This novella is the prequel to Until the Dawn.
Four Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! I really enjoyed this quick novella. It honestly could’ve been a full book because the characters and the story was very engaging. I sympathize with Julia and her love for animals. She is a strong character that knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. There’s a situation with a dog in the story and I was proud of her decision even though it had unfair consequences. Ashton‘s character was also very likable and believable with regard to situations that take place between Julia and him.

Overall, I was very intrigued by the story, and excited to start the main book so that I can learn more about other characters and the mysteries of Dierenpark! ( )

This historical fiction novella of a female about to graduate from The Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania touched my heart in multiple ways as my mother graduated from The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing and was a US Cadet Nurse at this hospital during WWII. I was born at this hospital.

I loved reading Julia Broeder's story and couldn't wait to see if her hopes and dreams would come true and what part a NY lawyer would play in her life.

I also learned a few things about goats that was interesting as I've really never had any direct interaction with goats. They are a recent addition to a horse farm up the street from our home and since reading the novella I've given them an extra glance or two as I drive by when they're out and about in the different pastures.

I'm looking forward to reading more of this author's historical fiction writing. ( )

3.5/5 stars

slower than i'd like and W A Y more goat birth than i expected (aka: none) but i was attached to the characters by the end. it just took, you know, 7/9 chapters for me to get there ( )

Book #0.5, in Until the Down series

I am not a huge fan of novellas but I will make exception here. It was just enough of a teaser to see the author style and enjoy her introduction to the series and her characters. By omitting the fluff that no one really cares about, the author has managed to propel an excellent storyline within 100 pages or so.

This page- turner for some but maybe not for others brings us to the end of the 19th century in Hudson River Valley and is a good start to the Until Dawn series. Although I wish “Toward the Sunrise” would have been a novel instead. The story offers an intriguing peek in the life of residents of the abandoned Vandermark historic estate. Julia Broeder is the main character she dreams becoming a medical missionary and with the help of Aston Carlyle she will achieve her dream ……and more. The plot is vivid, complex and is well paced. Considering the shortness of this novel the characterisation is quite enjoyable although missing substance. (Unfortunately, there is no time for development in a novella).

This is a sweet historical romance novella I enjoyed quite a bit. Maybe I was just in the right mood for this type of book…… ( )

Toward the Sunrise is a sweet fast novella, and a page-turner at that. We are at the end of the nineteenth century and we have a young woman in college near the end of her degree of becoming a doctor.
Not only is Julia on the cutting edge of being a woman doctor, she has way too much spunk for one so young. There is something strange about the way she was able to afford to go to medical school. Her father was a groundskeeper at the Vandermark estate, and for some reason one of the lawyers for the Vandermark’s, Ashton Carlyle, is told to do all possible to help her.
In the end I wondered if she was ever going to get a medical degree, or maybe a Veterinarian? She ends up helping dogs and goats, and Ashton ends up doing a lot more than he thought he would in order to make her dreams come true.
There is also a beginning of a new book that is coming out featuring a character we meet named Sophia. I really enjoyed reading this and was done way to soon!
I received this Novella through Bethany House Publishers and was not required to give a positive review. ( )