Where The Lost Wander
Amy Harmon
Five Shining Stars

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC in exchange of an honest review from Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing, Amazon Publishing, Amy Harmon and her book agent.

In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.

Amy Harmon Naomi beautifully tells the tale of Naomi who is the protagonist of this story. She along with her fakilu are on way to finding better possibilities in life. Widowed at a very young age, Naomi sets off to West with her family on a wagon.
What she didn't expect was to form an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.

“The hardest thing about life is knowing what matters and what doesn’t,” Winifred muses. “If nothing matters, then there’s no point. If everything matters, there’s no purpose. The trick is to find firm ground between the two ways of being." "I haven’t figured out the point or the purpose.”

When they set off on their journey, they least expected how heartbreaking and tragic it was going to be. But it's the way Amy Harmon weaves the tragic and heartbreaking stories that makes this one a great read.
The loss, love, anger, pain and everything that makes us feel are the core of this story.
I have read everything she has written and published so far and this is just another example of her wonderful storytelling.
Definitely suggest it to everyone who loves the naked emotions a book has to offer. You are going to feel each and every emotion that Naomi goes through and it simply wrenches you.

"It is the suffering of love. Every parent feels it. It is the suffering of being unable to shield or save. It is not love if it doesn’t hurt.”

Overall, it's a fantastic read, especially now when we have a lot of time on our hands.
Happy Reading!!Ⓜ️

c'est une histoire à la fois lente et pleine de belles choses et de rebondissements que nous propose l'autrice, j'ai aimé découvrir toute cette aventure grâce aux regards de Naomi et de John, ils sont tous les deux attachants et touchants et on ne peut que dévorer les pages pour savoir comment (et si) ils vont s'en sortir, certains passages sont vraiment très durs mais l'espoir reste présent du début à la fin, même quand le pire leur arrive. J'ai dévoré les pages pour comprendre les tenants et les aboutissants, les rencontres qu'ils font ont leur importance et on ne peut que ressentir leur amour grandir et s'épanouir dans les drames. Le final est plaisant et nous donne quand même le sourire et laisse poindre l'espoir encore un peu plus grand.

4★★★★Stars



Genre: Historical Romance
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person Dual



“Death is fickle and final, and it doesn’t spare anyone. It doesn’t spare us.”



Where the Lost Wander is a story set back in the 1800. Is the story of Naomi May and John Lowry going in a long journey to a better life. Traveling back in the old days was not easy; the author goes in detailed how they traveled in wagons and trains.


“The hardest thing about life is knowing what matters and what doesn’t,” Winifred muses. “If nothing matters, then there’s no point. If everything matters, there’s no purpose.”



Lots of things happened to these characters including their families. The first half of the book I felt like a dragged a bit with such a long journey ahead, I felt they were never going to make it to their destination hahah. I was so glad the story picks up close to seventy percent.


”The pain. It’s worth it. The more you love, the more it hurt.”



There was so much pain and loss thought and I felt so hard for the characters. I did loved how the authors was able to get us such a wonderful conclusion that had me shredding some tears. Overall, I enjoyed this story. Readers looking for a historical romance will find this book appealing.

