In Quest of Zion

Kade Family Saga #1

by Laurel Mouritsen

For "Work and the Glory" fans, this riveting series follows a fascinating yet fictional pioneer family through accurate church history. In Vol. 1 a Latter-day Saint newspaper writer has his world turned upside down when he meets a woman far more than his match. See how mobs attack their city, chase them from their farms, and how they still come out victorious. Fall in love with the characters and read history that moves you! (Hardcover)

Genres: Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Lds Fiction, Lds, Religion

396 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very well done. It's similar to The Work and the Glory, but has less about the prophet and church and is mostly about the conversion and trials of a fictional family. It starts in 1833, about the time the persecution starts in Missouri. Lydia Dawson is living in Illinois and believes what she hears but her husband forbids her from attending the meetings or learning more about the church. After he dies in an accident, she moves to Missouri with her young children Elizabeth and James to find her friends Niels and Gerda Johanssen who moved there after joining the church. Lydia meets Christian Kade, a member who works for the church owned newspaper, and they marry shortly before being driven from the state by a mob. The end of the book leaves the reader wondering how things will work out for the family as they travel to Illinois, which I'm assuming will be covered in book two of this series.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful historical account of LDS people during their time of religious persecution in the USA. They were treated unfairly, robbed, injured and killed. The main character was easy to love. You could feel her struggles in life. At times too many characters were in the book that it was a bit hard to follow. At the end of the book, months and years were skipped over to wrap up the book. There are 2 other books in bv the series. I do not like that when it seems like an author has done a nice job and wrap 1-2 chapters very fast. Overall I really enjoyed the book. Clean reading which I appreciate.

[David Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As has been stated before, this book follows much the same plot structure as The Work and the Glory. I would say the writing here is every bit as good as the early volumes of that series. I do like the fact that we are following interactions with "known" members in church history, but not all the top ones as WATG did. I especially like the whole perspective on the problems in Missouri, and how and the factors that caused prominent and not so prominent members became disaffected over time. I am interested in reading the next volume.

[Angieluila Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite series. This is the 2nd time I read it.

[Evelyn Horsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting saga and will eventually read the second volume. When I started did not realize it was on the Mormon movement but the story of the family and their hardships is absorbing.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a couple who come together during the tragic circumstances of the Mormons being driven out of Missouri. The first three-quarters of the book is well-written and you get to know the main characters in engaging ways. The author brings the main characters together in a clever way and puts them in the middle of a tumultuous time.

Many LDS readers will want to compare this series to the well-known "The Work and the Glory" series by Gerald N. Lund. I feel this is an unfair comparison. The author of this series is not telling the story of the restoration of the Church, but rather telling the story of a fictional couple in the Church's history. With Lund's series the main characters are involved in almost every major event, however Mouritsen has a much smaller cast and they are involved in some of the major events, but not all of them. I feel it is a more realistic approach and still accomplishes the purpose of historical fiction. Also, Mouritsen brings in other historical aspects of the period that Lund never really dwelt on much. Mouritsen brings in political viewpoints that helped shape the thinking of citizens during the 1800s.

The biggest disappointment was the last quarter of the book. It rushed, literally rushed through about six years and you lost touch with the main characters. It is as if the author wanted to cover that time period but didn't have space to really develop it. They ended up summarizing a lot with a few scenes of action with the characters. The characters changed so rapidly that you really felt like you were reading another book. I wish the author would have taken more time or ended the book with the wedding of the two main characters.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot moves quickly, so it's easy to stay attentive and stay engaged. Some of the dialogue isn't as well written in my opinion. The historical context is well done. Overall it's well done. I appreciate how the series is more focused on how the early pioneers lived and experienced the restoration of the gospel. Contrast that with the Work and Glory that focuses on more of the established main characters of the restoration that we all know and love.

[B Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book - liked the story but skipped around too much - needed more details.

[Shirley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful.
Boring.

[Bethany Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt a bit rushed, but only because they are trying to cover a big chunk of church history. Fluffy, fun, great historical details. A nice read.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars...
I really liked this book until the last few chapters, when the author rushes through the expulsion from Missouri. I will continue with the next book. Similar to the Work and the Glory.

[Aleshia Lindhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the church history!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at the early Mormon pioneers. I had a hard time putting it down.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story.

Content: clean - mild violence

[Sal4gal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book ❤️

[BookNerdette · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎧 Audiobook
Listened on Blackstone Unlimited app
Narrated by Nancy Peterson

[Charity Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this first volume so much! It gave me the feel of The Work and the Glory, but in different points of view.

[Nicole Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so enthralled with the Kade family & their story! I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to a new pioneer LDS series! I love stories set during this time in history. I'm excited to read the other books in the series and follow along with the characters as they face challenges, hardship and growth!

[Emma Vaillincourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I saw it at on the shelf at a thrift store and it looked interesting. When I realized the main characters name was Lydia I was very hesitant because it felt like the authors were maybe trying to write their own version of Work and The Glory. However, when I kept reading it got better and I realized that it is a very different story to that of Work and The Glory and I found very entertaining.
My main problem with this book is that Lydias first husband Abraham, didn't need to be written in at all. It's called "The Kade family Saga" So it was pretty easy to guess that he wasn't going to be sticking around long. I can see why they included him in some areas it kind of helped the story get started but I feel writing him in was unnecessary.

[Dorry Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book with lots of church history. The characters and story around them are fictional. The events surrounding their lives seem very historically correct. Its the story of the early saints and all the persecution they went thru'. This book takes them from the several places they tried to live in Missouri to their being driven to Nauvoo Illinois when book No.2 begins. This is a 4 book series. The author does an excellent job making the story both exciting and having you wonder what will happen next.

[Emilou · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book, and I did enjoy it. I liked that the author gave the characters interesting backgrounds and I felt that they were relate-able in that aspect. However, the plot felt rushed in some places and in others it just dragged on. The author also was limited in what she wrote because everything was told through either Christian's point of view or Lydia's. There were some very emotional areas that she explained but the characters weren't present and thus missed out on a good scene. I felt that she told more than showed.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not a big fan of this book. I loved all of The Work and the Glory books so I thought I would like this one. But I didn't. It is really unusual for me also because when I start a series of books I feel like I need to read all of them but this book did not make me want to read the next ones at all.

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series isn't as good as The Work and the Glory but has kept my interest enough to start the next book in the series. I wish the author had put some interaction between the characters and Joseph Smith, but he is mostly just mentioned in passing.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this today. I liked it, but I did find myself skimming over a lot of the parts where the persecutions of the saints were going on, because for me those parts are hard to read. I enjoyed the romantic parts of it. It left me wanting to read the second volume.

[Kandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the beginning into Kade's family saga. I wish it went more in depth of time that past instead of jumping from present then you turn the page and it's 2 years later. But a good insight to the Joseph Smith time. Now i'm off to start volume 2.

[Michele Nell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is similar to the Work and the Glory series but not as well written. It was a very quick read for me.

[Jillybean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Work & the Glory by Gerald Lund is better, but this series isn't half bad. :)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute quick read. Nothing spectacular, but it was a good Sunday read.

[Gloriastargirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the whole series, just started and kept on going. Much like Work and the Glory, predictable and trite dialog. Still kind of and interesting story.