New Release Review: J. M. Hochstetler's Crucible of War

Crucible of War
American Patriot Series 4
By J. M. Hochstetler
Sheaf House, September 3 2012

Reviewed by Lori Benton

Brigadier General Jonathan Carleton rejoins General George Washington’s army to find the patriot cause on the verge of extinction. In a daring gamble the American force crosses the Delaware on Christmas night 1776, to defeat outposts at Trenton and Princeton before vanishing into the mountain bastions around Morristown. 

Drawn ever deeper into the intrigues that swirl around British General William Howe, Elizabeth Howard and her aunt, Tess, move to Philadelphia in summer 1777 to gather intelligence while waiting for the British attack. 

Ambushed and almost captured as the Americans dig in at Brandywine Creek, Carleton is transferred to General Horatio Gates’s army in the upper Hudson Valley where British General John Burgoyne closes in on Saratoga. With decisive battles looming, Elizabeth and Carleton face a crucible of war that tests their mettle, faith, and love to the very limits.

Review

Waiting for this fourth book in the American Patriot series was a little like the long wait for each other that characters Jonathan and Elizabeth have been forced to endure. But now our wait is over. Crucible of War is here and at the start we find Jonathan back from the frontier and his life with the Shawnee put on hold. That doesn’t mean he’s happy about it. Crucible of War delves into Jonathan’s struggles to force himself back into a mold his soul no longer fits, and into a relationship with Elizabeth Howard he’d once thought lost, while the tides of war continue to swirl around them and threaten repeatedly to sweep them apart. Will their love again be put on hold?

As in her previous installments in the American Patriot series, J. M. Hochstetler weaves an historical tapestry rich in detail and accuracy, a riveting story of adventure (battles and narrow escapes), intrigue (the spying continues), and a romance (complicated with excruciating tension by the presence of Elizabeth’s friend and would-be suitor, the physician Pieter Vander Groot) in which choices must be made that wrench the heart but honor God.

J. M. Hochstetler has given us an engaging new chapter in the on-going saga of how an enduring nation—and an equally enduring romance—were forged in the Crucible of War.

Historic. Romantic. Riveting. Rich and multi-layered, Crucible of War is the epic continuation of an unforgettable series. Joan Hochstetler gives us a rare glimpse into America's past, leaving the reader enriched and wanting more. I highly recommend this amazing book and series! ~ Laura Frantz, author of The Colonel's Lady and Love's Reckoning

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An award-winning author and editor, J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers, a graduate of Indiana University, a professional editor, and a lifelong student of history. Her contemporary novel One Holy Night was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year and finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Carol Award. Formerly an editor with Abingdon Press, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, and Military Writers Society of America.

Visit her website here: http://www.jmhochstetler.com/  Or The American Patriot Series blog here: http://americanpatriotseries.blogspot.com/