Until The Dawn

by Gale Sears

The year is 1914 and the world hovers on the edge of a great war. Life in America is far from peaceful for members of the Lund family. As Alaina deals with the painful loss of her home and her father, she makes a desperate choice and finds herself in a strange city among people of a strange faith. Her husband is a good man -- but a man she has never loved. As she copes with the emptiness she feels, something in her heart begins to change . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Lds Fiction, Lds, Christian Fiction

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was also a great book! My favorite from the series is "Upon the Mountains" but this book shares the story of a young couple moving to Utah from California and working so hard to make a living while the wife tries to accept her husband's "weird" religiion (LDS).

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading this, I had no idea it was a series but it felt like there was more to the story. I really enjoyed the book and the history it portrays. The story told from different areas of the country and the world was interesting. Sadly, the events in Ukraine right now seemed to fit right into history.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! The way that the author weaves in the starting of WWI with the various characters is so well done. It really made this part of history seem so much more real, more accessible in my mind. That two of the characters in Belgium were real made it all the more poignant and believable. I highly recommend this book!

[Kathleen Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the two previous books I’ve read by this author, but it was free and I listened to the audio book so it went pretty fast.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite. I felt like it was trying to do too many different things at once and didn’t really finish any of them.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and the way the characters interacted to their betterment.

[Victoria Lambertsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awkward. Not much here and no where to go.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Sears book.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until The Dawn by Gale Sears

This second in this series is more vast in scope than Gale's first vol, as it brings in some issues from the turn of the century. Alaina and Nephi move from the Sierras of California to the bustling noise of automobiles of Salt Lake City in 1914. After a marriage of convenience, Alaina finds she has actually fallen in love with Nephi. They move in with Nephi's mother Patience and Alaina finds solace with Nephi's paternal grandather and is able to find some peace in caring for his orchards. Eleanor, Alaina's younger sister, moves in with her mother and younger sister in their aunt's house on Beacon Street in San Francisco. Eleanor becomes friends with the servants and finds peace in helping young Chinese girls from being abused and finds she wants to be a nurse. James stays in Sutters Creek to work with horses on a ranch and keep an eye on the old family farm that has fallen in disrepair. Philomene, the schoolteacher in Sutters Creek, travels to Brussels, Belguim, to visit her Aunt Hannah and gets embroiled in the start of World War I. This is such a rich saga of the turning of the century, where things are more simple. I highly recommend this wonderful novel to everyone who wants to learn more about a bygone era.

[Linnae · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Samuel Lund dies, his family is scattered: Alaina marries the Mormon farmhand who had come to help out on the farm, his son James goes to work in the stables for a neighbor, and his wife takes the two younger daughters to live with a sister in the city. While Alaina struggles to fit in with her new family and community, her sister Eleanor chafes against the will of her grieving mother, and James worries about them all but doesn't know what to do to help. The baby, Katherine, is spoiled rotten and just adds to the problems between her mother and older sister. Meanwhile, the schoolteacher who taught all 4 of them, Philomene, heads over to Europe for the summer for some mind-broadening travel. Philomene is in Belgium when WWI breaks out.

Follows the lives of the Lunds and Philomene, as well as puts a personal face on what it may have been like to be in Belgium during those perilous times. For all that happens, this is a hopeful story. People learn from mistakes, and learn to reach out to those around them for support when needed.

Apparently this is the second book in a trilogy. I guess now I need to go back and track down #'s 1 and 3. It felt like there was a bit more explaining to do!

[Rayni]

Book 2 of 3 books Until the Dawn
Review from Covenant Books:
The year is 1914 and the world hovers on the edge of a great war. Life in America is far from peaceful for members of the Lund family. As Alaina deals with the painful loss of her home and her father, she makes a desperate choice and finds herself in a strange city among people of a strange faith. Her husband is a good man—but a man she has never loved. As she copes with the emptiness she feels, something in her heart begins to change ...

Meanwhile her sister Eleanor finds the lifestyle in San Francisco suffocating and without purpose. As she defies high-society rules and secretly attempts to stop the unnecessary suffering of children, she comes to find a passion in medicine. But when her actions are discovered, what will happen?

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The year is 1914 and the world hovers on the edge of a great war. Life in America is far from peaceful for members of the Lund family. As Alaina deals with the painful loss of her home and her father, she makes a desperate choice and finds herself in a strange city among people of a strange faith. Her husband is a good man — but a man she has never loved. As she copes with the emptiness she feels, something in her heart begins to change . . .

