Light in the Mountain Sky Review and GIVEAWAY!

About the Author

Book: Light in the Mountain Sky

Author: Misty M. Beller

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: September 29 , 2020

This epic journey may seal her fate forever.

Determined to prove her worth, Meksem fiercely fought to earn her place among the warriors in her Nez Perce camp. When her half-sister is captured by an enemy tribe, she refuses to trust the rescue to anyone else. But her new friends insist on joining her mission, and she battles between relief and frustration at their presence. Especially the white man who peers at her as if he can see through the face of the warrior she struggles so hard to maintain.

Spaniard Adam Vargas thrives on adventure wherever his travels take him. He’s fallen in love with this Rocky Mountain wilderness, as well as the spotted horses the Nez Perce tribe raise. His fascination with this Indian maiden-turned-warrior catches him off guard though, including the way she seems to be fighting for more than her sister’s safe return.

The journey proves more perilous than any of the group expects, and the secret Meksem hides becomes impossible to conceal. If they live through this mission, the life they knew will never be the same again.

From a USA Today bestselling author comes another epic journey through breathless landscapes and intense adventure.

Click HERE to get your copy!

About the Author

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and children now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

More from Misty

Early Nez Perce Business Women

As I’ve been researching for my current Call of the Rockies series, I’ve had the pleasure of diving deep into the culture of the Nez Perce tribe. I found it interesting that one of the primary food sources of The People (as they called themselves) was camas roots.

But what really drew my notice was how the women would cultivate entire fields of camas root, store what they needed for their family through the winter, then use the extras for bartering. Some savvy women would become quite wealthy from their business dealings!

The bulbs of the camas plant are full of calories and nutrients, and each fall, Nez Perce families would travel to their particular camas meadow (a section of land whose camas rights had probably been passed down from generation to generation within their family). Many of these meadows were located near present-day Weippe, Moscow or Grangeville, where the onion-shaped bulbs grew thickly.

Women used pointed wooden tools to harvest the bulbs, and could often gather over 50 pounds a day, satisfying their full winter’s supply within just a few days.

Native American peoples who ate camas include the Nez Perce (Nimíipuu), Cree, Coast Salish, Kalapuya, and Blackfoot, and Yakama, among many others. Not all of these people groups harvested camas themselves. Instead, many relied on trade in order to procure it. Trade networks were established all the way from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean, and a shrewd businesswoman who tended her camas meadows well could provide everything her family needed and more!

My Review

Once again, Misty Beller pens a heartwarming historical romance novel, Light in the Mountain Sky, book 3 in her Call of the Rockies series. While it can stand alone, I would highly recommend reading these books in order; doing so will provide background information about and connections between the characters. This third book takes place in 1831, in future Idaho territory, and it highlights the conflict and warring amongst the Native American tribes. In this story, some of the Blackfoot have stolen several women and a child, among them a young woman named Telipe, whose sister Meksem is determined to rescue her.

Often it seems difficult to believe that an author can write an entire story about a desolate wilderness trip and still make it interesting enough to keep the reader engaged, yet Beller always accomplishes this with aplomb. There are enough action scenes to increase a reader’s heart rate, but they are not overdone and seem plausible given the circumstances. Tesoro stole my heart from the start! Descriptions of the Rocky Mountains, through which the group in this story travel in their quest, demonstrate its natural beauty while also warning of its pitfalls. Given that the setting is during winter, these hazards with the weather will continue throughout the narrative, and I now have a deeper respect for those taught to read the land.

Unsurprisingly, the best part of Light in the Mountain Sky is the characters, who are familiar from the previous book in the series. Primarily focusing on Meksem, a Nez Perce and formerly Salish woman who will not rest until she brings back her sister, safe and sound, this novel is a fascinating character study. In an effort to insulate herself against the pain of relationships and lost loved ones, Meksem has trained herself to become a warrior and has disavowed romance, but she begins questioning that decision around Adam Vargas. I think that Adam is my favorite character, largely due to his special way with animals but also because he is very intuitive when it comes to Meksem. “But something more was missing. A purpose she’d been created for. Maybe, if she sought hard enough, she would finally find that missing piece.” They both experience a spiritual metanoia during their journey, and while this could be very cliched and melodramatic, Beller crafts it skillfully to be both meaningful and natural. “Hope slipped into her chest. She’d heard of the white man’s Bible but hadn’t realized the book contained directions from God Himself. This way she could learn about the One she’d committed her life to.” Just as with Meksem, God yearns for us to draw close to Him, and when we do, we truly experience our heart’s desire (Psalm 27:4).

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 stars ♥♥♥♥♥

Blog Stops

Through the Fire Blogs, October 13

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deb’s Book Review, October 14

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For the Love of Literature, October 16

Betti Mace, October 16

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Inklings and notions, October 18

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, October 18

jeanette’s Thoughts, October 18

Older & Smarter?, October 19

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 19

For Him and My Family, October 20

Mary Hake, October 20

She Lives To Read, October 21

Writing from the Heart Land, October 21

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 22

Simple Harvest Reads, October 22 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Artistic Nobody, October 23 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Blossoms and Blessings, October 23

Ashley’s Bookshelf, October 24

reviewingbooksplusmore, October 24

Bizwings Blog, October 24

Connie’s History Classroom, October 25

Book Love, October 25 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Sara Jane Jacobs, October 26

Bigreadersite, October 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/101f7/light-in-the-mountain-sky-celebration-tour-giveaway