Pursuing Gold by Cynthia L. Simmons

About the Book

★★★✩✩
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With his father dead and his business partner incapacitated, Peter Chandler inherits the leadership of a bank in economic crisis.

With only a newly-minted college degree and little experience, Peter joins his partner's daughter, Mary Beth Roper, in a struggle to keep C&R Bank afloat while the Civil War rages around Chattanooga. Political pressure for unsecured loans of gold to the government stirs up trouble as tempers and prices rise. Their problems multiply when Mary Beth discovers counterfeit money with Peter's forged signature. Can they find the forger before the bank fails? The two friends must pursue gold on behalf of their business, as they learn to pursue their heavenly Father to find hope and peace.

The premise of Cynthia L. Simmons’ Pursuing Gold intrigued me from the start, since Simmons shares story set during the Civil War with a different and fresh perspective. And as I read, I enjoyed seeing it play out with mystery and romance.

Still, in the end, Pursuing Gold left me a bit disappointed. While I enjoyed the overall story, the writing was just not great, and the further I got into Peter’s story with Mary Beth, I kept thinking the characters needed more depth to their relationship. These aspects distracted me (along with many editing errors) throughout my reading experience and, unfortunately, swayed my opinion of the book.

So, while I cannot say I plan to reread Pursuing Gold or necessarily recommend it, other fans of historical fiction—particularly set during the Civil War—could really like this novel from Cynthia L. Simmons. (It has plenty of great reviews, so be sure to check them out, too.)

Thanks to LitFuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of Pursuing Gold and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

About the Author

Cynthia L Simmons and her husband, Ray, have five children and reside in Atlanta. She has taught for over thirty years as a homeschool mother and Bible teacher. She's a columnist for Leading Hearts Magazine and she directs Atlanta Christian Writing Conference. Cyndi has a heart for encouraging women in today's crazy, upside-down world. She loves history and peppers her speaking and teaching with fascinating vignettes from the past. Her first book, Struggles and Triumphs, was nominated for 2008 Georgia Author of the Year. She co-founded Homeschool Answers and hosts Heart of the Matter Radio.

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