Morning's Refrain

Song of Alaska #2

by Tracie Peterson

As dark family secrets threaten the tranquility of the life he's come to love, Dalton Lindquist must make difficult choices about the future. To complicate matters, Phoebe Robbins falls into his life quite literally when Dalton rescues her after she tumbles overboard in the Sitka Harbor. He quickly loses his heart.

But Dalton is not the only one who decides to seek Phoebe's attention--his best friend, Yuri, decides to court her when Dalton must travel from Sitka. But when Dalton realizes the depth of his love for Phoebe and returns, the two friends find that their battle for Phoebe's admiration is only the start of the problems that face them.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Christian, Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Tracie Peterson is a bestselling author who writes in both historical and contemporary genres. Her novels reveal her love for research as well as her strong desire to develop emotionally meaningful characters and stories for her readers. Tracie and her family live in Montana.

pen name: Janelle Jamison

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

***4.5 stars***
I really enjoyed reading Morning's Refrain, however I just feel like there was something missing. There was very little action and any conflict was resolved very easily. I really thought Dalton would wrestle more with his family and their influence. I also thought his older brothers would cause more problems for Dalton and Evie since they weren't in prison and were making threats against them. That whole situation seemed to resolve very quickly. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but made the book a little slower. That being said, I still enjoyed this book as I do pretty much all of Tracie Peterson's stories. It had a strong spiritual message, it was rich in historical and cultural details as well as very descriptive of the beauty of Alaska. I hope to go there someday and will be looking for locations I read about in Mrs. Peterson's books! Looking forward to reading #3 soon!

I will add that this book could be read as a standalone, but would be best enjoyed after reading Dawn's Prelude or you might feel a bit lost.

[Andrea Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Themes of contentment always find me these days. I loved the journey toward contentment that Phoebe experienced in this book.

I was so grateful and excited that Evie was back and had a chance at true romance. It was disheartening to see a side character lived a double life that included sexual perversion, but I was very glad to see Evie did not condone this sin. (The perversion was only mentioned, not shown, thankfully.)

It was fun to see this story picked up the next generation of Lindquists. I’m eager to discover which generation will be featured in the final installment.

Content: mention of a character’s sexual perversion, alcohol, suicide, gambling

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread...I just didn’t care for the characters as much this time around. They were a little whiny.

[Sarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed catching up again with Lydia and Evie from and seeing Dolton all grown up. I enjoyed book 1 a bit more, I think mainly because there was a bit more suspense included in that one.

Even though Dolton had questions about his past, you could clearly see the influence Lydia and Kjell had on him and contributing to the good man he was. Even though his courtship with Phoeboe were brief, I enjoyed how they didn't play games and knew what they wanted.

Again, the characters had a few spiritual lessons to learn in their journey and I especially liked how Zelda was angry with the missionaries who tried to control the local people and get them to conform to the white peoples' way in order to be "saved". How often do we actually push people away because we think they need to fit our "mold" for Christianity, instead of just introducing Jesus to them as is.

Looking forward to reading the third and final book in this series.

[Oliviana Georgescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Citind Preludiul zorilor, primul volum din seria cu titlu atât de frumos, Cântec din Alaska, am descoperit cu plăcere o poveste scrisă cu multă sensibilitate, despre puterea de a merge mai departe, despre încredere, demnitate și onoare, despre a doua șansă și miracolul unui nou început, așa că volumul al doilea, Refrenul dimineții, nu a avut de așteptat, luându-l imediat la citit, dornică să aflu ce s-a mai întâmplat în viețile personajelor. 

Sitka, Alaska, iunie 1889
Acțiunea din acest volum se petrece la aproape douăzeci de ani după evenimentele din primul volum și îl are în prim plan pe Dalton Lindquist, fiul Lydiei, protagonista primului volum. Și de această dată avem parte de o poveste caldă, plină de pozitivitate, cu lecții de viață din care se pot desprinde exemple demne de urmat, cu îndemnuri la bunătate, speranță, îngăduință, iertare, credință și iubire și cu trimiteri la exemple biblice. O poveste despre secrete de familie, prietenie, tentații, responsabilitate, alegeri și șanse... 
Întâmplările din cartea de față se întind pe câteva luni de zile, între iunie 1889 și aprilie 1890, dar e incredibil cât de multe se vor petrece în viețile personajelor în această perioadă relativ scurtă de timp.
https://www.delicateseliterare.ro/ref...

