I loved it! The charecters are well fleshed out, feel very real and capture your heart right away. The whole story felt very possible and I feel like the author did her best to keep things as authentic as she possibly could. It gets a little preachy here and there but she's preaching love and tolerance so I'm cool with it.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. What a beautiful story. It is not just a love a story, but a haunting story of relationships stretched thinned during the hardest times of their lives. Unputdownable!

Amy Harmon has outdone herself again. After reading, I could not stop thinking about the story and characters. The way that she deep dives into each of their thoughts and how the relationships tie together keep me turning page after page. I am pleased with the historical research she has done to make sure the story is told in a true form. As I read about the travels, I pictured myself in their shoes. Amy paints an excellent picture (much like Naomi in the story), and I find myself living their truth along with them.
I cannot recommend this story enough. Amy Harmon has once again written a "must read"!!

A few things that'll usually be an instant read for me: historical romance, westerns, cultural differences coming together, and Amy Harmon.

THE GOOD
1) The journey on the Oregon Trail feels pretty realistic. At times it's pretty mundane. Sometimes, you're hearing about disease and death. Other times, you're finding camaraderie in the most unlikely ways. And sometimes when you don't want it to happen, friends die in the quickest and most horrible ways.

2) Naomi and John Lowry were likeable characters on their own and likeable together.

3) Occasional moments of deep thought and wisdom.

“Are you angry with the bird because he can fly, or angry with the horse for her beauty, or angry with the bear because he has fearsome teeth and claws? Because he’s bigger than you are? Stronger too? Destroying all the things you hate won’t change any of that. You still won’t be a bear or a bird or a horse. Hating men won’t make you a man. Hating your womb or your breasts or your own weakness won’t make those things go away. You’ll still be a woman. Hating never fixed anything. It seems simple, but most things are. We just complicate them. We spend our lives complicating what we would do better to accept. Because in acceptance, we put our energies into transcendence.”

________

“I hate them. I hate Indians,” Webb cries, his voice muffled by my shoulder.
“Do you hate me?” I ask quietly. “I’m an Indian.”
“No. I love you.”
“And I love you too. There’s good and bad in all kinds of people. Indians and emigrants alike. Do you remember when Mr. Caldwell set my animals loose?”
“Yeah. I hate Mr. Caldwell too,” Webb sobs.
“Do you remember my friend Hanabi? And Charlie? They helped us. Without Charlie . . . Wyatt and I wouldn’t have made it back to you and the others,” I remind him. “So you be real careful about who you hate.”


4) Romance amid cultural divides that are less romance-centric as Comanche Moon but just as compelling. People who enjoyed the romance and setting of Redeeming Love will appreciate this book as well.

5) Those May boys have my heart. Wyatt, Will, Webb, Wolfe...you are my babies.

THE BAD
1) Not my favorite Amy Harmon book. Something about Naomi May never quite clicked with me in the way that it did for Johm Lowry's dual background, so they didn't quite click together as a couple. What's Amy's normal strength -- character stories so compelling and raw that they'll move your spirits -- doesn't fully take off here. We get the occasional moments, but those moments are too few.

2) The Oregon Trail...is kinda boring, and without a compelling enough character story, the book becomes boring as well in a sense. For a good portion of the book, the caravan travels through the grass together, cooks, shops at forts, and talks.

3) This particular Amy Harmon book drew its Christian allegory from the story of Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams. Loved the concept but again...it wasn't as powerful as we've come to experience from any of Amy's previous work.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I may have only rated it three stars instead of the usual four or five... but you just feel good after reading an Amy Harmon book, you know?

Thanks To Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and Amy Harmon for my copy of: Where The Lost Wander.

In 1853, twenty year old widow Naomi May Caldwell joins her family when they decide to travel West on The Overland Trail and begin the long trip go to Oregon. Her parents are William and Winifred May, her older brother Warren and his wife Abigail and her brothers Wyatt, Webb, and Will are all traveling together.

