Fire By Night Review

Fire by Night by Lynn Austen is the second book in the Refiner’s Fire trilogy. It is a Christian historical fiction novel set during the Civil War. It is about wealthy social butterfly Julia Hoffman who witnesses a battle and the results of that encounter set her on the path to reflection on herself, not liking what she sees, and seeking out a way to change that. The story is also about Phoebe Bigelow “Ike” the only girl among four orphaned siblings. When her brothers set off to join the war and leave Ike behind, she is determined not to be left and sets out disguised as a man to enlist herself. 

I gave the book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. This was such a thrilling story. Austen is a wonderful storyteller. She has a way of making you feel like you are really stepping into that time and seeing things the way they were then. I appreciate her authenticity to the events that took place in that time. I also greatly respect her representation of war in all it’s ugliness while still showing God’s hand in those kinds of circumstances and instilling a sense of hope to the reader.

I enjoyed watching these girls change and grow. They both had a powerful journey to travel through in discovering who God really is, what His love looks like and what that means for our lives. It was also very nice that the romances were not the focal point of the story, it was truly about these two woman and what God was doing in their lives to bring them to Himself. However the romances were still wonderful to see, emotional, funny, and sweet. The sexual content was mild with hugging, kissing and hand holding.

There were a couple twists in the plot that I was not expecting (which doesn’t happen all that often for me) and I was really happy with. They were not only unexpected, but interesting, powerful and moving. They shaped the story in a way I could really respect and admire.

My only complaint is that the ending felt too abrupt. I tend to prefer an epilogue or a brief look into the future. It doesn’t have to be very long, just giving us a picture idea of what they are doing or what may be in store for these characters we have grown so attached to. Austen did hint at what would come for them, but I just prefer to see a glimpse of it rather than have to imagine it myself.

I felt so much as I was reading and step away from the book with such a sense of sadness that it has come to an end. I am now eager to move on to the last book.

PS: Sorry about the missed post on Wednesday. We lost our internet for a couple days, but we are back up now. Woohoo!