Beneath a Harvest Sky

Desert Roses #3

by Tracie Peterson

Having fled a tainted past, Harvey House guide Rainy Gordon is alarmed to become a suspect in a theft. When all evidence points to her-despite her innocence-who will step forward to swear by her honor

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Christian, Romance, Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Tracie Peterson is a bestselling author who writes in both historical and contemporary genres. Her novels reveal her love for research as well as her strong desire to develop emotionally meaningful characters and stories for her readers. Tracie and her family live in Montana.

pen name: Janelle Jamison

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved each story in the series and especially the fact that they were all different. I was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM so it was cool to read about places I know very well.

I also love the fact that she wrote about the Harvey Hotel chain. I wasn't sure if it was authentic history or fictional but I spoke with my mother (now 77yrs old) and she verified their existence. LOVE that!

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best out of the three-book series by far! And these resonating words hit home on the very last page:

“Sometimes, she thought, to have the very best, you must let go of the mediocre that you hold to so tightly. She’d let go of her desire to control her life—she’d let go of her plans for helping God answer her prayers and she was learning to let go of her doubts and insecurities.”

[Linda Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I debated on a 3, but I appreciate Christian literature, quotes from scripture, and virtue rewarded so bumped my rating to a 4. This was easy to get into even though I did not read the first 2 books in the series.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book in the Desert Rose series was very interesting. This one was set in 1931 - during the Great Depression - in the Southwest. The main two characters - Rainy and Sonny - are a brother and sister team (twins) who drive and give tours out of the Harvey Hotels. There is a scandal in the making as items are going missing from the nearby Indian homes and reservations (usually after Rainy and Sonny have brought a tour through the area leading suspicion to fall upon them).

As usual with Tracie Peterson books, there is an element of the main characters relying upon God for wisdom and guidance. Rainy seeks God's help in this book in order to discover whether or not Philip, the famous actor, or Duncan, a museum and employee, are meant to be her future husband.

Tied up in the missing Indian artifacts is the possible movement of Sonny, Rainy, and their parents to far away places.

I really enjoyed this one - probably better than the other two in the series.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rainy and Sonny, a sister and brother team, are tour guides for the Harvey company in Santa Fe. The company has just been sold to a new owner, but they are kept on as guides. Set during the Great Depression, the story follows these two as they explore what might come next in their lives. Rainy is fixated on finding a husband and starting a family. Sonny is ready to explore beyond New Mexico and follow a dream north. Rainy lives in the shadow of her forced, hasty resignation as an archeologist at a local university. Unfortunately, the cad behind her move shows up for a tour and becomes a big pest.
Every story needs a hero and we have museum curator, Duncan. He is hired secretly to investigate the theft of valuable artifacts, tied with the timing of the guided tours. Read and enjoy!

[Gail Barger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last book in the Desert Roses series, they take place in Arizona and New Mexico and I think that & maybe the Harvey Company are the only common things between them. You could easily read any one of them or all of them and I don't believe it would matter the order. This one takes place in 1931, the main character is Rainy a tour guide for desert type tours. It was a little slow for me to get into, I felt like one thing Rainy wanted was mentioned many times in the beginning and that point was almost made too many times but that leveled off and the story picked up further in.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good story of learning and picking the right life partner. Not great audio book. I do not know if it was any different than book, but there were starts and stops in the story that were never picked up again.

[Adrian Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Author ever

Tracie Peterson is such an amazing Author. When I first read one of her books I was hooked. I have let allot from her books and still have allot more to learn but mainly I enjoy reading her books and again she the best Author😊

[Sherry Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!

I love in and love New Mexico! Also, love Native American anything. I, also loved the first two books in the series too.

[JLynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with many, many inciteful thoughts that had me reading them over again and writing them down to read again!

[Nancy Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another audio book - for a long-distance drive. My first in this series and I loved it. It was a sweet and gentle story. I enjoyed the voice of Sandra Burr reading the story.

[Johnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Tracie Peterson's books but this one was pretty slow. It was a good story but could have been told in about 12 or so chapters. This was not her normally great reading.

[Dorry Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its been so long since I read this book I cant give it much of a rating. I do like Tracie Petersons writing.

[Sandra M. Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting.

I enjoy reading books with a Christian theme. However, I wish the young women were not depicted as such empty headed nincompoops.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5 rating. I needed a light book to take on vacation with me to Ireland. Unfortunately I read it pretty early on my trip because we had numerous delays.

[Jinny Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

I choose this book because I love ❤️ Tracie Peterson. She writes creative Christian books. I love how she quotes scripture in her books.

[Sally Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story. love the scenery mentioned.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best this year and one of the best in the past year.

[Karol L. Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third and final Desert Roses book was fantastic!

A great ending to the Desert Roses series. I enjoyed learning more about the desert, the Indians, and the tours.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes God's timing isn't in line with our own and we try to help along where we can not realizing that we must be patient and wait on the Lord. Rainey, was trying to do just that. She wanted to be married and start a family along with clear her name of the theft that caused her to resign for teaching at the University in Albequrque NM, but she tried to help herself to her goals and ended up going the wrong way. Meanwhile, she is employed as her brother's courier or guide and he is the driver at the Harvey hotel in Santa Fe. Her twin brother has been waiting for his dream job to come along, but feels torn with leaving Rainey behind to chase his dreams when she doesn't have anyone special to take care of her. A movie star and a museum worker both show interest, but one is a follower of God's ways and the other isn't. Duncan Hartford turns out to be the man that the Indian Affairs officer approaches to help in his investigation of stolen indian artifacts and again Rainey is accused because of her past, but Duncan sets out to prove her innocence, but doesn't tell Rainey of his involvement. The real culprits are wolves dressed in sheep's clothing, but in the end everyone gets their dues and rainey get her hearts wishes.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is a good in thoughtfulness, I am a Christian and so I do believe in prayer. So this book showed me that prayer is never a bad thing. Rainy is a little to self provoked if you will she just gets a little overwhelmed to much and that's what drove me crazy about this book, she does believe in God, which is good but sometimes I believe she uses prayer as a crutch. Rather than being patient for marriage and love but always praying about it which is good, but it's like she is so impatient to get this one desire that she forgets about everything else in her life and just focuses on this one thing. This one wish and desire. It's good to have something especially God on your life, but even God can sometimes become a crutch. You have to learn to face your problems and this is what Rainy finds out in the end. She finally learns that God will answer prayers when the time comes. You just have to be patient.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a little better than the other two in the trilogy. With all three books though, I'd recommend getting the actual book rather than listening to it like I did (abridged version only available on audio). The three books are not related at all so you could read them in any order actually.

[Susan Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting of this book is the American southwest (AZ & NM) in the early 1930's. I like history and have family in AZ that we have visited several times so I was familiar with the locations described. I especially appreciate that Rainy, the main character, is a smart, well educated woman.

[Kimberly McCormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a slow mover until the last third of the book. For me that's not a problem, though, because I don't care for intensity while I read, I want to relax. But for someone who's looking for action throughout, this would not be the book for you. Slow moving, 1930s romance, this worked for me:)

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet book

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened on CD - definitely liked the reader better - story was OK

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is different in the setting and informative about the Desert. It may not be something everyone likes but I enjoyed it!

[Catherine Clem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. I wish the series would continue.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably my favorite book of the three in the series. I enjoyed the series but they weren't my favorite books I've ever read.

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit disapointed with this Tracie Peterson book. It wasn't her best for me. Characters were hard to connect with in this novel.