Elusive Hope ~ Review

Elusive Hope
Escape to Paradise - Book 2
By MaryLu Tyndall

The colonists from the South are settling into their new colony.  But Hayden is determined to track down his father - the man he blames for ruining his life when he abandoned his mother.  And Magnolia is determined to find a way back to Charlestown and her fiance Samuel.

But to get what they both want they are willing to use the other to achieve their heart's desires.  But what they want isn't what God has planned for them and they are about to be confronted about the truth of who they really are.

But something sinister has been awakened and the colonists of New Hope are about to come face-to-face with the shame and sins of their past.  A darkness and evil has been thwarting their every move since they left Charlestown and its presence is even stronger in the jungle.

Elusive Hope is an interesting and enjoyable reading experience.  This is more than a search for a new life while recapturing what was lost during the War Between the States.  There is a spiritual aspect to the story that is, in my opinion, the heart of the book.  The cover really does do justice to the story - Magnolia and her obsession with her appearance (note the mirror she's holding).  Until one sees one's true self and not the persona we present to the world we all are seeking an Elusive Hope - a hope that we can only see through God's eyes.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher Barbour and TBCN/BookFun.org in exchange for my honest review.

In a colony named New Hope, while their friends are seeking a Southern utopia. . . .

Hayden is seeking revenge. Relentlessly.

After years of all but selling his soul to track down his scoundrel of a father, Hayden Gale discovers his search must continue in South America, where his father is reported to be helping colonize Brazil. Hayden has nothing more to lose, certainly not a good reputation, and vows to keep pursuing--at any cost--the vile man who he believes killed his mother. 

Magnolia is seeking a way out. Desperately.

She’s in the jungles of Brazil against her will, but what choice does Magnolia Scott have? Her father insisted on uprooting their family to escape the uncertainty of Southern life after the Civil War. But how will she survive without all she holds dear—wealthy suitors, beautiful clothes, summer balls, and slaves waiting on her every whim? She vows to find a way to get back home—and attaches herself to handsome Hayden Gale.

As they journey toward Rio de Janeiro, they both seek to use the other for their own purposes. Deceptively. Falling in love was never part of their plans. . . .