**Review of A Valley of Betrayal** Welcome Blog Tourists!

I went on vacation this week to Gatlinburg...and Madrid! Well, physically I was in the mountains, but I journeyed to Madrid by way of Tricia Goyer's newest novel, A Valley of Betrayal. Lovers of historical fiction will not be disappointed in this first of her new series chronicling the Spanish Civil War. Thank you for stopping by on this leg of Tricia's blog tour.

If you have ever read Hemingway, you will recognize his beloved Spain in this novel. Tricia Goyer has captured the spirit and culture of pre-World War II in her landscapes, characters, and plots. Her characters are so engaging that you will find yourself looking over Sophia's shoulder to watch her sketch the grand matador--or the mysterious stranger on the train. You will see colors come alive as Sophia paints the battles, and they come alive. You will grab a gun and defend the city with Phillip. You will see the war through a black American's eyes, through the native Spaniards' eyes, through the war correspondents' eyes, a German bombadier's and more importantly, through the eyes of the victims as they struggle to defend their way of life, their beliefs, and their homeland. You will soon discover, as Sophia, that "the safest place to be is in the center of God's will."

Can there be a happy ending to all the bloodshed and cruelty of war? Will Sophia be able to see through a web of lies and deceit and find God's true plan for her life? Will she have the courage to do what she knows God is asking of her? You will have to read the novel to find out.

Personally, I loved how all the characters eventually end up impacting each other's lives. I loved how you could feel the earth shake and the glass shatter as the bombs fell around the town. I could practically smell the gunpowder in the air. All the readers' senses are engaged in A Valley of Betrayal. I found I learned so many details I did not know about a time and place that I had never experienced. And that is why I read--for the sheer pleasure of going somewhere I've never been. It is an easy read, beautifully written and thoroughly researched, and if the first is an indication of the entire series, then I look forward to reading more of Tricia Goyer and her chronicles of the Spanish Civil War. Thanks Tricia, for a great vacation!