Fiona Lenihan is newly widowed she has two children Maggie and Caleb to support. Her abusive husband has just passed away, his family is not happy with his choice of wife, a poor Irish immigrant and they make it very clear she’s no longer welcome and will receive no help from them.

Fiona left Ireland due to the potato famine, she didn’t travel all this way to give up easily and she has no family to help her. She’s keen to make a new start, she wants to get away from her in-laws, and she decides the perfect place for this is California. She joins a wagon train, a single woman with two young children set off on a 700 mile journey and it’s an adventure.

We all know hard it was to travel by wagon train across the America; they had to deal with dirt, insects, snakes, illness, changes in the weather, accidents, cross mountains, cross deserts, ration water and are attacked by Indians.

Due to all these hazards and spending a lot of time with her fellow travelers, Fiona makes friends with other women on the wagon train, they all help each other as they have the same goal and that’s to head west. She also notices the handsome wagon master and guide Kier Morgan, he’s taking his parents to Santa Clara Valley and he doesn’t stay in one place for too long.

Custodian of the Spirits is your typical wagon train story, you read about the hardships the pioneers faced, the long trek, lonely graves, discarded belongings, relationship issues between travelers, it has births, deaths and marriages. I enjoyed reading about the blossoming romance between Fiona and Kier and I’m sure it’s not the last we here of them and my guess is there will be a sequel? Quick, easy read and three stars from me.

Custodian of the Spirits by Bronwyn Long Borne AKA Rohret Buchner
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
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"She has crossed an ocean, so why not a continent?"
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Fiona Lenihan becomes a widow after her abusive husband dies. She is left with no money and barely any belongings. Her and her children are threatened to work the fields by her husband's family, so she comes up with an idea to get them far away and travels to California. This is set in the late 1800s and the hardships her and her newly found friends endure is heartbreaking. Howeve, through all of this, Fiona finds herself again through this long and hard journey. I was addicted to every page and didn't want the story to end! There is so much sadness in this story but there is also hope in new beginnings, new love, a mother's strength, and friendship. I love books that are set in the pioneer era, and the hope these characters have, even after so much suffering. I know this type of genre isn't for everyone but if you like this type of book please pick this one up!
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I loved this book so much for so many reasons, but I hated equally passionately that it ended with a cliffhanger. Had I known, I would not have read iit and feel like it should have been mentioned that this is part one of a series. But again the story is great and I would most definitely read the follow-up. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review..

Although some of the descriptions of the journey were a bit long, I really didn't want this book to end.

Fiona and her travelling companions were such a strong hardy group who had to endure the hardest of conditions and experience heartbreak along the way. They came to rely and admire Kier who was leading them across the country to California, all in search of a better life.

Despite herself, Fiona was attracted to Kier and him to her although after her previous relationship with her abusive husband she did not want to fall in love. Her children, Caleb and Maggie were also brave on the journey.

In spite of everything the wagon train arrived in California in various states of health and brokenness.

I was so sorry that the book ended as it did and can only hope that there is a sequel on the way. 🤞