I will start off by saying that historical fiction isn't really my favorite genre of books, but I have heard all of my book club friend rave about Amy Harmon and decided to give this one a read. I was blown away. I quickly found myself in the world of the May family as they travel the Oregon Trail. A relationship develops between the eldest May daughter, Naomi, and a man named John, but the road ahead of them is not one without trials (quite literally in this novel). When you read this book, make sure to read through the author's note at the end because Harmon mentions that this book is based on real events from her family's lineage, which adds another dimension of uniqueness to this story. Maybe I should read historical fiction more often! Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Where the Lost Wander • Amy Harmon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)
Releases: 4/28!
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“ But endurance...it’s a whole different kind of battle. It’s a hell of a lot harder. Don’t ever say you didn’t fight, because that’s never been true.”
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👍🏼Thumbs Up:
Very well written. Kept me turning the pages. The voices of individual characters were very clear and I enjoyed the different perspectives. This is a time period that I love learning about but it’s rare to find a historical fiction novel that addresses it! I will definitely be looking for other books by this author!
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👎🏻Thumbs Down:
The only critique I will give is that I felt portions of the story dragged when I was immersed in the largest plot points.
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🤓For readers WHO:
-Are fans of historical fiction or romance!
-Are interested in stories of the west and historical relationships between whites and Native Americans
-Enjoy stories with a strong female lead
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👉🏼This is what’s WHAT:
Naomi May and her family join a wagon train going west from Missouri on the Oregon Trail. Helping lead their team is John Lowry, a mysterious and closed off man who is half Pawnee. Both Naomi and John will discover who they are and what they are made of as they travel the dangerous Oregon trail. In the end, only their love can help save them from the tragedy that threatens to take everything from them both.
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⏳WHEN I read this book:
It made me think a lot about the lengths people would go to better their lives in America centuries ago. It also gave me a lot to think about in regards to Native American relations historically and the residual effects of that today.
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🚨WHERE you should watch out:
Descriptions of: violence, murder, rape, death. (It’s a novel about the Oregon Trail, therefore you should not be surprised by any of this, just saying 🤷🏽‍♀️)
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📍WHY you should read this one:
It’s a very well written story that weaves different perspectives together very well. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, I would recommend this book! It’s a rarely explored time period in our nation’s history that is very interesting to immerse yourself in.
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📚HOW I read it:
eARC via Kindle

“It is. It is the suffering of love. Every parent feels it. It is the suffering of being unable to shield or save. It is not love if it doesn’t hurt.”

I’m going to be hung over for quite some time, and probably cry a lot too. All the emotions are hitting me hard now after I finished. Through this book I truly felt that I was on the trail with Naomi and John. I fell in love with them and their family. While I will never realize their struggles, Amy wrote these words in such a way that I feel them deep into my soul.

Each book that Amy writes transports me to a different time. She truly has a gift and I will never tire of her words. Thank you to Amy, Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read this early.

It is so easy to give this book 5 stars, I enjoyed every moment that I spent in this story. Picture the 1850s, Conestoga wagons packed with belongings, a mule man, families heading west, Indians, forts, illness, and characters that I did not want to say goodbye to at the end of the book. This was an emotional journey that was storytelling at its finest for me. If this sounds like something you would like, I highly recommend this one!

A group “train” of travelers sets out from Missouri not knowing how difficult the journey might be as they head west. About half are bound for Oregon and the other half are heading to California and they start out on the Overland Trail. The main family is the May family – parents, three boys, and a recently widowed adult daughter, Naomi.

John Lowry is guiding the group, a half-Pawnee/half-white man, who does not feel welcome in either world. John and his father run a mule business in Missouri and frequently outfit the groups heading out. John turns out to be the right person to have along on the trip as he knows just how to get the animals to cross the myriad of rivers they need to cross, speak to Indian tribes, and be a steady force on the trip.

Naomi is one of my favorite characters in the book, she is headstrong, an artist, and knows what she wants out of life. She is captivated by John and their relationship develops on the journey although not everyone thinks they have a future.

This story has all my favorite elements: a believable love story, overcoming adversity, strong historical elements that are researched, strong characters that I root for, and a great setting.

This is my first read from this author, although I have at least two of hers on my “to be read” list. Reading this one and loving it will easily move those up the list. The author’s note at the end is not be missed and I learned that this is based on real characters, some from the author’s own family line.

Where the Lost Wander is powerful in the most subtle of ways. Amy Harmon takes us on a journey like no other and one I will admit I was hesitant to take. But with a most intense prologue, my interest was piqued in a way I didn't expect. And before I knew it, I was deep into Harmon's exquisite writing and just like Naomi Way and her beloved family and their brutal trek west, I wasn't turning back.

Harmon in my opinion, couldn't have written a more timely piece. With this worldwide pandemic strangling our very livelihoods, I almost felt a kindredship towards these weary travelers and their new normal. Even with a pretty decent-sized wagon train, leaving behind all that they knew in Missouri for a new life in California, there were still times of loneliness, monotony and extreme doubt that this was still the right thing to do. The May family is strong, seemingly resilient and full of faith that everything will turn out all right. I couldn't help but feel their inner thoughts and feelings in much the same way I do in this new world of ours, 2020 reflecting some of what they were experiencing in the 1850's.

The underlying slow burn romance between Naomi May and one John Lowry gave this book the minute ray of sunshine in an oft-times brutal existence. Living in wagons, never knowing what might lie ahead and traveling a treacherous route, I savored the calm Naomi and John would provide to not only each other but those around them. They have this almost spiritual connection with Naomi understanding John almost immediately. His half-breed existence was never an easy one, being a contentious matter for many around him and yet Naomi became his balm from the first time they laid eyes on each other and only saw his beautiful soul from that moment forward.

John's understated nature and the industrious way about him clearly reflected both his upbringing by his hardworking white father and step-mother and his innate sense that came from his indian mother. He's quiet yet is a fierce thinker and he proves over and over again, even to those who don't take kindly to his mixed-race nature that he is worthy of both respect and love. And I just adored how tenacious Naomi was in capturing his heart even as he tried his hardest to resist her. She is a true marvel.

Like most other Harmon books, there is much to digest. And with the time-frame being one I wasn't too keen about, I was sure that I'd get lost in archaic verbage that would bring the story down. However, I am the first to admit that I enjoyed learning more about that time and just what early settlers had to endure. Even with loss of life, loss of precious goods and the loss of their will, I was beyond impressed at how each person did their best to carry on even when all felt lost.

A true testament to the their strength and grit, I fell hard for this group of characters. It is most definitely Naomi's story, however, taking us along while she continually takes time to illustrate her loved ones, using that talent to thwart many a threat and keep those she loves most close to her heart. I was forever in awe of how she never wavered in her determination, only breaking when it was beyond her control. But her love of her beloved John was truly a godsend and proved to be her savior time and time again. They held each other up, took each other's pain and loved each other with all they had. A true partnership in every sense of the word.

Where the Lost Wander touched something in me that I wasn't necessarily always comfortable with but at the same time gave me a renewed hope that this current situation we are in will eventually pass. I wanted to turn away at some of the more excruciating scenes, but knew it was all part of the history that Americans lived through and I felt privileged to be able to witness some of it 'firsthand'.

There is an ethereal quality to this book that gave it a magical kind of feel, especially the use of otherworldly dreams whether from the stalwart Winifred May or from the formidable Washakie. When life handed both John and Naomi moments of pure horror and grief those visions were the push both often needed to carry on.

I applaud Amy Harmon for taking a part of her own husband's ancestry and crafting a story that brings to life a time that I thought of as a bit dry and dusty as the plains the wagon trails traveled upon. I surprised myself at how much I enjoyed it and it has given me a new outlook in these troubled times, knowing we are always stronger than we may think and that this too shall pass.

5+ stars!

"The pain. It's worth it. The more you love, the more it hurts. But it's worth it. It's the only thing that is"

This quote perfectly sums up my feelings towards this book: I felt the pain, I felt the hurt, but I loved these people and witnessing their journey was totally worth it.

This book tells the story of a harrowing journey from Missouri to California in 1853. Emigrant families faced cruel challenges when crossing the country to build a better life on the West Coast. John Lowry, a half Pawnee man, and Naomi May, white woman, find love amongst the pain and loss – but they must overcome many dangers and fix their own bruised souls, so they can hold on to each other.

Their story goes beyond reaching California, they embark in a journey of the spirit. Both John and Naomi need to heal and find their own place in the work, without letting go of the special bond they found in each other. They might be lost wanderers, living with a foot in each world, but together they are found and their love bridges the divide.

Amy Harmon's writing is beautiful and builds a detailed scenery in our minds, where it is easy to see, hear, smell and especially feel this journey. The raw nature of the overland trail is alive and one of the main characters of the book. The readers, live the relief of finding fresh water after crossing the dessert and hear the hooves hitting the earth at a gallop during a horse race. There is a poetic feel to this story, that soothes the pain the characters need to endure and brings out the love and hope that weave this story together.

I absolutely loved learning about Native American culture and the struggles emigrants faced on the trails, but most of all I loved these characters, their complexities, their grit and their beautiful hearts.

**Thank you NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Gripping and wonderful! Naomi May, widowed too young, and her family are on their way west when they stop to buy mules from John Lowry, who then opts to travel at least part way with them, and then all the way. Lowry was raised by his white father and stepmother after his mother died. He's a wonder with animals, kind, smart, and in love with Naomi. The journey west is hard- Harmon doesn't spare the details- and then the worst happens. One of the little May boys randomly shoots an arrow which kills an Indian which leads the the killing of Naomi's mother, father, and brother, as well as others, and to the kidnap of Naomi and her baby brother Wolfe. John sets out to find her, with the help of a Chief who is married to a woman who had lived with his family for a period. Complicated to explain but a terrific read. AND, make sure that you read the author's note-this is based on the lives of real people. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend.

Beautifully written, Where the Lost Wander is historical fiction set in the Oregon Trail. Amy Harmon is one of my favorite authors and her wonderful prose never fails to take you fully into the story making you experience or at sympathize with the characters’ plight. I do not know if this book is for everyone, it is quite different from Ms. Harmon’s usual stories but if you are a fan of hers or loves historical fiction then this book is definitely one you would like.

Beautifully written story of life and trials on the Oregon Trail in the 1850’s. This book is truly inspiring and descriptive of the experiences of people who searched for a better life as well as the experiences of the Native Americans and their experiences in living their lives in their respective traditions and tribal cultures and meeting the challenges in their changing world.

While being historical it also focuses on the lives of The Mays family, their daughter Naomi and their experiences as well as that of John Lowry who’s mother was Native American and father was white.

John and Naomi are drawn to each other and it’s interesting and insightful to read about how things were for them during a time where the volatility and tensions were high between cultures. As well as how John felt and dealt with being from two distinct worlds.

The trials, tribulations, emotions, reactions and resilience of the characters was written in a respectful and non-judgmental manner. I was truly taken by this descriptively portrayed fictional work based on some true familial history.

🏹Book Review🏹

The effortlessly brilliant Amy Harmon drew me in in the first few pages of Where the Lost Wander. I found myself up until midnight two nights in a row devouring it all.

This book is beautiful and raw - you’ll feel like you’re experiencing the brutality and hardships of life on the Oregon Trial.  And weaved flawless throughout this journey is one of the most epic love stories I’ve ever read.
This book transports you right to the brutal migration to a better life on the West Coast, a 2000 mile journey in a wagon and on foot, across rivers, over mountains, through sickness, disease, death and unknown perils— including encounters, both beautiful and horrifying, with the Native Americans.
At one point my heart was pounding, pulse racing and I thought, this has never happened reading a historical fiction novel!
There’s a scene where a mother is desperately trying to nurse her baby, but her milk production has dwindled to nothing.  I messaged Amy on here and told her what happened next just wrecked me, my heart aching with tears of sadness and joy like only a realistic book can accomplish.

She replied, “The breastfeeding scene.  Oh man.  We mothers feel that deep in us, the inability to feed our children, whatever form that takes.” I whole-heartedly loved this story.
#wherethelostwander #bookreview

Where the Lost Wander is a standalone historical romance. The book is set in 1853.

I really like Amy Harmon. But historical fiction is one of my least favorite genres. But I did like this book.

The narrators are Naomi May (20 years old) and John Lowry (1st person POVs).

The book begins with a terrifying and riveting prologue set some time in the not so distant future of 1853. Then the first chapter goes back to Naomi and her family setting off on the Oregon Trail for California. They head off with a few other families on a wagon train.

This was such a different and beautiful love story. However, the prologue was so good and so action-packed that I was taken aback a bit when the first chapter goes back to them starting off their journey.

What I did love were the supporting characters. I especially loved Naomi's family. Her ma and her brothers were so special.

I did like this book. However some of the day to day stuff was a bit slow. I loved the prologue. It was definitely an interesting idea to put a key scene from near the end of the book as the prologue. But the problem for me is that I spent the entire book wondering how much longer till the book would catch up with the prologue. And unfortunately it was only at spoiler tag)[69% (end of spoiler)]. Also something happened in this book that completely took me by surprise. I did not see it coming. And it left me feeling sad.

But overall this was a really interesting and unique story. If you like Amy Harmon books you will love this book too.

4.5 Stars!

There are a few authors I love that, when I get their books in my possession, I let them sit on my Kindle, unread, for months. It always ends up that I love the stories and devour page after page until I’ve reached THE END. Then I always kick myself for not reading the book the moment I had it in my possession.

Yet I hesitate again and again because I know the book probably isn’t going to be light and fluffy and pure entertainment. I know my mind and my heart will be completely invested and a piece of my soul will be forever altered. It’s an overwhelming endeavor to undertake in a flippant way and I feel like I need to be in the right headspace before starting such a venture.

And I questioned myself extra this time:
Do I really want to read about what is sure to be a difficult situation?
With the world in such a precarious time, am I mentally able to handle reading difficult things?
With the whole family all up in my business all day, every day, can I give this book the proper attention it deserves?

Do I usually overthink new books this much? No! But I knew Where the Lost Wander could be epic, and I wanted to give the story the respect it deserves. And also be prepared for the carnage on my heart that may ensue.

Because Ms. Harmon has caused it several times. And DAMN IT. She did it again.

Naomi May and her family - father, mother (who is due to give birth any day), older brother and his wife, and three younger brothers - have joined a wagon train in Missouri that’s headed west on the Oregon Trail in the spring of 1853. Joining the group is John Lowry, a half-white/half-Pawnee man, who is delivering a small herd of mules to a fort a couple hundred miles along the trail.

Naomi and John’s attraction is instant. But life on the trail is hard and perilous and fraught with uncertainty. Just when they allow themselves to get excited about a future together, all their greatest fears come true and neither knows how they’ll be able to continue on.

But they do.

I can’t remember when I read such a beautiful story of determination, grit, and love. Despite already experiencing the loss of a husband, Naomi is not only physically strong, but mentally and emotionally strong. She knows her mind and isn’t afraid to speak it. I loved how open and clear she was in communicating with John exactly what she felt and what she wanted. She hadn’t a coy bone in her body. And oh, John...I loved his restraint and his internal conflict, and how he was intentional with everything he did, his patience with Naomi's younger brothers. I loved how his love for Naomi was so deep he was willing to risk great things for her and to be with her. Together they battled harsh elements, unforgiving terrain, unfair prejudice, and soul-crushing loss. John and Naomi’s happily-ever-after was not easily won.

I also can’t remember when I read a book that had me so tied in knots from the beginning. The prologue drops you in the middle of a horrific situation, then chapter one begins several months earlier with John Lowry and the May family making final preparations for the start of their journey west. So you spend two-thirds of the book on your own journey of frustration and angst, along with all the other things the emigrants experience, waiting for the bottom to completely fall out. You know what’s coming, you know it’s awful, and I was sorta angry with Ms. Harmon for doing that to us readers. I really do think I would rather have not had the tragic event hanging over my head for so much of the book. Please, just let me be horrified when it happens...

Readers may think the pacing of this story is slow and tedious. I don’t disagree. But I think travelling two thousand miles in a covered wagon with a group of two hundred people must also be slow and tedious. Interspersed amongst monotonous days are events wrought with great peril and disaster. It was not difficult for me to imagine what that journey must have been like and I was fascinated by all of it - the numerous river crossings, the interactions with Indian tribes, the stops along the way. Because of Ms. Harmon’s masterful storytelling, this story took me along the trail with her characters and I felt every hope, every disappointment, all the impending doom, and every heartbreak.

What I didn’t feel enough of? Great relief and triumph. When you read over 335 pages of harrowing, gut wrenching, heartbreaking story, I feel like the reader has earned more than a short epilogue of a few pages wrapping things up. Yes, I was glad to know how things worked out. But the ending chapter made me feel like I was a starving person who was given a mini-sized Snickers as a whole meal.

Other than an abrupt and unsatisfying ending, Where the Lost Wander is an amazing, touching, and poignant tale of love and determination. Once again, Amy Harmon has taken my heart on a journey filled with ups and downs. This was a hard story to read - not because of the writing, but because of the emotions it evoked. I knew it would be because that’s what Ms. Harmon does, my trepidation was not without merit. And that’s why I have to prepare myself before reading her books.

* thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

What an incredible story, my mind is blown! I cannot stop thinking about it. I even dreamed about it! It's written with such skill and attention to detail. The bravery and fortitude it took for all the families that travelled thousands of miles for a dream of something better, for the generations that followed them. A harrowing journey full of breathtaking beauty and dangers worse than you could every imagine. I loved the characters and their stories were impossible for me to put down. I may be told from the point of view of the two main characters, but they were all loved and cherished and I will honestly never forget the pictures it painted in my mind and they way it made be feel. I wish I could give it more than five stars, but it will have to do, just know that I wish I could give it all the stars!

3.5 stars. While I enjoyed the setting and the main characters, the pacing of this one and the repetitiveness in describing Naomi caused me to put it down more than once. The author does a wonderful job of incorporating the hardships of the trail into the narrative, but the relationships didn't feel authentic. The story just seemed to drag in places, but I'm glad I stuck with it as the pace picked up near the end. Overall, I found it a good book and appreciated the author's notes at the end - very insightful.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Amy Harmon sure knows how to tell a story, doesn't she? I love how diverse her books are in scope, characterization, and genre. Where the Lost Wander is part western, part history lesson, and part romance. Some scenes will rip your heart out, some will leave you a messy tub of gooey warmth, and some will make you swoon so hard that you might keel over.

I've loved these sorts of pioneer tales since my obsession with the Ingalls family began in the third grade, so to take this journey with Amy Harmon at the helm is a wondrous treat. Not that I was always grateful. When Harmon made me cry all the ugly cries, I wanted to shake my fist at her. Yet I also appreciated that she doesn't make this story something it isn't. Her hero, John Lowry, is half Pawnee, half Caucasian, so in addition to all the worry and suspense as to how Naomi May and her family will survive their westward march, Harmon makes you think about people who have, as John's mother puts it, one foot in one world and the other in a different one. How do you find space where you feel like you belong?

Of course, that sense of finding your space is a theme of the book. Naomi understands John's unrest and displacement. She understands how he doesn't feel a full part of any world because she is in a similar place. At 20, she is a widow, even though she never felt truly married, so much so that she can't bring herself to be called by her married name. She's young, yet she could still be a married woman, a mother even. Yet she isn't accepted as a married woman (because she isn't one), nor is she viewed as a widow (she's too young), and she isn't a mother. Like John, she has a piece of more than one world but isn't truly of any of them.

Westward expansion mirrors the inner, the emotional, the spiritual, and the psychic in Harmon's characters. I love the way she plays with different motifs and symbols, and I love the way she makes you see, hear, feel, even smell what she describes. I can forgive the times she made me cry because, in the end, this is a beautiful story.

Amy Harmon has a new book out! Sign me up! Amy is one of those buy without knowing authors, as her writing is so lyrical and you are always guaranteed to be swept away. ‘Where the Lost Wander’ is a wonderful tale set in 1853 on the Oregon Trail, a moving story of hardship and love.

‘Feeling . . . not so much. Feeling is instant. It’s reaction. But thinking? Thinking is hard work. Feeling doesn’t take any work at all. I’m not saying it’s wrong. Not saying it’s right either. It just is.’

Amy is an incredible author - she can literally turn her hand to any genre. She could write something on a napkin and I would sign up to read it. I have read her fantasy, contemporary, historical - and each time she nails it. Her storytelling in any field, the characters she produces and research undertaken is always impressive.

Now, the prologue! WOW! Do you remember all those Westerns you would watch as kids, cowboys, Indians, settlers in wagons? Made me think of all that. She hits you with it in the beginning and then you wait the whole story to see when and where it will come to pass. This is not an easy read for anyone squeamish. It is brutal and confronting at times. Yet that was the reality for both pioneering families and Native Americans alike.

“I know my own mind, Mr. Lowry. I always have. My own heart too.” “But you don’t know the terrain.” “I’m counting on you to guide me through it, John, all the way to California.” “I’ve never been,” he murmurs. “I don’t know how to do this . . . any of it.” “So we go steady and slow,” I say.

Then there are the characters. The story is then told in dual viewpoints by both Naomi May and John Lowry. This is a love story but counterbalanced against this is the suffering, hardships and incredible loss experiences by many. There are such interesting secondary characters also - Naomi’s mother and Jack’s father for starters - and the story behind Chief Washakie is worth reading for its own sake. The authors note at the end helped provide perspective to real events and characters.

If you have never read an Amy Harmon book, I suggest you do (HERE) ... and soon. She has an incredible way with words and I will gladly read anything and everything she writes. This book is not one of my more favoured ones of hers, however that being said, I still loved it and would recommend it to those who have a particular interest in American pioneering history.

“The hardest thing about life is knowing what matters and what doesn’t,” Winifred muses. “If nothing matters, then there’s no point. If everything matters, there’s no purpose. The trick is to find firm ground between the two ways of being.”



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Sweeping & Majestic, It's a breathtakingly beautiful ride to the other side of time and culture.. I'm riding high on poetic prose and in depth writing. It's truly a blessing reading Amy's words on paper
this story has a larger than life Vista. Spreading from horizon to horizon, it's lit with myriad of emotions. I could visualize standing on a high mountain with the the plot spread out like a platte, and a river of sentiment bending and meandering through it. Such powerful and potent is the narrative, I could almost hear the rattle and squeak of wagons, clopping hooves of oxen and mules and gallop of horses
Harmon spins a rich and technicolor tapestry with threads tracing to her own family tree. She goes back five generations and fills her satchel with lore of the wilder times. Amy is few sets apart from the all other authors in romance world, her prose has cadence and imagination of a historian. It tastes of Steinbeck-esque heady flavors of The Grapes. Only this has mules and wagons
This books takes you on a journey in the yonder era when Native Americans ruled the lands, Buffalo were hunted and skins and furs were traded. Simpler times but full of hardships. Amy keeps the tone and lingo authentic which showcases her immense background research. It's foolproof and faultless.
In the story there's an inanimate character too- The land itself. It presents a challenge, swallowing wanderers and animals alike.
John Lowry is one such traveler. He is transporting mules with a migrant caravan of wagons. His personality an enigma of sorts, stuck between two parallel cultures, he belongs to both and none.
"My mother’s people called me Two Feet. One white foot, one Pawnee foot, but I am not split down the middle, straddling two worlds. I am simply a stranger in both." His restless soul is full of questions and turmoil, so he folds on himself, and fills his heart with introspective silence. He's a lost wanderer trying to make sense of his pedigree
Also a fellow traveler is Naomi May, sole daughter of the May clan. She's the most doggedly persistent and courageous woman John has ever encountered. Her vision clarity and lucid thoughts perplex him and strangely attract him. And her talent to draw and sketch mesmerizes everybody who sees it. She's lost too, trying to feel the texture of love, she knows exists somewhere!
She's part of a tribe of The Lost Women trying to make sense of their own place in this patriarchial society.
"Naomi is a romantic. A dreamer. She sees what others don’t, but what she sees, what she draws, is not reality, and our times together have the same otherworldly cast."
An unlikely, yet inevitable pairing, the lost souls click together. It seems all is well...till life throws them challenges, one after the other
The sheer barbarity of certain events squeezed and wrung my heart dry. Some had me weeping, some just slipped away quietly but tore at my heartstrings just the same.
Harmon's writing is transcendent and subsuming. When I read her books, my senses overflow with All The FEELS. I'm spellbound and heartbound, unable to look away or pause my reading. I always come out educated and enriched, so it's an experience and not just a mere book to read. She has the knack of transporting readers in the story, making them a character that watch and learn. It's been a historic expedition for me on the Oregon Trail.
“They call this the Continental Divide. The Sweetwater River flows east, and everything to the west flows toward the Pacific,” Abbott hollers, pulling his wagon to a halt.
“Everything thataway is the Oregon Territory.”
Her last book took me Ireland during the Uprising, then a fictional land of Saylok. I'm thankful whenever she writes and look forward to reading them everytime, I'll follow her to all the lands our literary voyage takes us.
10 stars for Love Story of Two Feet and Many Faces