The Refuge by Ann H Gabhart

The Refuge, by Ann H Gabhart, is a stand-alone novel that takes the readers back in time to a Shaker community in the mid-1800's. It is a clean read and reveals how strict this group was with their community. It shows the desperation of a young couple to escape the cholera epidemic (it would be like us joining the Amish to avoid an illness-- no thanks!). Darcie is left pregnant and alone when her husband dies shortly after joining the community. I liked learning about the Shakers and their belief system. The addition of Flynn and his daughter are like a lifeline to Darcie in her time of need. This is an easy book to get into and one that kept my attention throughout. 


About the book: 
When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It's meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique--and lonely--position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?

Ann H. Gabhart returns to the enigmatic world of the Shakers in this emotional exploration of the power of love and the bond of family.

This book provided for review by Revell