[Puiu Mirela · Rating 4 out of 5]

❄️💜 În al doilea volum al seriei, ,,Refrenul dimineții'', îi avem protagoniști pe Dalton, fiul Lydiei și al lui Kjell, și Phoebe, doi tineri diferiți, cărora destinul le rezervă multe surprize, unele frumoase, altele triste.
❄️💜 Dalton știe că nașterea sa a avut loc sub auspicii mai puțin plăcute, existând un secret bine tăinuit de părinții săi. A crescut înconjurat de iubire, credință, bunătate, dar mereu a simțit că ceva lipsește din viața sa. Iar totul are legătură cu trecutul mamei sale, trecut pe care el dorește să îl readucă la suprafață pentru a se simți complet. Nu are habar că va readuce însă, în viața tuturor, haosul și amărăciunea.
❄️💜 Phoebe ajunge în orășelul Sitka din Alaska datorită serviciului tatălui său, aflat în serviciul noului guvernator al zonei, fără a avea speranța unei vieți frumoase. Tot ce își dorește este să treacă timpul cât mai repede și să se întoarcă acasă. Întâlnirea cu Dalton, care o salvează de la înec, îi va schimba viața complet.
❄️💜 Iubirea dintre Dalton și Phoebe ia naștere pe neașteptate, luându-i prin surprindere pe amândoi. Însă nimic nu este atât de simplu precum pare. Amândoi au de învățat câteva lecții de viață, chiar dacă trebuie să simtă pe propria piele sentimentul pierderii și al amărăciunii.

[Aszha Luedecke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! What a sweet book..romance, action, mending friendships. I love that Tracie continues the stories of the sub characters as well. Off to the next book in the series.

[Mariab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book, a delight love story, very good lessons learned from reading.

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't really a bad book, and the storylines were pretty interesting, but I always tend to prefer a character-driven novel, and the characters in this book largely rubbed me the wrong way.

First, Yuri's "good" character never was portrayed. So all I got of him was an annoying, prideful, I-want-my-way kind of guy. I didn't know why Phoebe liked him at all, (even as a friend) and I especially don't know why Dalton liked him. I would have appreciated if their childhood friendship had been established. If the plot developed that and focused on their competition more, it would have been more intriguing. Also, the way Yuri just opened up about his weaknesses at the end was just unrealistic. No man is like that.

What bugged me about Dalton was that he seemed very weak. He needed help pursuing Phoebe. He couldn't understand his mother's reason for hiding the traumatic past, and he didn't know how to handle his familial Gray pedigree. Also, I didn't get a strong grasp of his personality. When interacting with Phoebe, he was this joking, teasing, fun-loving guy. But with Evie, he was a bland, no-personality, but caring brother. I honestly can't tell you one personality trait that he consistently had throughout the book.

I generally liked Lydia in the first book, but she seemed entirely overbearing in this one. The amount she worried about Dalton meeting his brothers--and she repeated the same worry over and over--got extremely tiring by the third time she mentioned it. That plot point could have added something to the story, but it didn't develop into anything. Plus, she mentioned that she didn't think the Grays could be "redeemed", but that glaring unbiblical belief was never really addressed. It did make me wonder if one of the Gray siblings had changed, but ... speaking of that ...

For all of Lydia's warnings that Marston and Mitchell were "manipulative", well, they were completely unnecessary. From the first meeting, they insulted everyone Dalton and Evie cared about. That's not a manipulative tactic. Manipulative people don't blurt out all of their opinions. There was no way Dalton would think, "Huh, maybe my mother was overreacting. My siblings aren't too bad." I felt the way Evie acted around her siblings was also a little unrealistic, although it was nice to see that she didn't feel as confident as she acted.

Phoebe was a good character, and the heartbreaking plot twist that affected her plotline was done very well. (But very heartbreaking) I also liked her relationship with her mother, and kind of how she hated living in Sitka at first. (Although we didn't actually see much of her hating Sitka, we only heard her talk about it)

The plot of this story definitely had a lot of potential, and the plot was good. I just felt that there wasn't enough character development and structure to actually convey the plot.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was even better than the first book. The characters seemed much more real in this one and while there were conflicts between characters it was more believable since Dalton's brothers played a very minor role in the story. I loved seeing how Dalton dealt with their truly evil characters and it made his faith stronger. Can't wait until the next book comes out!

[Btrflies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. I was entertained and kept me interested. I was surprised that reading it made me feel more positive about my life. Very good lessons learned from reading, reinforcing the way I should be living my life and changing my attitude and perspective. For that alone I would recommend to everyone to read.

[Lorita Hadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Once again an easy read from Tracie Peterson. The time period and setting are fascinating to me. Not particularly fond of the abrupt ending. She definitely leaves you wanting to know more about the lives and happenings of her characters.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good historical suspenseful romance. I really loved the character building and the plot. It deals with several hard issues very well.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morning’s Refrain is an excellent continuation of the Song of Alaska series. I’m so glad we got to read Dalton’s story. Dalton is just turning 18 and learning the truth about his past. Phoebe is moving to Sitka with her family and discovering all this new place has to offer, including the handsome Dalton. I’m not sure I am 100% on board with how most of the love stories in this series revolve around love at first sight. It makes the falling in love seem very quick. I can see it being a theme of the series, but part of me wants them to get to know each other more before I am convinced they are actually in love. My favorite aspect of this book was that it was not predictable or did not follow the common path. With the way Dalton acted in the beginning, I fully expected him to go to Kansas City, trust his Gray relatives, get into trouble because of their underhanded dealings, learn his lesson, make things right, and return to Alaska having grown and with a better appreciation for what he already had. However, this common route was not the one taken, and I was so happy for it. Instead, he learns more about his past, goes to Kansas City, and proves himself to already be a strong and intelligent man able to stand his ground against his crafty siblings. I also enjoyed how Phoebe and Dalton were able to put their differences aside quickly, and we didn’t have to spend half of the book listening to them argue. I think the first book was more dramatic and action packed, but this one was still very fast paced with its own generous share of epic moments. Altogether, if you enjoyed Dawn’s Prelude, you will be more than happy with Morning’s Refrain.

