🔔 “Promise of Refuge” (For Liberty & Conscience #0.5) (2021) 🔔– Book Review

MY REVIEW 

Series: For Liberty & Conscience (Book 0.5) 
eBook: 46 pages 
Publisher: Jayna Baas (September 7, 2021) 
Language: English 
⬅️ Click Photo for Download Information

“HE CAME LOOKING FOR A PREACHER. HE FOUND MORE THAN HE’D BARGAINED FOR.
 
 It’s 1759, and Robert Boothe and his younger brother have crossed North Carolina to find their father’s circuit riding partner. But the old preacher is nowhere to be found. And Magdalen Davies wants to keep it that way. She’s willing to help shelter Robert on her father’s plantation. She’s not so willing to trust him with secrets that could hurt the people she loves. But Robert needs her help. And Magdalen needs his.” 

 

Thank you to the author, Jayna Baas, for providing a complimentary copy for signing up for her email. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own. 

Having read the first two books in the series, I thought I’d read this short story as well. I don’t do eBooks so it was a good thing they were offered in a PDF format 😉 not something I normally do due to the paper and finding room to store it. 

 

This is a very short story, but introduces readers to Robert Boothe and his brother Mitchell shortly after their father’s death. Readers are also introduced to Magdalen Davies who will go on to marry Robert. They’re also introduced to Gunning, who is the manservant of Magdalen’s father, Alexander. It is told from Robert, Mitchell, and Magdalen’s POVs. This is set eight (8) years before the prologue of Preacher at the River (1767) which is mostly Robert’s story. The main story is 12 years after this book (1771). 

 

This is short enough to get to, and stay on point; long enough to let readers know what perils existed pre-revolutionary war, and leading up to it. There is a mention of the morality of slavery as well as certain laws that prevent slaves from being freed. This is definitely a sensitive and controversial topic. Please keep an open mind as this is written from the perspective of the time, thus our current day morality cannot cloud the presentation.

 

This does feature strong religious tones. And, that was one of the issues leading up to the Revolutionary War – freedom of religion. There is mention of those who had issues moving away from the Church of England and becoming Baptists. And, a penalty for it.

 

While readers don’t get to see Robert and Magdalen’s relationship blossom, they will understand how the two got together, and what keeps them together.

 

This had the potential to be a 4-star or 5-star read, but it needed a bit more to it – perhaps the early years of Robert and Magdalen’s marriage. However, it is an enjoyable read.

 

There is some humor from Mitchell about folks mistaking him as a preacher. I had to laugh about him asking “Why does everyone think I’m a preacher?”

 

As I’ve read the first two books in the series already, I would be interested in seeing how far the author plans to go with the series and where it’ll end. So, I’m definitely going to stick around for the long haul.

 

One thing is for certain ...

 

We know what happened after the Revolutionary War though 🗽

 

 

RATING:  

 

3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads  

 

3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub  

 

3 ⭐⭐⭐/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

 

 

Jayna Baas (pronounced as in “baa, baa, black sheep”) lives in northern Michigan with a great family of real people and the family of pretend people who live in her head. (Yes, she does know her characters are not real. No, she does not want you to tell them she said so.) Notorious for working on several projects at once and writing her series in the wrong order, she believes German writer Thomas Mann was correct in saying, “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than for other people.” She enjoys writing and reading in a wide range of genres, but her favorite story is this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). https://www.booksbyjayna.com/

 

 

 

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