‘At Morning’s Light’ Book Review

At Morning’s Light is a heartwarming story about hope and restoration after grief. As Maya Bredesen journeys from her homeland of Norway to Iowa, tragedy strikes hard and fast. And when she’s still trying to recover from her first loss, grief strikes again. How can anything good come from so much pain? 

Main Themes

This theme shows up repeatedly in Lauraine Snelling and Kiersti Giron’s most recent novel. How can God bring anything good out of a difficult circumstance? But as these thoughtfully-written characters demonstrated, a silver lining can almost always be seen if we are looking for it.

Maya is deeply acquainted with grief and anger, yet she comes to realize that while God may have taken away, he has also given her many blessings. Amalia, Maya’s cousin and heroine from the first novel in the series, wrestles with the stress of caring for orphaned children while learning how to be a new wife and run her boardinghouse business. Amalia learns that the greatest joys in life are often found by extending patience and grace towards others.

Family is presented as vital for community and support, but the challenges of living closely with many other people is not sugar coated. It’s a beautiful picture of the importance of showing grace, being patient, and everyone pitching in to help. 

While At Morning’s Light is the second book in the Home to Green Creek Series, the authors have provided enough context that a new reader will understand the context of the broader story. But for the full picture of what happened to Amalia and Ruthie, you will want to read Land of Dreams first.

Faith Elements

This is a Christian story, through and through. Trusting God is central in the lives of many of the characters, as they explore what faith looks like in the trials and sorrows of life. The characters pray regularly and find comfort in the truths of Scripture as they encourage one another to keep leaning on God for comfort, wisdom, and guidance. 

Family Friendly Considerations (SPOILER ALERT)

The heavy themes of losing a husband and having a miscarriage are presented with tact and a beautiful arc of redemption, but might be triggering for certain audiences. Because of this, I’m not sure I can recommend an otherwise splendid novel for younger readers, although it is a beautiful story for older readers who will not be overly put out by the frailty of human life. 

Interested in Similar Reads?

If you loved At Morning’s Light and want more recommendations for historical romance set in the American Midwest or with immigrants finding a new life in America, check out these novels!

• A Moment to Love by Tracie Peterson
• These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas

Buy At Morning’s Light from the FamilyFiction Amazon Affiliate HERE!