A Light to My Path by Lynn Austin

First, let me say that I am extremely sorry that it has been so long since I reviewed a book. I am back in school now and have not had a lot of time to read. Since I will not be having as much time to read because of AP classes and other things going on I will probably only be posting one review every two weeks. I will try my hardest to do that for all of you:)

Description:

 Refiner's Fire book 3 Kitty, a house slave, always figured it was easiest to do what she'd always done--obey Missy and follow orders. But when word arrives that the Yankees are coming, Kitty is faced with a decision: will she continue to follow the bidding of her owners, or will she embrace this chance for freedom? Never allowed to have ideas of her own, Kitty is overwhelmed by the magnitude of her decision. Yet it is her hope to find the "happy ever after" ending to her life--and to follow Grady, whom she loves--that is the driving force behind her choice. Where will it lead her?

My Opinion:

These books are amazing! I love how Lynn Austin does the three books: Candle in the Darkness, Fire by Night, and A Light to my Path, each in a different perspective during the Civil War- A white woman from the South, a white woman from the North, and a male and female slave living in the South. They all impacted me in different ways because I saw different ways of thinking, whether they were for slavery or not. They all also did something for the cause, whether it be nursing, spying, making uniforms, or fighting. 

A Light to My Path probably impacted me the most, being from the perspective of slaves. I knew slavery was wrong and that they weren't treated well, but I had no idea of just how cruel the Masters/and or Masters' wives could be. I never thought about how big the consequence was for the littlest mistake, and it ripped my heart out every time one of them was punished.

I liked how, even though Lynn showed how terrible the Owners could be, she also showed how they weren't all the same- that they didn't all treat their slaves so poorly. That there were really nice southerners that treated the slaves with respect.

Another thing that I liked was how the people from each of the books were connected in some way, and I was expecting a happy reunion at the end of this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed when I didn't get the reunion I was looking forward to.

The message in this book was great! Throughout the whole book you had Grady, who had grown to the age of nine knowing God, but then he was taken from his family and thrown into the worst conditions, that he practically gave up on life and even more- his Faith. Then you have Anna who never had time to grow a back-bone because she had been treated unkindly practically her whole life. The message from Grady was basically to not let your anger control you until it completely consumes everything about you, but to put God in control, because in the end it is God who will send judgement. 

Romans 12:19 (NIV)

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

The message that I get from Anna was to not let people walk all over me. That I do have to be kind and a servant to others, but that their are also times when I will just have to say no. I can't think of a verse for this right now, but I completely believe it.

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this series to everyone! I don't think this is a series meant just for women, but that men can totally read these as well.

A SPECIAL thanks to AERYKAH for recommending this series to me! I would love more recommendations in the future:)

Rating: 5 Stars