Grant Abbott is the wagon master, he's in charge of guiding the 40 families along the trail, it will take five months and it's a 2000 mile journey. It's not going to be easy, most of the women and children will need to walk to ease the burden on the oxen, they will constantly have to deal with dirt, dust, snakes, insects and diseases. They will need to ford rivers and cross mountains and barren deserts, worry about Indians attacking the wagon train and stealing their livestock.

Naomi was only married to her husband Daniel Caldwell for three months when he passed away, yes she mourned her husbands death, she cried, she was consumed by grief, traveling West is a way of her starting again and leaving the sad memories behind her. She's pretty, smart, has spunk, loves her family and she's a very talented artist. She has a very close relationship with her family, especially her mother, even though her in laws are traveling west on the same wagon train she has decided to travel with her family and help her pregnant mother.

Following the tracks of the previous wagons, heavily pregnant Winifred May notices the first of many graves on the side of the road on the fifth day of traveling, she continues walking and she knows it's going to be a long and very dangerous trip.

Traveling part of the way with them is the handsome John Lowry, he's delivering mules to an army fort, Naomi notices John is different, he sets off riding his horse, leading his two donkeys and twelve mules and he shows very little emotion when he leaves his father John and step mother Jennie behind? John is actually part Indian his mother was Pawnee and he's always struggled with finding his place in the world and he's a loner. His strong features, tanned skin and dark hair are things about himself that he can't change, Naomi likes him, finds him very attractive and has no issues with him being part Indian.
It becomes very obvious that Naomi and John are very interested in each other?
John is very cautious as he knows being part Indian and being seen with a white lady can only cause grief and trouble for him.

Unfortunately the group of pioneers do experience tragedy, heart breaking loss and danger as they travel West. But they also experience joy, the birth of new baby and the sweetness of new love. Amy Harmon has a way with words, while reading the book it's very easy to be swept away by the story and you feel like you are traveling every step with the wagon train. You can almost hear the sounds of the animals plodding along, harnesses creaking, wheels screeching, the foot steps of the women and children as they walk, how weary they feel and how they long for a decent meal.

I absolutely loved Where The Lost Wander, I enjoy reading historical fiction about pioneering families traveling to Oregon, this is one of the best books I have read, I highly recommend it and I gave it five stars.
I have shared my review on Goodreads, Twitter and my blog.

Where the lost Wander is absolutely wonderful storytelling. I do have a great fondness for books set in the Oregon trail which don't focus on religion or get all preachy but are authentic tales of everyday folk setting off into the unknown.
Lake Union Publishing have provided most of the very best I've ever read in this vein and Where the lost Wander is no exception, its a great read.

This story has the added bonus of a deep and abiding (but not soppy) love story, fabulous storytelling and great characters and is totally gripping throughout.

It is a little unusual in that it begins with a brief chapter describing a horrifying tragic event which happens half way through the story. Oh my goodness we are thrown straight into horror and tragedy!

We are then taken back, to much earlier in the journey when everyone is setting off for Oregon full of hope and we are introduced to the May Family, the members of which we grow to know and love despite knowing what befalls them.

As Young widowed Naomi falls in love with John Lowry, the half American half Pawnee mule trader, and he with her, as the family journey deeper into the unknown, I was wanting to scream at them to beware, I wanted to look out for them and it was quite heartbreaking to know there was nothing I could do. I then grew a touch complacent and thought what I had read must have been an awful dream. Naomi's Mother does have prophetic dreams and I told myself that's all it was a horrible nightmare.

But it wasn't and when it does happen I'm glad I was forewarned as if it had suddenly been thrust into this lovely and peaceful journey without warning I honestly don't think I could have coped.

I won't say any more as I don't want to be guilty of any spoilers, everyone must enjoy this book as much as I did. I was actually heartbroken when it came to an end and feel quite bereft in the aftermath of such emotions that the book created. Superb.

Old school western romance, but absolutely beautifully written. Stunning prose, and a plot that leaves me amazed!The word that comes to mind as I reflect on this book is: rich. The writing, the storytelling, the characters, the pacing, literally every facet of the book is exquisitely done.

I've read many books by Amy Harmon and I've enjoyed all of them.

My favorite genre is western historical, especially one with a wagon train theme. So I was eager to read the author's description of travel on the Oregon trail. This was not a cookie cutter story of other books with the same theme. The hardship and determination of the characters resonated with me. This is a thought provoking book and I look forward to expanding my review on Goodreads as it gets closer to its release date.

Wow! What a read. I loved Where the Lost Wander. Amy Harmon does it again!!! I have loved everything I've read by her. What a compelling story and a page turner. Thank you for the opportunity to read. I will be sure to recommend to friends when published!

4.5 STARS

Amy Harmon at her best! This is m 4th book by this author and I am sure of one thing after reading it - Amy Harmon can really write. Her prose is beautiful, flow of this story is well-paced and her characters are real-like and fleshed out.

Moreover, with this novel, she proves that she is great author of historical fiction. Firstly What the Wind Knows and now Where the Lost Wander. It was clear that Amy Harmon did her research well and provided detailed depiction of given historical period (she didn't shy away from any drastic parts that were common for crossing Oregon Trail in 19th century) and brought it alive for me. It's the ability that I really treasure in authors of this genre and with this novel, Amy Harmon secured firm place among authors that I read automatically when they release new book. At the end of the book, she even states which characters were real historical figures and what writing libirties she did or did not take to write their story. I loved that!

Now to the story. I have always had this fascination with stories/movies featuring Native Americans so Amy Harmon hit the mark with this novel for me. Thanks to lush writing style and captivating storytelling, Where the Lost Wander turned out ot be very powerful historical novel with strong romantic element. Romance wasn't the sole focus of this story which I was grateful for because I tend to get bored when book is focused only on romance. There were so many other things going on and important topics being discussed, so no, I would not call this historical romance in its traditional meaning.

But even though romance wasn't the most important part of this book, it was still very potent and realistic. Chemistry between John and Naomi was very strong and believable, I truly rooted for them to be together from the very beginning till the end of the book. Author didn't go easy on them (at all !!!) so there was not a single boring moment throughout the whole book when it comes to romance.

I enjoyed this novel thoroughly and cannot wait for more historical fiction by Amy Harmon!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I received an ARC copy of this novel from Lake Union Publishers through Netgalley in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own. It has been a long time since I've read historical fiction and when I do read historical novels they are typically about WWII, so I thought I'd read the first few chapters to see if it would catch my attention, and I came up for air two days later after devouring this book! It will be hard to describe this book in a way that sounds as compelling as the characters and plot of this story are, but I will try.
It is 1853 and the May family along with a convoy of others are traveling on the Overland Trail out west. In this novel we learn the stories of the people in the convoy and the brutal trip they faced on their journey. It was bleak at times and also very inspiring. I highly recommend it.

Naomi and John's story on The Overland Trail in 1853 is heartbreaking as much as it is heartwarming. I love historical fiction but this story is more than just fiction, its Amy Harmon’s families’ story enriched and imagined from stories passed on by ancestors. I hope everyone who reads this book takes the time to read the Author’s Note to get more insight on how Naomi and John’s story came to be. As someone who is fascinated with genealogy, the details that Harmon shared were so interesting. I walked away from this book with a deep sense of familial pride that Harmon has for her and her husband’s ancestry. She intertwines facts with fiction so beautifully. Harmon also did a wonderful job covering some difficult to read and sensitive topics. I highly recommend Where the Lost Wander!

My thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my review. 

#NetGalley #WheretheLostWander

Where the Lost Wander is a historical romance - a love story between John and Naomi during their trek toward the west. It depicts the hardship, sacrifice, fear, and death the people face along the way. Naomi is a widower and John is half white and half Pawnee. They are an unlikely pair, but they bonded and fell in love through all the adversity. There is a lot going in this book than a love story to really summarize. The dynamic of Naomi’s family. John’s life struggles as a half-Pawnee man half white yet a stranger in both world. Life and death on the Overland Trail, the tragedy, and the sacrifice they faced. The details of the landscapes described was quite remarkable, beautiful, vivid, and well researched. There is a bit of violence and a few other triggers that were a little difficult for me What can I say, I like roses and sunshine but that wouldn’t be real, would it? There isn’t a lot of hot and heavy scenes either given the timeline, but very romantic in a beautiful, old fashion kind of way. If you love historical romance, you must read this. It’s a heartbreaking, inspiring story about love, loss, sacrifice, and new beginnings. Must I say the author’s writing is exquisite? I suspect you already knew that!

One of my favorite historical romance. Simply STUNNING!

Can you imagine traveling by wagon train from Illinois to Missouri all the way to California? The immense hardship and loss. Strength and perseverance. Love and family. John Lowry is one of my all time favorite characters. His Indian name, Two feet, given because he straddles both the white world and the world of his mother. And Naomi, the only daughter in a family full of boys with aging parents who need and rely on her. I can relate! I loved her story and admired her determination.
A great story for those who love history and the human desire to dream of a better life.

Where the Lost Wander was an enjoyable story about an emigrant train on the Oregon Trail. The story alternates between the two love interests. Naomi - a young widow traveling with her parents and brothers - and John Lowry - a half Pawnee half white young man looking for a new start. The story is not light with many details about the hardships the emigrants encountered along the trail. I enjoyed both main characters and the development of their relationship. The ending felt rushed and little incomplete to me.

Where the Lost Wander is historical fiction written during the westward movement in American history. I have always been most fascinated by this time period and have personally traveled along the Platte River and into Wyoming following the trail described in this book. Having seen the terrain and the landmarks described in this book myself I was easily able to imagine the trials of the pioneers and their wagon train. The details of the book were well researched and written beautifully. The characters of John, Naomi, and the May family were believable and I was drawn into their struggles, sorrows, and joys. I commend the author for not shying away from the difficult topics and hardships that pioneers on the trails west faced, however these incidents will be difficult for some readers.
I look forward to enthusiastically recommending this book and I give thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book and I am providing this, my unbiased review and opinion.

I will post this review to Goodreads closer to the time of its release.

I love Amy Harmon's books and have made it a personal mission to get her books in as many people's hands as possible. She is so underappreciated. This was a book that I kept thinking about until I could finish it and I am sure that I will continue to think about.

I do not like historical novels. They are not my go to for a good read - UNLESS Amy Harmon writes them. She is flawless in her research, her writing and her attention to every detail. She tells you the truth, she shows the reader the ruthlessness and the how hard it was to be a pioneering family. Everyone needs to read this

Where the Lost Wander is a beautifully written book by Amy Harmon. It is an epic western, historical fiction, and romance book all in one. The story follows a journey from Missouri to California in a wagon train. Going across the country in the 1850's was not easy. There were bugs, lack of water or difficult crossing of water, fire wood could be scarce, diseases, death, hunger, & Indians were some of the threats to these determined people.

Naomi and her family join a wagon train. They face many hardships in their travels. Naomi is a talented artist which helps her along the way and is woven throughout the book. Naomi is also newly widowed. She chose to travel with her family even though her in-laws were part of the wagon train. This does causes some tension in the group.

John is a mule man and was supposed to deliver some mules to a fort along the way and return home. John basically finds love at first site of Naomi. John has inner demons about his being loved and accepted and personal conflicts about being half white and half Indian. John and Naomi have a nice courtship and romance on the trail west with some near misses on being together.

While this story is not entirely new, it is well written. The historical facts are somewhat based on the authors family. The book kept me interested all the way through and the ending ended up being a real page turner for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book for an honest opinion! The book will be published April 28, 2020 #NetGalley #AmyHarmon #WheretheLostWander