Hello everyone!
We're actually halfway through now, since I've already said I won't be taking a look at the last two books in the series.
And boy, does the action pick up in this one!
To be clear, none of it is ACTUAL action - this is not an action book, it's a Christian one, historic fiction, and romance - but there is definitely a lot going on at the same time, not to mention a lot of challenges for our heroes to face.
What I've always enjoyed about these specific books was the fact that they showed a married couple going through trials and tribulations, and coming out stronger on the other side.
... it also helps that I've always seen Stephen Amell as Wynn, after the movie he starred in.
So without further ado, let's have a look at When Breaks the Dawn, shall we?
You will find links to both the previous books and the other When Calls the Heart-related content down at the bottom of this page, as always.
If you recall, Elizabeth met Wynn when she was out west teaching, then after they got married he was posted to the North (well alright, he got his posting right before marriage and they hurried it up), where she needed to adjust to life without a lot of the stuff she'd been used to before, and also, more importantly, a life among the natives who occupied the area at the time.
While the first was an introductory book, the second was a bridge to the one we're in now.
In When Breaks the Dawn, Nimmie and her trader husband finally return from civilization with new items for the store, as well as greetings and blessings from Elizabeth and Wynn's family in Calgary, but they can't just throw up a new trading post overnight, which is why the Mountie cabin is used for just about everything for a little while.
More importantly, however, Nimmie's finally pregnant, and this is a massive plotline in this book.
Nimmie had been married for ten years at least if not more, and had never gotten pregnant up until that point in time, so she's over the moon to carry to term and give birth to a daughter, Nonita. Over the course of the book, as the trading post goes up and her home is now rebuilt, so Elizabeth gets her own house back, this is a massive plot because Elizabeth yearns for a child herself, to no avail.
And even though she has Nimmie's example, she isn't exactly being patient, either.
Still, she and Wynn have finally settled, so she can turn her attention to other details that have nothing to do with survival and everything to do with what she considers is her mission here on Earth, which is to teach, and so she and Nimme finally get permission from the chief in the big village to start a school.
This corresponds well with Elizabeth's skills and she's content on that account, but there are other forces outside working against them, taking Wynn from her quite often. One of the more obvious cases is against a woman called Crazy Mary, who seems to be encroaching on other trapper territory, so Wynn has to deal with that.
Before he can do that, though, a sickness comes to their village because of another harsh winter, bringing death right along on its wings - and taking Nonita, even though Nimmie's other child, a son, seems to be sicklier. Still, Nimmie gets pregnant again afterwards quite fast, and it's another reminder to Elizabeth that she has no little one of her own.
She is also incredibly lonely in this book, more so than in the second one, and instead of leaning on Wynn for support she pulls away from the man, as if he weren't her husband, something he gently chides her for afterwards, saying he, too, feels the miles between them and their families.
And it's hard when Crazy Mary passes away after he locks her up, too.
But not as hard as when other things start happening, like them fostering children. They foster two in this book, Susie and Samuel, and neither one sticks: Susie stays with them while her mother is recovering from the birth of twins and there's no room in the cabin, but eventually they all move to the big village to be closer to family again, which breaks Elizabeth's heart.
Samuel, on the other hand, is just a baby when they get him, after the passing of his mother, and both she and Wynn fall in love with the little boy and think that this might be it - until Samuel's father returns with his new bride and claims the boy for his own once more.
It's a rollercoaster of back and forth in this book, to be honest, because even though Elizabeth goes to a doctor in the city to see whether or not something might be wrong with her, the doctor sees no real reason why she can't have children (which does beg the question if it might be Wynn's problem then, but that's never investigated), so she returns to the North with more questions than answers.
But she DOES return, something Wynn was worried about, though his wife assures him the North is her home now, regardless of the luxuries in the city.
And as they find a new rhythm again, news comes out of headquarters for a new posting for them, only two years after they'd settled at Beaver River - it's time to move even further out North, to another village that might have even less than their current one does.
So, saying goodbye to their friends, the Delaneys do just that: pack up, and go.
And we'll have a look at their final adventure in book form next week.
In contrast to the previous one, this is a very theme-heavy book, between religion (Elizabeth instructs Nimmie about God and they study the Scriptures together), the pregnancy issues, schooling, harsh winters and sickness, and I feel like the author did a good job at capturing moments out of time, though a lot of it was really exposition as large chunks of time seem to pass with a few sentences, and quite often at that.
Plus, it's really interesting (and occasionally annoying) that Elizabeth doesn't actually look at Nimmie's example more when it comes to pregnancy and waiting, only mentions it in passing. I thought this was a missed opportunity for a parallel, but oh well.
Certainly our heroine is a lot less whiny than she was in the second book, which is good to read again, and her husband is out and about so much he isn't quite a permanent fixture anymore, but he IS still there.
And in the end, this book does kill time over a rainy afternoon, answering questions you might have had about things from the second, and leading in to the finale.
So tune in next week!
xx
*image not mine
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