Reviews

Fire by Night by Lynn Austin

forestidylls's review

4.0

Excellent, well-written, sobering, but still inspiring. Some parts I didn't like but I feel like that's the same with most books.

mrsbrharris's review

3.0

Took me a little longer to get into this one because of the two stories told simultaneously. It got better as it went; I found the character development very profound and something I could relate to.

debs4jc's review

plot summary: what happens, when & where, central characters, major conflicts[return]julia hoffman joins the crowd watching the battle of bull run at the start of the civil war, certain that the union army will easily chase the confederates back to where they belong. she is terrified when the battle turns the other way and horrified when artillery shells start falling around their carriage. the young minister she was hoping to impress, nathaniel, jumps out to help the wounded soldiers, but julia is too frightened to stay and urges her driver to rush her home. later she overhears natheniel describe her as selfish and spoiled and this remark leads her to do some soul searching and determine to change the course of her life. meanwhile, a young woman named phoebe (nicknamed ike) is dismayed when her brothers join the army and leave her to babysit a bunch of onery kids for a local townswoman. she decides that since she can shoot just as well as her brothers she will join the army as well so she disguises herself as a man and does just that. little does she know that being in the company of men will burden her with a secret love.[return][return][return][return][return][return][return]style characterisics: pacing, clarity, structure, narrative devices, etc.[return]while the story shifts regularly from julia to phoebe, it seems to focus more on julia. the main themes are inner transformation and the role of woman--do they have to be subsumed by their husbands or can they live independent lives? and of course the tragedies of the civil war are played out before the reader and this provides plenty of fodder for dramatic situations and soul seeking. both julia and phoebe get close to the action (as nurses or as a soldier in phoebe's case) although their inner conflicts and their relational struggles seem to provide more of the conflict for the story. julia works for a gruff doctor named james, whom she feels an odd attraction for, which causes her to fall into the dilemma of having feelings for a supposedly married man while being engaged to another. and phoebe loves her soldier friend ted, but when he finds out her secret how will he feel about her? [return][return][return][return][return][return][return]how good is it?[return]a solid story with convincing characters. i wasn't always sure about the messages being put forth, or the typical romanantic plotting, which was very predictable and doesn't provide the best example. and the agenda of the author seemed just a bit too obvious.

justicepirate's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars!
This book being the sequel to Candle in the Darkness (which I gave 5 stars to) didn't exactly meet the expectations I had. I loved the first book so very dearly (it made me cry, this one didn't), but this one, instead of focusing on the slavery during the Civil War period as the first one did, focused more on two different women and how they helped the Union army. I guess because I know the first and third books are about slavery (and I'm an abolitionist for Justice-network.org), I was hoping this would talk more about it. It was mentioned but was a background thing, not much of a foreground. It was definitely good though.

The first person we learn about is Julia, Caroline's cousin who we had met for a period during the first book. Her heart desires Nathaniel Greene, the minister. I think partly why I didn't enjoy this book so much is because in the first book he was all about abolition but he didn't mention anything about it at all in this book and was more about just being selfless and helping those who are suffering in the war in general. It is kinda as if they changed who he was, though they mentioned how he spoke of abolition a couple of times in the past. Caroline will do anything to get the attention of the young minister in hopes that he'll want to marry her. So many men would love to marry her but the one she wants doesn't seem to care and seems to loathe her. In order to make him like her, she starts to see the person he saw and dove into nurse work in order to become the woman he wanted. Her whole story develops so well where she starts to understand God's will for her life. She believes highly in loving God first and her neighbor second.

We learn of a new character named Phoebe, but her brothers call her "Ike" for some reason (never explained why). When her big brothers go off to war, she is left alone. She is not very pretty and looks a bit manly. She decides to sign up for the army. As far I know the army always made you strip down before you were able to be put in even in Civil War times, but perhaps I'm wrong there. Somehow she gets in and lasts in there for a long time. Anyway, she starts to understand God's love for her as she begins to fall in love with a fellow soldier.

This story is quite a bit about how lies can get you into trouble, how we should care more about God than what other people think about us, and how it is important to show love to all people including the "Least of these", and how when you are in love you are willing to sacrifice yourself for the other person.

culinaryjules's review against another edition

4.0

This is the second in the series and I enjoyed it as much as the first. Such great stories!

pomegranates's review

4.0

Enjoyed it pretty well, was a reread after about 15 years, only I forgot about all the religion 🫠

punnygirl789's review against another edition

5.0

It's very rare that a second book in a trilogy is better than the first, but this one is! I really liked Candle in the Darkness, but I loved Fire by Night!

missbibliography's review

4.0

Lynn Austin weaves another story of love, life and death in the setting of the Civil War. This time, she writes about Julia Hoffman, Caroline's cousin from Philadelphia, who is enamored with Reverend Nathaniel Greene. She finds out that Nathaniel thinks she is shallow and vain, then sets out to change his mind by becoming a nurse.

The book also follows the story of Phoebe "Ike" Bigelow, who is convinced no one loves her and signs up to be a soldier, lying to everyone along the way.

This story was a little bit harder for me to get into, but once I got invested into Julia's love story, I finished it quickly from there. I'm usually not a fan of romance, and not a fan of stories that I can guess the ending, but I kept going because I just had to see if Julia and

Spoiler

James McGrath

ended up together.

Spoiler

I also want to read about Julia and Kate because a) more McGrath/Julia content and b) Julia would be such a good mom.

I cried a lottle but I also really loved the way that Austin tackled questions about a "woman's place". As part of a church community that places a lot of value on appearances and men as the head of household, I come up against of lot of the same criticisms as Julia did. It makes my little heart happy to read a historical novel where the female protagonist doesn't just want to get married and start a family, but has goals and ambitions, AND wants to continue those after marriage.

ltompkins's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely love this book!

sccrkid85's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0