I was anticipating an interesting read when I requested this book from NetGalley. A woman in medicine called a “trailblazer” in the description makes a mistake in surgery and now works in a corset factory. And … ends up traveling in a medicine show with her son along with a German giantess, a bow-legged musician,…
Category: Historical
Books where the History of the area is a key aspect of the story. Mail order & Western Romance book will rarely appear in this category. Most books will deal with American history.
A Love Discovered by Tracie Peterson
Not a “marriage of convenience” story but a “marriage of necessity” — and no! Not that kind of necessity. The characters are rich in this book. I’ll mention first the guy I would most like to kick in the backside and then wring his neck. Pastor Orton. Hiss!!! And you won’t like him either! A…
The Oregon Trail by William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone
Not every reader will enjoy, as I did, the details and timeline of traveling The Oregon Trail. For example, a wagon train would follow the Big Sandy River to its confluence with the Green River, circa 70 miles which would take five to five-and-a-half days. There were many rivers to be crossed; some easy, some…
Against the Wind by Amanda Cabot
Normally, I start with my own description but in this case, with such a rich story, there is no way I could write a succinct description. The first two paragraphs of the book’s description should tantalize you:
Doctor-in-training Louisa Vaughn has no intention of remaining in Sweetwater Crossing. She’s just there for a few days to help a friend. But she can’t abandon the injured man she finds at the side of the road. Until his broken leg heals, she’ll serve as the town’s doctor and midwife. She may not be fully qualified yet, but surely she’s better than nothing.
Josh Porter’s plans to win his grandfather’s challenge and fulfill his father’s final wish to gain full control of the family business hit a roadblock when he breaks his leg. But his enforced stay in Sweetwater Crossing gives him new ideas about the expansion of the company into new territory–ideas Louisa could help turn into reality.
Beneath the Bending Skies by Jane Kirkpatrick
A demanding father and a dutiful daughter. No matter how hard Mollie Sheehan tries she never seems to meet his criteria. Not a lot of options are available to a girl in 1860s Montana. Her father is gone for long periods of time and her stepmother keeps the family together by doing what must be done.
When Peter Ronan and Mollie fall in love, her father forbids the marriage and moves the family to California forbidding them to have *any* contact. But love prevails despite her father’s determination to control her life — for the rest of her life.
The Finding of Miss Fairfield by Grace Hitchcock
Poor Miss Fairfield. Her father makes her a pawn in his business by a betrothal to a man, twice a widower, his business partner. You’ll dislike him immediately and well you should. The cad leaves town and asks his stepson to “look after” Sophia. The setting: Charleston, SC. The time: February 1899.
And you can guess what happens between Carver and Sophia. Carver’s stepfather threatens to ruin him financially. Unable to get her parents to change their minds. and seeing there was no way to stop the wedding, Sophia flees Charleston and becomes a Harvey Girl waitress in Las Vegas, New Mexico at the Castañeda Hotel.