Kate's Crucible

A Bleeding Kansas Novel

De: Elmer Fuller

Narrado por: Lauren Pedersen

To fight slavery and help Kansas become a free state, a 19-year-old woman travels to the territory in 1855 to teach school, but nature, romance, and violence threaten her mission.

Kate Collins never imagined her journey to the Kansas Territory in 1855 would be filled with such obstacles and challenges. As she arrives to teach at a New England Emigrant Aid Company settlement, she is met with constant problems—from nature's wrath to the pain of loss. But it's not just external forces that challenge Kate, who left a suitor and damaged relationships in Boston. She must confront the question: if God wants her to teach in Kansas, then why does he allow her to face such obstacles?

Follow Kate's journey as she navigates the treacherous waters of love, loyalty, and self-discovery amidst the harsh realities of life in the territory. As tensions rise and the struggle for a free state intensifies, Kate must confront her feelings and desires to find her true path.

The story is set against the backdrop of the pre-Civil War period known as "Bleeding Kansas" and is a must-hear for historical fiction fans. This gripping novel will captivate listeners who crave stories of resilient characters who dare to dream beyond their circumstances. Discussion questions and a selected bibliography are included.

©2025 Allegiance Press LLC (P)2025 Allegiance Press LLC

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Kate Collins definitely isn't the typical romantic heroine… Highly recommend to fans of historical romance." Johnnie Alexander, best-selling author of Where Treasure Hides

Clean romance

I almost gave this book three stars because the main character seemed so stubborn and naive! If she was a real person, she would have driven me crazy! Thank goodness she had some great mentors in the book! As a whole the story was well written and full of not just the emotions that a clean romance needs, but a clear and accurate depiction of life in the Kansas territory during the time it was being settled. I did enjoy listening to the story unfold despite my frustration with the silliness of the main character. The narrator did a wonderful job with the voices and the dialogue!

good story

the audio is read well. tells the story of a school teacher trying to make a difference by moving west. story was good but lacked something

Slow-paced. Okay.

Off the bat, I was struck by the author’s unfortunate penchant for ‘telling’, instead of showing—this makes for extremely dull reading and I struggled to listen to this book in completion, between that and the robotic-style narration. (Or should I say dictation? There was no voice-acting here, only soulless dictation.)

That said, I got into it, ish, eventually.
This book did sorta / kinda take me back in time, and I got mildly into Kate’s plight. I wouldn’t say I was terribly invested, but this was a fine companion during work, housework, laundry, etc.

So not bad by any means, just not gripping either.
Just … nothing happens. Not really. It does pack some likeable ‘slice of life’ vibes—I think that’s what kept me going.

Lowkey love triangle.
Historical slice of life.
Hard times.
HistFic.


Not my idea of a great time, so while this wasn’t bad, I don’t think I’d seek this author out again—writing is too weak and I just lost hours of my life to a book in which literally nothing happens.

“It’s okay.” (Which = 2 stars on Audible, and 3 everywhere else.)

🎧 Audio:
The overall sound quality was great—professional production. The narration itself was … not great. Very robotic. I prefer human narrators because I can’t stand the sound of bots droning on—always confusing when a human manages to give off this sound.