The Miner's Lady {Book Review}

I have this bad tendency to read and to not get anything out of the book. When I first started reading The Miner's Lady by Tracie Peterson, I did just that. Not sure if the beginning was not captivating or if I was not reading well. I did only read a few pages at a time, so that probably didn't help.

 

About half way through the book, I was engrossed. Two families the Panettas and the Calarcos had it out for each other and had for generations. They lived in the same small town and this rivalry was played out in their daily lives, especially when two of the children fell in love.

One thing I like about Christian fiction is when you can pull out lessons learned and apply them to your own life. I know the story line is not true, but the author can still challenge us spiritually. I was challenged in two different spiritual areas in this book.

First, I was challenged to forgive. As you can imagine, the Panettas and Calarcos needed to grant forgiveness to the other family. Not so easily done when the tension had been around for generations. Forgiveness granted before bitterness is allowed to set in will be far easier to grant.

The second thing I was challenged by was the area of prayer. the ladies in this book were always turning to God to pray for different things. This community was a mining community and when there was an accident in the mine, the siren blew. The ladies would pray even though they did not know the circumstances. My husband is a volunteer firefighter. I know when accidents happen. Do I stop and pray for the people involved? I would only have to sacrifice a little bit of time. I think it is all a matter of what is my heart tuned towards? Am I curious about a good story or am I wanting to take that person before the throne of God?

Overall, I think that the second half of the book makes up for the first half.

Thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my evaluation.

Are you interested in getting books from Bethany House? You just have to be able to blog your review about the book.