Meanwhile her sister Eleanor finds the lifestyle in San Francisco suffocating and without purpose. As she defies high-society rules and secretly attempts to stop the unnecessary suffering of children, she comes to find a passion in medicine. But when her actions are discovered, what will happen? Join gifted author Gale Sears in an eloquent and moving story of love, family, and forgiveness.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, if I had known that this was the middle part of a series, I would not have read it. (At least not before the first book.) Nowhere on the book was it mentioned that it was a continuing story, but as I was reading, it seemed like there was a back stories that I should have known about. It also explains why there really wasn't much of an ending to this book either. Maybe I would have liked and appreciated the book more if I had read the first book, Autumn Sky, before reading this one. I also deducted a star from my rating due to typos. Twice in the book it said "Austria-Hungry" rather than "Austria-Hungary". (And it's not that they were remarking on the status of Austria's stomach!) It's just one of my pet peeves to read a publication with typos. It tends to bring me out of the story and back into reality.

[Dorry Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book had too many characters, or they were in too many different places. I would just get interested in one and the next chapter would be someone else....It was set in the year 1914 when the world was on the edge of a great war. Much of it told of what happened to Brussels as the Germans took over the city. Some of the better parts were a girl coming to Utah with a husband she married for convenience and trying to understand his strange religion. It had some interesting parts but its not a book I would recomment.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Gale Sears' "Autumn Sky." I enjoyed getting more acquinted with the Lund familiy as their story continued. They are separated from each other and Sears touches on each of their lives. School teacher Philomene Johnson becomes a main character in this book. Her trip to visit her great-aunt in Brussels during the summer leads us into the war as Belgium is overtaken by Germany.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for historical fiction, so I enjoyed it in that sense. I also liked how the book had a few different plot lines, with all the characters connected in some way. I also think that kept each storyline from developing as much as I would have liked, though. And I feel like it was one of those where 10 pages from the end I'm going, "Hmmm....are they really going to end this in 10 pages?" and then they magically do, but not well. All in all, good...not great.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes place in the early 1900's where life is changing at a dramatic pace. The Lund family finds themselves torn apart after the death of their father. Annaliese marries an LDS man and moves to Salt Lake, Eleanor finds herself smothered in the home of her mother in California, and their teacher Philomene finds herself on the front lines of WWI. The characters were all lovable and the story entertaining.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine read this too and she said: "Boy - this lady sure doesn't know how to END books." I think I've pontificated before about how, even if a book is part of a series, it should have some kind of a satisfying ending. This one was a little better than the last one and overall I enjoyed it.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book because part of the story takes place a few blocks from where I currently live.. The book is much more than I expected. The family is scattered from Salt Lake City, Ut. to San Francisco, Ca. to Sutters Creek, Ca. and far away Brussels. Love, hate, war, injustice, forgiveness, hope, faith, compassion and many more emotions surface throughout the book. Loved it!

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first LDS book, but it wasn't really. It was a story about 3 groups of people who knew each other and what was going on in their lives. Each chapter jumped between people, but in the end it was really a love story. Nephi Erickson was my favorite character.

[Tiffany Southern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I read by this author, but I loved it. I didn't read the first book (Autumn Sky) before this one, but I was still able to know what had happed previously and enjoy the book. It is historical fiction but if you like LDS authors, you'll love this book.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to Autumn Sky, set in the era of the Great War (World War I), in California and also Salt Lake City, UT. You have to have read the prequel in order to enjoy it, but relatively entertaining LDS historical fiction.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I need to find the first in the series. I enjoyed the story, but felt things were not resolved. Now that I know its a series, it makes more sense. I may rate it better after I read the rest of the series.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a lot of LDS Fiction. This one was a bit different than most. It had a woman, Alaina, that had to marry an LDS man to get away from an evil man. It had a good ending, and seemed pretty true to the time period. Decent for LDS fiction.

[Ndshill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to this book as I drove from Utah to AZ. The characters are interesting and engaging.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I liked this book, I didn't love it as much as the first in the series. There were parts where I wanted to skip to the characters I liked better. I'm excited to read the final volume.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Terri W · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't finish it--yuck

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book! not as good as the first, but very good!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this book switches authors and you get the story from different angles. Fun mix of close sibling ties, falling in love, and history all in one.