Fire Along the Sky

As I've said previously, this series tries to be like Outlander, it does not rise to that level. It's an enjoyable read.

This is the 4th book in the series. Hannah has returned home to Paradise, but without her husband or her son and the tragedies she has suffered through have broken her. The twins are about to go their separate ways as Lily heads to Montreal to study art while Daniel heads for war. The family is surprised when their cousin Jennet arrives from Scotland, now a widow, but hoping to find happiness with her true love. Death is coming to town, along with scandal and broken hearts as the town’s past comes back to haunt them. Jennet and Hannah take on a perilous mission to help American war captives in hopes of saving some of their own. Although long, the book carries on with a good pace, but leaves the fate of one character hanging until the next volume in the series.

"Fire Along The Sky" is the fourth book in the series about the Bonner family by Sara Donati.After the devastation of the latest round of Indian wars, Hannah returns home. Alone. She is deeply depressed, and it is not until her cousin Jennet arrives unexpectedly from Scotland that Hannah begins, at first in a limited way, to participate in family and community life.She is tied to the locality by Richard Todd's bequest which forces her to care once more for the sick of Paradise when she had decided that working as a doctor was no longer what she wanted from life.But much of this book centres around Hannah's half-sister Lily, who is chafing under the restrictions placed on her movements by the British/American war of 1812. She longs to travel to learn more of painting and drawing, and eventually she goes to live with her half-brother Luke in Montreal where she studies her art. But her emotional involvement with Simon Ballantyne puts a crimp in these plans for her future as well.In the meantime her twin Daniel and his cousin Blue Jay, like so many other young men over the years, have gone off to war thirsting for adventure, though for Daniel at least it is a sad experience, and he and Blue Jay are prisoners of war in a British camp.Desperate to save the boys, Hannah goes to the camp in her medical capacity and Jennet goes with her. With Luke's help the boys do escape, but at a terrible cost.As usual Sara Donati leaves us wondering and worrying and waiting eagerly for her next book."Fire Along The Sky" covers a period of history not widely known, and Donati makes it very real to her readers. Her grasp of the subject, her elegant phraseology, make reading a delight, and as always her gift of making her characters "live" is truly masterly.I cannot recommend this book too highly, whether in hard cover, paperbook or Kindle form.

As someone who grew up in New York State, I was always fascinated with the Native American cultures and the Revolutionary War sites !one Fort Ticonderoga. That was what started me on the path of this series. What was never mentioned in any detail while in school was the War of 1812. This book fills in a necessary gap both historically and as the developing story of the Bonner family. It is a much darker tale but a necessary one as we watch the village and its families cope with waiting for news and those in the midst of the war. Once home, the battle scarred and their loved ones need to find a new normal. I look forward to the next book to see what that normal becomes. These characters have become like my own family. They are beautifully written.

I have always had a love for the stories of the frontier and what people did to survive. Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans has got to be one of my favorite films bar none; and the fact that Donati started a series on the possible descendants of Cora Monroe and Hawkeye really drew me to these books. The one character I love the most is Hannah. She is aware that she is different (being half Mohawk) and the fact that she embraces her differences and does something with those differences is amazing to me despite the prejudice of the time. I have really grown attached to the Bonners, starting with the elopement of Nathaniel and Elizabeth and am enjoying the continuing of their story through their children. I happen to be a primary school teacher myself (first grade) and was a kindergarten teacher before that for a number of years so I really felt drawn to these books. I don't feel the women of the books are ahead of their time so to speak, I feel that with anyone when you are in a type of environment that encourages you to seek out what you want in life and you have the right people around you to encourage your dreams and goals it makes it all the better. I do have to say Lily drove me nuts in this book. Her waffling between Nicholas and Simon made me frustrated for Simon, but I am glad she decided finally to marry him and I had to later look at her uncertainty as a way of her wanting to be sure she was making the right choice. I do hope Hannah finds love again. I felt so bad for her losing her son and husband. I really can't wait to read the next books in the series; these are truly amazing epic novels.

This is the fourth in the Wilderness series and leads on well from the other books. You really need to read the others to understand the plots in this book.I agree with the other review in that Nathaniel Bonner`s character is a little neglected in this story. However I enjoyed reading about how Elizabeth and Nathaniel`s children`s lives have developed over the years. The book is a little like the Little House on the prairie series - nothing exciting but lots of interesting developments. Worth reading.

Fourth book in the Wilderness series. Does not disappoint, romps along with familiar characters. Once again transported back to pioneering days! Great stuff!

A very enjoyable good read. I could not put it down till finished.

Great book, interesting read. Read rest of the series too and didn't want each book to end..

Fabulous book. Really enjoyed it. Part of a fantastic series that I'll read again and again!