I loved the premise and thought that the beginning was really promising. If it weren't for the hook in the beginning, it would have been difficult to keep reading. I think that the first half of the book I really struggled to keep going. I felt some of the characters could have been developed more. Every conversation Naomi has with her mom is very cliche. People that are traveling with them die and the reader doesn't feel any sort of reaction because the main character doesn't even seem to have spoken with them. I love historical fiction but I really felt that there was something missing from this story. I felt the reasons for John refusing to be with Naomi were eye-roll inducing. I just thought overall the book was missing the elements that made me want to keep reading. The writing isn't bad, but it isn't great either.

Where the Lost Wander is a magical read in all areas, from the rich history, to the captivating love story, to the intertwined characters whose lives are forever impacted by this journey. The cover is a beautiful piece of art that sets a nomadic tone for the book. John Lowry and Naomi have a palpable attraction from the beginning and watching their love grow is endearing. The families that are traveling west with them have characters that you will love and you will despise. It all comes together in a way that keeps you engaged from the very beginning. Amy’s writing transports you to a time we have never seen, yet you feel as if you have always been there.

This brand new historical fiction set in the 1850s on the Oregon Trail is beautiful, emotional, and gripping. I devoured it in a couple days.

I have read or heard many stories set around the journeys West across America, but this brought in some new elements that were made especially poignant by having one of the main characters half-Pawneee and pulled between two worlds. I loved reading more about Native Americans and feeling the interconnectedness of all people.

As always, I was so appreciative of the author’s note at the end and loved learning about the true people and events that the story was based around.

This time of history was brutal and the book does not shy away from that. Some content and trigger warnings.

What an emotional ride this book was! The descriptions of the land and trail, the characters and their hardships, all told with such detail, often intense, that made me feel as though I was really there along for the ride with them.. I loved Naomi and John's story so much.
This story was beautifully written and will surely stay with me for a long time.
Huge thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Amy Harmon for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

Wow! I loved this book! I read it in one sitting, and I rarely ever do that, even when I’m totally in love with a book. Ms. Harmon has skillfully woven historical figures with fictional ones and created a wonderful, tearful, joyous storyline that doesn’t rely on old stereotypes, but instead she creates within each of her characters, whether they are an emigrant or a Native American, a seemingly bad natured person or a kind one, she has created a humanness in each and every one of them.

The story is told from two points of view, Naomi, the daughter of one of the emigrant families traveling to California, and John, a half Pawnee/half white hired hand with the wagon train who’s original intention is to only go part way to deliver mules for his father, then return to St. Joseph. This back and forth gives us two different points of view, not only of their relationship and their views of the people they are traveling with, but also of the beautiful terrain they are traveling through.

Being from Nebraska, I very much enjoyed reading about the beautiful landscape that the wagon train covered for the first 500 miles through Nebraska Territory, as it was known then. Even today, you can still see the ruts made by the wagon trains and there are still some broken wagons along the trail left behind by these emigrants.

In her epilogue, the author mentions that many of the characters are based off of family members, and many of the Native American characters were as well. I like the fact that the author took the time to be as true to the history of this time and place that she did.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for allowing me to preview this book.

Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

Brief Summary: This is the story of the May family, part of a large wagon train heading west to Oregon. Naomi May, a widow, falls in love with John-Lowry, a half-white-half-Pawnee Indian man who is on the wagon train to help guide. The Oregon Trail is filled with hardship and tragedy befalls the May family separating the two lovers. This is my first novel by Amy Harmon and I was eagerly anticipating it given the hype. I was also a huge Oregon Trail fan as a child.

Highlights: For a good chunk of the book, I wondered what the hype was. I have read several recent novels of wagon trains headed west and this didn’t seem to be any different, given that all pioneers headed west experienced significant hardship. Then the tragedy hit and I found the relationships between the settlers and the Indians absolutely fascinating. The ending is heart wrenching and unforgettable. This novel inspired me to visit Oregon and the National Park Oregon Trail visitor’s center in the eastern part of the state.

Explanation of Rating: 4/5; the first half of the novel does not stand out from other similar books on the topic; but the second half is very unique and plays on your emotions.

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Widowed at 20, Naomi May, is traveling west on the Oregon Trail with her parents and brothers in search of a new start. John Lawry, a half Pawnee man who doesn’t feel he fits in anywhere is also traveling along with the group as a guide. They strike up an unlikely friendship amongst the challenges they face along the way.

