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Book 1 of 3. Girl with sick mom and a loving father with gold fever. ( )

This was a well done historical western romance. I really liked Emily and Caeden. They seemed to get along really well. I enjoyed the storyline and that Emily wasn't looking to get rich but only to be able to have a real home someday. I look forward to book 2 in this series. ( )

I have found A Treasure Concealed to be a gem of a find (pun intended). I snatched up this book because as a Montana native I love to read books based upon the history of my favorite state. It is evident that Tracie Peterson invested time in research for this book.

Montanan’s love many things about our state. It’s open spaces, ruggedness, and abundance of outdoor recreational activities. It’s rich yet truly heartbreaking history related to westward expansion and the exploitation of the Indians. The Lewis and Clark expedition commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson in the early 1800's and more. Peterson adds richness to A Treasure Concealed with well researched insight into two other attributes, one of which is the primary setting for the story.
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A Treasure Concealed is set in the historically rich Yogo City in central Montana near Lewiston. The mines in this area didn't produce much gold but they did produce something just as valuable...sapphires. Those same mines are still rendering sapphires. I remember going out to the sapphire mine Gem Mountain when I was a kid and panning for sapphires. I am wearing a ring right now with three beautiful sapphires that my uncle found during one of our visits. He had the sapphires set in a ring for my grandmother which I have inherited.

There is quite a bit of information about Yogo City and Yogo Gulch, the site of the famous mines mentioned in the story. Yogo Gulch is a ghost town that you can visit. Travel MT provides information about visiting the ghost town.

A quick Google search brought up quite a few resources regarding the area. Here are just a couple:
- For more information on Yogo City take a look at the article Images of the West: Yogo City or Bust in the Big Sky Journal.
- The Moccasin Mountain Arts and Gifts site has a history of the area and the discovery of sapphires on their website.
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Charles M. Russell (1864-1926) was born in Missouri but moved to Montana when he was sixteen. If you come to Montana I highly recommend a stop in Great Falls to see the C.M. Russell Museum which calls him “America’s Cowboy Artist”. Charlie Russell's admiration of the Northern Plains Indians is evident in his work along with that of the cowboys and soldiers of the time.

Peterson gives Charlie Russell a quick mention in A Treasure Concealed. If you don't know who Russell is you would just run on past his historical significance. You would likely also miss that Jake Hoover, a more prominent character in A Treasure Concealed, is also a very real person that Peterson has fictionally fleshed out. The following quote from Hoover gives a hint to their relationship.

"I figure the name Charlie Russell is gonna be famous one day. Sure a far sight from that scrawny kid I found half starved on the trail. I’m right proud to call him friend.”

Russell and Hoover have a rich history.

“In 1880, Russell came to the Judith Basin of central Montana a few days after his 16th birthday to try his hand as a cowpuncher. After a brief, unsuccessful stint on a sheep ranch, Jake Hoover, a hunter and trader, took Russell under his wing and taught him the ways of the wilderness. Russell spent two years as Hoover’s apprentice, working with and living in Hoover’s cabin on the South Fork of the Judith River.”
Source

Peterson is just giving us a teaser, a taste if you catch it. Russel is not central to her story and neither is Hoover’s history with him but it was fun for me to find that historical nugget in A Treasure Concealed. If you are interested in more information about Charlie Russell, Big Sky Fishing has a biography on their website. You can also find a gallery of his artwork at Art.com.

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It is quite obvious that the historical information grasped my attention greatly. A Treasure Concealed is not a history text though but a beautiful story with an adventure, a bit of romance, and some powerful lessons:

- The need to not give in to pride...the killer of hope, dreams, friendship, love, acceptance, etc.
- That we all need to be content in the blessings of today.
- We need to have a love and desire to help those who are struggling.
- The blessings found in community.
- Most importantly, the power of God’s forgiveness and saving grace.

The name of the story, A Treasure Concealed, reveals three treasures. Two are of earthly value and one that has the greatest value of all and is of eternal significance. A Treasure Concealed is a beautiful historical love story. Plus, I know I know, I’m doing it again… The characters love Montana so how can I not love them in return?

I received a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

There are links embeded throughout this review that have not copied over to LibraryThing. Please come and see my complete review with links at http://www.blessedandbewildered.com. ( )

Yogo Sapphire
An old west, gold mining story, "A Treasure Concealed," by Tracie Peterson, tells of Emily Carver and her father living in Yogo, Montana. Emily dreams of escaping the harsh lifestyle of moving from mining camp to mining camp as her father mines for gold. Her father gets an offer to sell his claim but he refuses. Mr. Carver believes his treasure is just around the corner. While on a visit to Utica, Mr Carver meets a young geologist working for the government, Caeden, who is headed to Yogo, Montana. He invites Caeden to stay with him and his family. Although Caeden is intrigued by Emily, his painful past won't let him dream of marrying. But through hardships, poverty, and danger, God is with the Carvers and Caeden-changing their lives in the process.
Intrigued by this story, I looked up sapphires as this gemstone plays a pivotal role in the story only to learn that Yogo, Montana in 1894 is actually where they were found. This gemstone was even found by a man named Jake Hoover who in this story is a friend of the Carvers. The blue pepples were later called Yogo sapphires. I found this bit of history to be interesting. So if you enjoy historical romance then this is a great novel to read.
I received this book free to give an honest review from Bethany House Publishers. ( )