[J Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes so much more sense after reading Dawn's Prelude. Chapter 1 of Morning's Refrain fills in all the necessary details from Dawn's Prelude. Setting is Sitka, Alaska. My first Tracie Peterson book to read/listen to. No cursing, nothing objectionable. Christian. Main character will not kiss his bride until the wedding. Broaches homosexuality (briefly, with no detail) and drinking. A love story with a little of Alaska thrown in. It's not as syrupy sweet and romantic as some other Christian novels I have read. I would put it in a different category, although this type of book is not my favorite (Christian romance). It is tastefully done. Takes place in 1870s to 1890s, Sitka, Alaska.

[Jenny Balagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first book more in the series! The first held so many mysteries about the past lives of characters, I was hoping to see more of them answered in the second book.

I felt like there was a lot of repeated dialogue like “I worry about my son” and “his brothers are mean”. It was a little too much at times. And for his brothers, I really hoped there would have been more with that plot line, but it ended quickly and didn’t really add to the story.

I feel like the ending was a little abrupt, they could have told us more about how everyone was doing in their life before it ended, to have known the characters better and their growth- maybe you learn more in the third book?

Overall, it was okay. The first book was better. I don’t know if I’ll read the third.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice continuation of this series.
I was a bit confused to start off with, as the story had jumped 18 years from the last book. It took me a while to get into this book to be honest.
This was mainly Phoebe and Dalton's story, but the rest of the family are, of course, involved too. Dalton met his family as he wanted to find out more about his past. I liked Evie in this book too. There are a lot of different themes in this book - trust in God, learning to be content in all circumstances, friendship etc.
I'd say this book is historical fiction/romance/family saga. I borrowed the audio book via audible. Looking forward to the last book.

[Crissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so happy that I found book 2 right after finishing book 1. I so rarely do that. This book picks up with Dalton as a young man. I thought this was a good point to pick up the story and loved how they introduced the new characters into the story, especially his siblings.
I had wondered whose story we were going to pick up in the second and third books as there were so many options. I was bummed that poor Dalton hadn't been told about his family history just so he was aware of the danger he had faced and how things really came to be.
Looking forward to grabbing number 3.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morning’s Refrain takes place 19 years after Dawn’s Prelude. Dalton Lindquist is the main focus of this story. He has questions about his past. We are also introduced to Phoebe Robbins and her family who come to Sitka with the Governor of Alaska. There are characters that reprise there roles from the first book. There are also new characters along with the Robbins. Although she wasn’t the main focus I’m glad that we did get more of Evie’s story in this book. In all this was a good book. I’m looking forward to the last book in this series. Definitely recommend.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

1889 Sitka, AK
Dalton and Phoebe
I was intrigued with the setting in this book. I liked that it was set in Alaska, but it could have been in any time frame. There wasn't much in the book to remind me that it was the 1800s. I didn't feel much affection for the characters. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, so I thought maybe the evil brothers would follow Dalton back to AK for a confrontation. That didn't happen though. The ending was weak and boring.

[April Kelcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it were not for the spots of humor, this would have been a very disappointing book, more along the lines of a mild romance novel. The "historical" part of fiction was not well developed at all and while the Christian themes used good doctrine, they were not really inserted in a way that you could see God working in the lives of the characters in a unique and clear way.

[Jeanette Durkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Tracie Peterson! I love the setting of Alaska and Tracie brings it to life! The story follows some of the same characters from the first book and adds in some new ones. I really enjoyed getting to know Phoebe and join her on her journey. As always, faith in God is threaded throughout the book! A definite must read!

[Mary Shreffler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoebe goes to Alaska with her parents and brothers. Her first misstep is getting off the ship. Dalton is there to swim to the rescue. As the weeks and months pass Phoebe falls in love with Dalton but he has to go back to St Louis and meet his brothers who had kidnapped and tried to kill his mother. When he returns to Silka he asks Phoebe to marry him

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this. It has a refreshing twist to the basic love story. There isn't a lot of...well, there is no sex. It's Christian-based and just very wholesome.

[Georgianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving this series and how all the characters in book one are present in book two!

[Rita Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tracie Peterson is one of my top five authors and she never lets me down when I read one of her new books!!!

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dalton, the secrets that surround him and his birth, to this day they still hush their conversations. His half sister, again the secrets and he is on the outside.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Christian book including lots of information about Sitka Alaska.

[Jennifer Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I love historical fiction

[Lori Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book immensley. Especially the title appealed to my musicianship and it was interesting how the author included it in the book.