This book starts off with an exciting cliffhanger then goes back in time. I had to read until I found out what happened. I enjoyed this historical fiction book. It was a bit slow in the middle but I liked the characters a lot and I enjoy the time that it takes place (1860’s) in Missouri which is close to where I live. I recommend for historical fiction fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is also available on Kindle Unlimited where I was able to listen to audio to go along with the story.

This was a lovely work of historical fiction. I was worried at times that it was veering into romance novel territory - at the expense of complexity, and historicity (not a word, so sue me), but I think that was just me being a snob - and it was unfounded. While Naomi is headstrong and often the center of peril... and while John is a terse and reluctant hero their love story is only a piece of a fully realized story.

Following a wagon train along the Oregon trail, there was a lot of historical interest and detail here. And more when the white character's stories began to intersect with various Native American groups.

There was a lot of suffering and bittersweet to go around in this one, but I still really enjoyed it.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the arc to review.

Absolutely stunning! This book absorbed me from start to finish. Every time I put it down to tend to my real life I couldn’t stop thinking about it and just counting the seconds to pick it back up!

I loved this book and I know the story will stay with me!

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not a fan of American History but I am a huge fan of Amy Harmon and that’s why I chose to read this book.

She is an author whose attention to detail and meticulous research on the subject matter is evident in her every word. Her writing is descriptive and so vivid you can actually picture yourself travelling in the wagon on The Oregon trail, and despite all the hardship and turmoil there is still a sense of calm and peace in her writing. It’s not manic or disjointed but well structured and easy flowing.

As I said I’m not a fan of the genre maybe because of all the western films I had to watch s a child with my parents on the one and only black and white family TV but I did appreciate the story and the tremendously talented author.

A big thank you the NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Amy Harmon for an early copy of this book.

This book broke my heart. Naomi and her family go through so much on a trail to get to where they are going. John is part Indian and part white so he’s not totally accepted in either world. There are those who accept him and see him as a person and not as someone with parents who are different.
I liked Naomi, she was strong and fought for what she wanted. She was clear about what she wanted and didn’t hide it.
I loved how John and Naomi were together. I loved how they fell in love even though one fought it.
They both have losses along their journey but they have people who help both Naomi and John. They fall along the way but they pick themselves up and keep going. They have a lot of bumps, ups and downs but in the end what can break them makes them stronger and help them all grow.
I highly recommend this book.

There are some authors, who write stories that capture your heart from the first words on the page and don’t let go long after the final words have been read. This is how it is in Amy's latest book. Her magic is that you never want to let the characters go, their stories remain with you long after you’ve read them and you always want to go back and reread them.

Naomi is a fearless woman who sets out with her family on the daunting Oregon Trail. Riding with them and the rest of the wagon party is a half Indian half white man named John.

Naomi sees John for so much more than he sees himself and in turn their love can’t be quenched. I loved watching them fight for each other, from when it was easy to the moments where it seemed impossible. ”That’s what hope feels like: the best air you’ve ever breathed after the worst fall you’ve ever taken.”

This is by no means an easy story to read, there are a lot of brutal truths about how hard life was on the trail, and Amy doesn’t gloss over that but she holds your hand as she guides you through and shows you that love really is the strongest thing in the world. “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.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was fantastic! Highly anticipated and well worth the wait! The characters were rich and believable and it was thrilling to take this journey with them.

Where the lost Wander will take you on a beautiful, raw, and emotional journey of people who want to find a place they belong in a wild and unforgiving world.

What can I say about this book other then it was a great ugly cry book. But it worth going through a box of tissues to read a story about people risking it all in order to grab their own slice of happiness. the story accurately portrays and the hope and desperation of people wanting a better life and willing to risk it all for the possibility. Through pain, loss, and death we are reminded of the true strength of the human spirit.

Naomi and John are two people who feel like they don't belong anywhere when they see each other they are drawn to each because they are kindred spirits. Both are lost and don't have a place they belong but instant feel at home with each other. However the world they live in and the journey they take is not an easy one and they will have to fight not only for their love but for their very lives.

I just loved Naomi because she was someone who knew what she wanted and was comfortable in her own skin. She relished the trip to California because it symbolized freedom for and it would allow her to make her own way in this world. When she meets John she knows that she has the meet the man she will always love and she refuses to allow anyone to get in her way o her happiness.

John is just a cinnamon roll that has lived his life closed off and fearful. Being part Native American has left him guarded and wary of the world that often does not accept who he is. Unsure of himself or his place he just goes through the motions of life with no real purposes until he meets Naomi. She upends his world and he doesn't know how to handle it. He tries to fight his feelings but no matter how much he protests he can't be helped be drawn to Naomi and the promises she offers him.

