Beyond the Ashes: The Golden Gate Chronicles by Karen Barnett

Beyond the Ashes: The Golden Gate Chronicles – Book 2 – by Karen Barnett

This story takes place in California is the early 1900s. The main character, Ruby, decides to join her brother in his effort to help people in the hospital after the big San Francisco earthquake and firestorm. At first she has a hard time fitting in because she wasn’t use to the devastation, sickness, and poverty of the area. It was interesting to read about Dr. Gerald’s-a fellow doctor-work with xray machines and early cancer research and treatment.

I didn’t really care for Ruby because one minute she would be likeable and calm, and then the next minute totally rude and emotional. I had a hard time getting into the flow of the story and I didn’t particularly like the ending. I did like reading the medical and history part of it though.

This was book 2 if The Golden Gate Chronicles but can be read as a stand alone book. Clean, romantic, christian book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review on my blog and social media-all opinions are my own.

About the book:
Beyond the Ashes (Abingdon Press, June 2015)

Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?

Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.

Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.

Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?

About the author:
Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.

You can purchase the book from Amazon here: