Freedom’s Light by Colleen Coble is a Christian Romance set during the Revolutionary War. Hannah, a young woman who has escaped the intentions of a scoundrel, Galen, and married and older lighthouse keeper has her world upended when her husband, a member of the Continental forces under George Washington, dies early in the war. Her mother-in-law is not accepting of Hannah, and the town elders are not especially supportive of her, either, but Hannah is permitted to keep John’s job as the lighthouse keeper for the town’s
two lighthouses. To keep from being completely alone, Hannah sends for her younger sister Lydia. Lydia, Hannah sadly discovers, is completely enamored with Galen, the man Hannah escaped. Then there’s the shipwrecked enemy Hannah helps rescue, British Captain Birch Meredith. As Hannah nurses him back to health, she feels a connection with him, but cannot allow it to develop because, aside from being a Tory, he has turned his back on God and is consumed with vengeance for his brother’s death. Can Hannah get through to Birch about God? Is Birch really what he seems? Will Lydia ever realize the truth about Galen?
FYI: This novel has mature themes, but no “bedroom” type scenes or foul language. ( )

There are spoilers and warnings for this book.

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction.

My Rating: 1 star.

Recommadtion: 18 up.

My favorite character/s: I didn't like any of the characters, Birch, and Hannah seem childish, underdeveloped, and for them to act like they did when he was leaving was horrible. Lydia was worse than Lydia in Pride and Prejudice and Galen a lot like Geroge Wickham though he might be worse.

My thoughts: I did not read past page 126 because I was under the impression that this was writing as a Historical Christian Romance... But the behavior of the characters was in no way something I want to read; I was tempted to stop reading when Lydia snuck out to see Galen but thought it was because she wasn't making good choices, but after a woman started to try to seduce Birch I stopped reading! I have read other books by Colleen Cobles and even own some, but I'm not sure I will read more.
For all I know though it could have gotten better due to content can only give 1 star even though it pains me to leave a 1-star review on an author's work.

P.S. If anyone has read it and found redemptive qualities, please tell me! ( )

What a wonderful book! The descriptions, the characters, I was swept away by the first chapter and I hated to see the book end. ( )

58656

Title: Freedom’s Light
Author: Colleen Coble
Pages: 320
Year: 2018
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.

Hannah Thomas is a young, 18-year-old woman who has been married for a year to a man twenty years her senior. She married him to escape the unwanted advances of Galen, a childhood friend who she no longer considers to be a friend. John is a lighthouse keeper but quickly enlists in the Continental Army and leaves Hannah to tend the two lighthouses.

John is one of the first to be killed as a spy, but Hannah doesn’t believe he was a spy. Nevertheless, she is now a widow. She invites her younger sister, Lydia, to stay with her for a while. Lydia arrives but has her eye on any man in a red coat, serving in the English military. She longs to wed an Englishman, move to England and enjoy English society. If Lydia has her way, she will wed the man Hannah has rejected.

Birch Meredith poses as an English privateer, supplying English troops with supplies. He, however, has an ulterior motive. He is looking for the man who killed his brother, Charlie, so that he can exact his own retribution. Birch’s ship runs aground on the rocks close to Hannah’s lighthouse and she takes care of him while his broken leg heals. Their conversations are stimulating but she and he will never have a future as he is a Tory, and she is loyal to the colonies. What possible future can these two ever have as long as war wages?

Birch and Hannah develop a special friendship that is not focused on the different views of God or war, but on mutual respect. On one of his trips on the seas, Birch saves the life of a baby and brings it to Hannah to take care of while he sails. It helps ease the hours of loneliness for Hannah, but it also creates a problem with the local elders not to mention her sister Lydia.

Lydia is Hannah’s younger sister and a woman who is blind to a truth about the man she longs to marry. When Hannah tells her about Galen’s exploits and past behavior toward Hannah, Lydia refuses to believe it and goes on a dangerous path that leads to danger, and perhaps her ultimate demise.

For me, Colleen Coble has a style of writing that is easy to engage with, allows me to learn something new and gives me something to think about. This novel is no exception. Hannah and Birch dance around the issue of trust, politics and faith, which makes for an interesting relationship. Vengeance also plays a large role in the story as a motivation for more than one character’s actions. The Revolutionary War, which is the setting for this novel, is a period of time that I find vastly interesting, so I also liked that aspect of the story. I highly recommend reading the tale of faith, love, loss and perseverance. Grab a copy and enjoy an afternoon of swashing buckling adventure on the high seas, and on land!

Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. ( )