This is one journey you will want to take. you will laugh, cry and hurt for Naomi and John as they find their way in a world that doesn't make it easy.

****received a review copy from Netgalley*******

I will admit the beginning (aside from the prologue) took some time for me to get into the book. Then after chapter 15 I was hooked. Amy just has a way of telling a story.

I'm glad I listened to the audio for this story. The narrators were perfect.

Wow and the authors note at the end just makes me think of all of the traveler's that did the Oregon/California trail and the hardships they endured.

I can't wait to see what Amy writes next.

Western romances used to be a staple of my reading life, but over the past several years, I've kind of drifted away from them. However, when I learned that Amy Harmon, one of my very favorite authors, was coming out with a new novel about a wagon train on the Overland Trail, I knew I had to read it. Where the Lost Wander filled me with all manner of nostalgia for those early romance-reading days, while managing to be a fantastic love story in its own right.

Widowed Naomi May is traveling west with her parents and younger brothers in the spring of 1853. Her late husband always wanted to claim land out west, and now that he's gone, Naomi feels this is the best way to honor his memory. Plus, with her family also planning to set up a homestead, life back east doesn't hold much appeal for her.

John Lowry has never felt at home anywhere. The son of a white man and a Pawnee woman, he feels adrift no matter where he lives, unable to fit into either world. He takes a job escorting a wagon train to Oregon, never dreaming he'd meet a woman as strong, resourceful, beautiful, and kind as Naomi May. The two are almost instantly drawn to one another, but John knows falling for a white woman isn't smart.

As time passes and life on the trail becomes ever more perilous, both John and Naomi struggle with the strength of their feelings and wonder if they will ever be able to act on them. Naomi, who is quite sheltered, isn't sure why John is reluctant to start a relationship with her. To her way of thinking, the fact of their love should be enough to conquer any hardships life puts in their path, and yet the negative attitudes of those around her slowly begins to convince her of the difficulties she and John would face as a couple. Still, she can't stop longing for John, and the two eventually decide to get married.

Then, tragedy strikes, separating John and Naomi in ways that could spell the end of their loving relationship. Through unimaginable hardships, the two must fight to be reunited, even if the life they'll live looks nothing like the one they've dreamed of.

Where the Lost Wander is a novel that's sure to break your heart as you read. Amy Harmon is a master when it comes to creating soul-crushing scenarios for her characters, situations the reader is almost sure no one could survive. Fortunately, things do turn out alright in the end, but the journey is definitely a tough one.

There's something so special about the love John and Naomi feel for one another. It develops quickly, something that may not work for all readers, but it works beautifully given the context of the story. Life hasn't always been kind to John, and Naomi, though privileged in many ways, deals with a certain amount of prejudice due to what some view as her unladylike behaviors. Watching them come together in ways both physical and emotional warmed my heart. Each knows they can't take away the other's pain, but they're both extremely determined to be as supportive as possible, even when things get tough.

I was especially pleased by the author's depiction of Native American characters. They aren't the stereotypical caricatures we so often see in the popular media. Instead, they're fully fleshed out human beings with hopes, dreams, strengths, and weaknesses that allow the reader to get to know them as real people and judge them on their own merits rather than on their race. White people do terrible things, as do Native Americans, and those deeds are chalked up to the human condition rather than to the superiority of one race over another. Obviously, as a white woman, I can't speak with any authority to how Native American readers might feel about Ms. Harmon's depictions, but the author's note at the end of the book gave me the impression she worked hard to create realistic and relatable characters.

I fell in love Where the Lost Wander from the moment I started reading. Ms. Harmon's writing is gorgeous, filled with nuggets of everyday wisdom that apply just as much to modern life as they do to life on the Overland Trail. The historical detail is beautifully rendered, and the characters are compelling because of rather than in spite of their flaws. This is honestly one of my favorite romances so far this year, and I urge you to give it a shot as soon as you can.

Note: There is reference to sexual assault in the second half of the novel, but the description is not graphic.

Buy it at: Amazon : Audible : your local independent bookstore
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Thanks to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a story about two people, Naomi and John, traveling on the Oregon Trail In the late 1850s. The story was interesting with its depictions of life on the trail, the everyday struggles and the dangers.

Some parts of this book were super slow for me and I found myself uninterested. I had never read this author and maybe her work just isn’t for me.

