers interested in the expo and photos can visit this website: https://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/collections/exhibits/ayp and here: https://content.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/aype/index.html.

 

Since escaping the Yukon, Addie has been living with Otis and Pearl Fisher.

 

Otis is a vendor because of his photography business. While Frank Newell (real person) is the official photographer, Otis is looking to sell Kodak’s Brownie camera. He hires some “Camera Girls” to take photos as souvenirs, but also demonstrate the camera.

 

Addie, while she doesn’t have to, works and is in charge of the girls. What Addie doesn’t know – her brothers, Hiram and Shep, earn an early released by working at the fair by help lifting artifacts for the fair. They stay on as “custodians” and use the opportunity to pick pockets. They’re also hoping Addie is there and has her “wealth” with her.

 

Addie also doesn’t know her childhood love, and pledged sweetheart, Doctor Isaac Hanson is going to be there with his students.

 

He is still hoping to find Addie, despite knowing what happened to her after he left the Yukon. His nieces are interested as well as they’ve heard about Princess Addie.

 

During the first day of the expo, Addie finds a cottage for sale by two sisters and snags it. It’s all she needs.

 

She finds herself listening about the Yukon expeditions and some of the wrong information. She quickly becomes a “speaker” and speaks about the realistic experience (of course leaving out what she went through). It is as a speaker that she reconnects with Isaac.

 

She of course remembers him, but she isn’t the same person he left behind. While he’s still in love with her, and she with him – she feels tainted and unworthy. She tells Pearl about her past, and Pearl reassures her that it wasn’t a conscious choice and she is worthy. Like most people – she doesn’t believe it.

 

Even during a lunch with the Jenkins, Isaac is trying to reassure Addie. Mrs. Jenkins believes they are blessed to reconnect. Even later in the book, one of Pastor Jenkins’ sermons discusses destiny prompting Addie to tell them, and despite their reassurances, she is still uncertain.

 

Addie’s brothers have also found her, and it is Hiram who is deciding what to do. It isn’t long until her brothers make themselves known, and Addie is in danger because of Esther’s jealousy.

 

Remember Me grabbed me right off and drew me in. The short chapters and fast-pacing were definitely instrumental in keeping me reading. The prologue was unusually large at 13 pages though. It did get intense about 26% to go, and kept me reading up until the very end.

 

This is the first book of the series, and works as a standalone. All the major plot points from the main story are concluded. Though, I am interested in reading the next too books, both due out later this year.

 

It is a heart-breaking, intense, somewhat suspenseful, and inspirational story that proves second-chances are possible. The title gets its name from something inscribed on Addie’s locket from Isaac.

 

I loved the support that Addie got from some of her friends, as well as Otis and Pearl. Isaac was definitely a strong support. I do wished Addie had sat him down before it got too far to let him know what was going on with her (perhaps right after they reconnected).

 

Though, I did understand his heart and intent at the Jenkins’ house during lunch, it still came off wrong. And, after getting reassurances from the pastor and his wife regarding her plight, I still couldn’t quite get her hang up. If in talking to Isaac, and with the support of four people, she would’ve likely have come to her senses sooner.

 

Like Addie, as I am going through some stuff, I do wonder why God lets bad things happen, and wonder when they do “get better” as promised.

 

Regardless of Esther’s “finding Jesus” moment, I really don’t want to see her back at all. I get she was upset by how she felt Addie was treating her, but she was far too immature to deal with. I also felt she had some criminal role in what Addie went through.

 

I am interested in finding out what happened to Millie as she’s only mentioned by Isaac who’d talked to her after learning Addie left the Yukon. Since we know there was a police officer who was sweet on her, I am interested in knowing what happened between 1902 and 1909, as well as after this story.

 

Fans of the author will likely enjoy this book. And, I have to admit, being interesting in photography and the facts, I did do some research. The author’s own research is definitely evident in her writing.

 

As Bethany House is a primarily Christian publisher, this book is going to have strong themes of the faith, demonstrated by the characters and their actions, as well as being an integral part of the the story.  

 

 

 

Historical Notes:

 

The Kodak Brownie was produced from its introduction in 1900 until 1986. In 1900, the cost was $1 (equivalent to $33 in 2021). This is a picture of the Brownie-2 (produced from 1901-1935):

 

On April 15, 1912, a passenger (Bernice Palmer) on the HMS Carpathia, used a Brownie-2A (1907-1911) to photograph the iceberg that sunk the Titanic, as well as photographing survivors being brought onto the Carpathia.

 

Brownies were extensively marketed to children, with Kodak using them to popularize photography. They were also taken to war by soldiers. As they were ubiquitous, many iconic shots were taken on Brownies. [Lothrop, Eaton S. (January 1978). "The Brownie camera". History of Photography.]

 

If you want to download the history PDF of Kodak cameras (model/intro/price), this is dated 3/1999: https://brownie-camera.com/manuals/aa13.pdf

 

Brownie 2/2A Manual:

https://brownie-camera.com/manuals/no2andno2ab.pdf

 

 

RATING:

 

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads

 

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub

 

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html;update https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  

Tracie Peterson is the award-winning author of over one hundred novels, both historical and contemporary. She is often referred to as the “Queen of Historical Christian Fiction”, and her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling HEIRS OF MONTANA and ALASKAN QUEST series. Tracie considers her writing a ministry for God to share the Gospel and biblical application. She and her family make their home in Montana. Visit her website at www.traciepeterson.com.  

 

 

You can also find her on the following social media accounts:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TraciePetersonAuthor

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TraciePeterson/

 

 

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