An historical novel rich with the violence of its time and the plight of a woman who dared to be a doctor when women were still considered servants and possessions. Set against the backdrop of the Civil war era, Sawbones' heroine Dr Catherine Bennet, is wrongly convicted of a crime. When she flees to escape punishment, taking passage on a trek across the barren west, her life is changed forever. Assuming a pseudonym, Laura, her trails back east seem tame compared to the savage land she meets out west.
This book was well written with a very strong and complex heroine. I found the depictions of massacre, rape and brutal torture very disturbing, though. I realize they were necessary for the story and feel the adequately depicted the times the story was written in, but it was definitely hard to read some of the more graphic passages.

I've always figured that living in the wild west could be hazardous, but this book really brings how precarious it could be before the west became civilized.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit from the romance to the history to even a little bit of mystery (just a smidge). I even admired Catherine/Laura and everything she endured both as a doctor in NY and then trying to make a new life for herself after being accused of murder. It wasn't easy and being a woman doctor in the 1800's wasn't easy either. I was impressed at her trying to teach people to be clean when treating wounds and that was the reason for infections. She was ahead of her time for sure!

This book is very descriptive when it comes to the indian raids on settlers and caravans, but honestly that is how it happened and while maybe hard to read it was well written and I felt like I was an outsider looking in on the tragedies.

Can't wait to see how the next books play out!

I have to admit that I was actually a bit stunned on how brutal this book turned out to be. I was hopeful that it would not be too romanticized, but I had not expected to be almost traumatized by it.

The story starts off with Dr. Catherine Bennett having to flee New York after being falsely accused of murdering a doctor. It's the wife of the doctor that is accusing her and Catherine hasn't a clue to why she would do something like that. And, what's worse is that Catherine does not have a good alibi. Catherine and her maid Maureen quickly leaves the town, and she changes her name to Laura Elliston, but it doesn't take long for someone to recognize her so she abandons her plans for California and set her sight on Colorado instead. However, this may not be the best idea since the uncharted territories of Colorado can be quite dangerous.

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I read the 2nd book, Blood Oath, and then reserved the first one at the Public Library. This series is captivating, engrossing and I love it. History, romance, murder, betrayal, this series has it all. Lenhardt does a wonderful job of leaving us hanging, my only complaint is having to wait for the next one to find out what happens to Laura/Catherine and William..

I didn't connect with this book and didn't finish it. I won't leave a review anywhere. Thank you for the chance though

This was a promising concept, but I found the first chapter to be less engaging than I hoped.