Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Icecutter's Daughter by Tracie Peterson


The Icecutter's Daughter is a new book in the Land of Shinning Water series by Tracie Peterson.  Merrill Krause promised her dying mother that she would take care of her father and all her brothers.  She has only known hard work on the Minnesota farm and loves working with the horses.  But as she nears her 21st birthday, she can't help but wonder if anyone will ever overcome their fear of her protective brothers to ask to court her.   The other main character in the story is Rurik Jorgenson.  When Rurik's Uncle Carl begins to decline in health, Rurik heads from Kansas to Minnesota to help with the family business.  Rurik tells his betrothed, Svea, of his departure and thinks that this will be good for them to be apart in order to know whether the Lord really would have them married.  Rurik and Svea's fathers have arranged their marriage, yet Rurik is pretty sure this is not God's will for him.  Both Merrill and Rurik want what God has for them, but neither have any idea of how God will fulfill that in their lives.

Tracie Peterson did a great job at setting the icy scene of Minnesota.  I enjoyed learning about ice harvesting...something I had no idea they did back at the end of the 1800's.  It was interesting reading about other things such as arranged marriages, old customs and traditions from back then too.  After reading the beginning of the book, I wasn't too sure if I would really get into this book since it was talking about the farm, horses and such.  But once I got to know the characters, I had a hard time putting it down.  I'm looking forward to reading Tracie Peterson's next novel in this series which is coming out this summer called The Quarryman's Bride.  You can read an excerpt of the first chapter at the end of this book.  I would definitely recommend this book as a great summer read!

**I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.


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