Another great book by Amy Harmon, I really can't get enough of her novels, she writes with such beautiful prose and it made the story believable. This one kept me interested because of the setting and all the history involved, I became deeply entrenched pretty quickly. I so enjoyed reading about the love between John and Naomi and all the heartaches and setbacks they had to endure and overcome on the trail. The book held my interest and had just enough suspense with not knowing which way the story would turn. An easy and enjoyable read and an awesome escape into a great story.

The time is 1853 and the prologue of Where the Lost Wander throws us into a horrible massacre. It hurts to read it, even if we don't know these people, yet. And then we go back months in time and get to know the May family, a mother, father, fours sons and Naomi, the twenty year old daughter. Naomi is already a widow, her childhood sweetheart, Daniel, dying three months after their marriage. Daniel was supposed to be on this trip over the Oregon Trail but he's been dead for over a year and Naomi hasn't even been able to really face that heartbreak, completely. 

It's in St Joseph, Missouri, where the May family purchases mules for their cross country trip, that Naomi first lays eyes on John Lowry. John is half white, half Pawnee, not feeling as if he belongs in either world, not sure if he's really wanted even though his white father's white wife treats him as her own child. John's mother died when he was eight but before she died, she brought John to his father to raise and his step mother, Jennie, has raised him into a fine, educated, gentleman. But John knows he doesn't fit in either world, white or Indian and he keeps an emotional distance from everyone. Still, he is attracted to Naomi and decides to continue on with the wagon train after he escorts it part of the way, after dropping off an order of mules. 

Every step of the trip is dangerous. Cholera, storms, dehydration, broken wagons, lack of food for humans and animals, attacks by Indians, the sometimes impassable trail, raging rivers, are just some of the perils along the way. Death is a given, so many in their party fall by the wayside or turn back. Decisions have to be made that are hard and often wrong. Naomi knows her heart and loves John but John can't even allow himself to think of a life with Naomi, when he knows having him in her life will always make things harder for Naomi because he is only part white. John also has a longing in his heart for his mother's people even though they don't want him because of his white half. 

As hard as the trip has been, there is the even bigger disaster of the massacre and Naomi and her baby brother have been taken by avenging Indians. John hopes to find her and both John and Naomi have to make impossible choices. John has made a promise to protect the May family and he will die trying to do so. It's amazing how well the author brings the characters to life, in this story, not just the May family but the Indians, who are dealing with their impossible struggles, too. My heart was torn the entire time I was reading this story, because this is our history and it's not pretty. I think all the people need to be remembered and this story puts a face to some of the people of this time in our history. 

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

Once again I was taken on an emotional journey while devouring one of Amy Harmon's books. I knew that would be the case before I even started reading the first page. I was drawn into this time period, the characters' stories and lives as well as their own physical, emotional and mental journeys. This is a gripping portrayal of the May family and their friends, but the main focus is the May's daughter Naomi.

I loved Naomi's character. She has a lot of spunk and joy for life. She also is trying to work through her own losses and struggles that have occurred before the beginning of the story. Between learning more of her backstory and watching her journey and more struggles unfold, I felt an emotional connection with Naomi. The author knows how to write characters in such a way that pulls readers in and helps them feel connections with the reader.

Another character I loved was John's. Just like Naomi, his backstory is slowly revealed throughout his current journey. I really liked watching him find healing and a better understanding of himself, his family (both his mother's and his father's) and his place.

And as much as I love Naomi and John's individual stories, I loved their story of growing friendship, loss, love and healing even more. They both had previous sorrows but together they were able to help each other gain a better understanding and to find ways to move forward and heal. And that healing continues on as they experience more hardships and sorrows together. But they also experience joy and love and hope as well.

There were several other relationships throughout this novel that I loved watching and coming to understand. Naomi and her mom is one of my favorites. Her parents relationship, her relationship with her brothers, John's relationship with his dad and family (although there are only a few scenes with them before he begins his journey they are very poignant and give the reader some great quotes), and John's relationships with Naomi's family as well.

This story is not for the faint of heart. It is hard and gritty and raw. But it is also full of joy and love and shows human nature (the good and the bad). It's been a few days since reading it and the story has been in my thoughts since reading the final page. These characters will stick with me for a long time to come.

Content: (I borrowed the content from another reviewer - Aimee from Getting Your Read On-Thanks) mild swearing, death, violence (some more graphic in nature), peril, kissing, sexual situations (intimacy with some detail between a married couple, rape with some detail), some innuendo, mention of child molestation.

I received a copy from the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!