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Wake the Dawn  By  cover art

Wake the Dawn

By: Lauraine Snelling
Narrated by: Kristin Kalbli
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Publisher's summary

National best-selling author Lauraine Snelling brings a small mountain town to thrilling life when a natural disaster threatens to destroy lives.

US Border Patrol agent Ben James' life is in tatters. A tragic accident stole the love of his life and he never finished grieving. Turning to the bottle for support, he lost sight of what was important. While making his last patrol run before a storm rolls in, Ben's canine partner Bo finds an abandoned baby hidden in the woods. As Ben rushes the child to the only clinic in the area, the storm strikes with unexpected fury.

Esther Hanson runs a second-rate clinic in the small community of Pineville, Minnesota, on the Canadian border. Though she has fought for years to get the equipment she needs, the town refuses to approve the funding. When the unprecedented storm ravishes the area, cutting them off from all outside help, Esther struggles to help her patients without giving in to overwhelming emotions. The event triggers a long-suppressed memory, and Esther must come face to face with the reality of her past and learn to forgive herself.

Brought together by the life of a child, Ben and Esther become each other's reason to change.

©2013 Lauraine Snelling (P)2013 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about Wake the Dawn

Average customer ratings
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Wake the Dawn

This is an excellent read. It's a fast paced drama that held my attention from beginning to end. I am not fond of romantic novels. Boy meets girl is really a part of life, including the Christian life, but that phase does not overshadow life as a whole. I think that is especially so for the Christian. This novel handles that phase of living very well, along with the more pressing issues that make up this story. The narrative was also very well done.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Another Great Novel by Laurraine Snelling

Wonderful storyline and characters! Narration is superb. I never would have thought of putting together the characters. In true Laurraine Snelling style they fit perfectly!

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2 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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no redeeming aspects

Is a boring story with unlikable characters full of snide nasty remarks made by the character that's supposed to be a medical professional and a drunk border patrol jerk. There was nothing enjoyable about this. Once the author shared the so called doctor"s hateful thoughts about a teenage girl with a broken arm I was done. Thanks Audibke for writing a summary that made this sound like a good story and then not letting me return it as the trash that it is.

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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unrealistic

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I work in the hospital and didn't find the descriptions of the medical clinic believable. I feel like the author didn't research her facts thoroughly enough. I was unable to finish the book.

Would you ever listen to anything by Lauraine Snelling again?

maybe

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A real change from the usual Snelling books

Would you listen to Wake the Dawn again? Why?

Yes, it was a great story with very believable characters

Which character – as performed by Kristen Kalbli – was your favorite?

I enjoyed them all, couldn't chose a favorite.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The death of the Chief....though it was expected it was done well. I was glad she chose to have the father and daughter reunite.

Any additional comments?

This is the first book written by Snelling that I have read outside the early pioneers from Norway which I enjoyed immensely. She has done q great job with today's world also. I think to be compelling in both time periods is a mark of a really talented author.

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One of the better ones by this author

Interesting story line I liked the disaster response angle it was very believable .
Narration was also good

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Thanks

This book help me to understand PTSD, and the many ways it can manifest it in a person life.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not that bad, but not that great

Really torn here with this book. I wish I could give half stars as I would give it 3 1/2.
Not going to give any spoilers, but I think that this book needed to be longer. The pacing was decent, but the closer we got to the end, it felt like the author was too eager to wrap it up into a neat bow. One of the main storylines bothered me with the way the character was dealing with the situation.
Also there was a character who showed up partway through the book, and outside of one scene with her dad, she didn't add to the story.

Overall it was pretty good, but not memorable. For me, it was a listen once and not revisit later.
I would recommend it, but it really could have been better. Still worth listening to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

as always , a very fine book. I recommend this to

anyone who enjoys a refreshing change from what we see on tv or books that have unclean thought.

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