Treasure of the North

Treasures of The North (Yukon Quest Book #1), by Tracie Peterson
Media: ebook - Nook
Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation:  I would recommend this novel for those who enjoy both Christian novels with focus on relying on God as well as those who like old west novels, novels about the gold rush and romance.


Treasures of the North is the story of a young woman, Grace Hawkin, who travels to the Yukon with her governess, Karen Pierce, to escape the potential to marry an abusive man.  Karen travels to the Yukon in hopes of finding her father who has gone missing during a missionary trip among the natives in Alaksa.  Along the way they met and make new friends in Peter Colton, a ship captain who sees the gold rush as a way help establish the family shipping business and Bill, a widower who packs his kids up to head north in hopes of achieving riches with the gold to be found.  Martin Paxton makes his way to the Yukon unbeknown to Grace and Karen.  Martin continues to manipulate her family to bring down their ruin, and he is determined to bring down Grace as well.

This is one of those novels that you can find yourself getting lost in and lose complete track of time.  I almost finished it in one night.  The story is compelling, the characters are thrilling, and you find yourself hoping each of their dreams come true (aside from Martin who you love to loathe).   There are a lot of references to religion and God throughout the novel, so if that is not something you dislike, this isn't a book for you.  That being said those references were done very well, it displayed the beliefs of Grace and Karen, and sometimes Peter.   It added quality to each of the characters to see how their faith fit into their lives. 

Peterson does a wonderful job with this story. It flows nicely and the changes in storylines, meaning changing to the different characters flowed together well. Readers aren't left wondering what is happening or where the story is headed.  There are questions that arise and go unanswered, but that is why there is a second book in the series.  The novel doesn't necessarily end, but prepare readers for the next novel.  It almost leaves you hanging which drops the rating down slightly.

Will I return to it?  I am not sure if I would return to this particular novel, but I will continue to read the series.