Blurb
Melissa Sullivan, desperate to escape a lecherous uncle, stows away in a wagon bound for the Colorado territory that is owned by a high-handed lieutenant in the Union army who is running away from his own demon. While he believes he has the right to make decisions for her, she is determined to become self-sufficient like her new friend Mavis, an Irish lass with a soft heart, a hard exterior and a weak acquaintance with the truth.
Review
To escape a horrible situation, Melissa Sullivan stows away on a wagon and heads west to Denver. She’s stubborn and determined to make a new life for herself, but the handsome Union officer, Nathaniel Bellamy, who finds her in his wagon now thinks he has a say in her plans.
This is a heartwarming frontier romance. A lot of books set in the 1860s focus on the American Civil War, so this one was a refreshing change of pace. Real historical events were included, and though Ms. Plunkert took some poetic license in detailing the events, they were handled with the utmost care and respect. The language of the time was spot on, for example using “Indian” instead of “Native American.” I enjoyed the description to the scenery and everyday life; I could easily visualize the scenes. However, the POV hopped around sometimes, which threw me out of the story and forced me to reread.
Overall, Melissa and Nat’s romance was sweet and endearing, yet filled with danger and hardships in a wild land. Readers of frontier Americana romance should enjoy it.
5 Stars
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