Columbia by Pamela Jekel

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Columbia River

The Columbia River begins its journey in the mountains of British Columbia and travels over 1,200 miles before it empties into the Pacific ocean. Jekel gives the reader a closer look at the river’s history, from its very beginnings as the upheaval of the earth literally cut a new path through the Cascade range and sent the river west towards the ocean, to the time when it ran free and thick with salmon, and then to the present when its energy is harnessed to provide electricity and the nature of the river forever changed.

The book is broken up into several sections, with a jump of a generation between them, but all tying back to Chinook princess and shaman Ilchee, who as a young girl traveled alone into the mountains where she met “the raven” who spoke to her of the river’s future,

And Raven told her that the river would be tamed like a dog, the people would die, the land will float, and the red fish will come no more.

The ships begin arriving as well as the Hudson’s Bay Company who builds forts at Astoria and Vancouver. The River people are eager to trade, but get more than they bargained for when they succumb to the diseases that also come with the white men. In the next section, the wagon trains begin arriving from the east and  Suzanna and her father rest from the journey at the Whitman Mission (I think you all know what happened there). 1870 sees the arrival of the Chinese who come to work the canneries, and in 1880 the logging industry booms and Ilchee’s grandson reaps its rewards, but will they listen to the old woman and heed her warnings so that the land may be saved for future generations?

…we could set out seedlings. That’d give ’em an even better chance. And then a hundred years from now, there’d still be big timber on these hills.

The very last section begins in 1915 and is aptly titled The River Movers, as modern man sees the potential in the river for generating electricity and begins building the dams that will forever change the landscape, as well as the livelihood of its native people,

Where once a set of rapids and falls had carved out the stones, leaping and thrashing waters around huge boulders, now a placid pool was rising.

Since this book isn’t heavy on plot or pacing, it might not appeal to all readers, but should interest those with a love of the Columbia and an interest in the area and its history – but be warned if you are coming into this cold with no knowledge of the towns and the locations you’ll feel a bit lost – find yourself a good reference map and use it. I liked how the author used Ilchee and the subsequent generations, finally bringing them full circle with their long-forgotten Indian heritage and ties to the river. 4/5 stars.

My own photo, taken along the Eagle Creek trail

The Grand Coulee Dam is in Eastern Washington, where the landscape is just a tad bit dryer than the west. My favorite section of the Columbia to visit is just east of Portland, Oregon. An easy road trip (don’t miss all sections of the Historic Highway), and the hiking opportunities amidst the waterfalls are plentiful with choices from easy to very strenuous. Eagle Creek is tops, but very popular so get there early. Later in the day and you’ll be reminded of the Costco parking lot at Christmas time :).Jekel has written several historical novels, including one about the Navajo in Arizona and at least two set in the deep South.

FTC disclosure, I obtained a copy of this from my county library.

Still the Mighty Waters by Janice Young Brooks

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Riverboat, St. Louis Missouri

Their father dead and disgraced after a bribery scandal, Honore Legarde and her two siblings sell all and head for their aunt and uncle’s home in St. Louis. The riverboat trip is not without its mishaps and disaster strikes (natch), leaving Honore and younger sister Lisette up the creek without a paddle and no money to travel further. Fur trapper Bastille DuChamps rescues the young girls from the attentions of an unscrupulous riverboat man and takes them to a safe home. Bastille is smitten with Honore’s beauty and intelligence, but the emotional baggage he carries from his past sends him running back to the relative safety of the wild frontier. The situation in St. Louis is a bit different from what they were led to believe, but Honore makes do and works hard until a better offer comes along (Lisette’s health is not good), that of *governess* to older businessman Matthew Leigh’s young son Lewis.

While strictly a business arrangement at first, Matthew eventually makes Honore an offer she can’t refuse, and that’s when things get complicated as secrets from Matthew’s past begin to threaten them all. Honore uses her wits and intelligence to build Matthew’s river-boat building business (she’s actually better at it than he is), which drives a further wedge into their tenuous marriage. The latter third of the book continues to the next generation as Honore’s daughter Celeste takes over her half of Mathew’s business and she finds herself locked into a battle of wits with Lewis as he schemes to take it all from her. There is quite a bit more to it than that, but I don’t care to spoil further (plus I have other things to do today).

Definitely not the best I’ve seen from this author, but still an engaging read and one I had a hard time putting down. Matthew’s quick change from gentlemanly (albeit pompous) older nice guy to major jerk was a bit hard to swallow, but he was still fun to watch. I really liked the relationship between Honore and Bastille (can I have one of him for myself?), and I also liked the relationship in the latter part between Celeste and ________ , but I’d liked to have had more of them as a pair. The best part of all was the details on the ins and outs of the riverboats in the early 1800’s and most especially the danger of those steam engines when they are pushed to the max – the consequences can be quite horrifying indeed.

Scary stuff, no? I know the cover screams romance, but there really is a fair amount of history as well. Any sex that is in this book is very tame, especially by today’s standards. A quick easy read for a rainy day. 3.5/5 stars.

The Outlaw Hearts by Rebecca Brandewynne

1870. Jenny Carter has been through hell  – left for dead with the rest of her family brutally murdered and their Georgia plantation burned to the ground. Crippled for life, tortured by nightmares and virtually penniless and with no prospects for a husband on the horizon, Jenny takes a position as teacher in the remote Missouri town of Tumbling Creek. Along the way to her new home, her train is stopped and robbed by the notorious Morgan Brothers gang and Jenny accidentally gets a look at the face of one of the robbers and she’s in for quite a surprise when she arrives in Tumbling Creek and comes face to face with that robber – Luke Morgan. Luke tells her she’s wasting her time turning him in, with his huge family he’s got alibis a-plenty, but he’s still a bit worried and wonders if it wouldn’t hurt getting her to marry him as a wife can’t testify against her husband (yes, my eyes were rolling at this one).

Neither here nor there, this is a romance so you know there’s this undeniable attraction between the two, and Luke can’t help lusting after Jenny despite her plain appearance and unattractive limp from her injury as he sees the *beautiful* woman on the inside. Luke has his own emotional baggage from the past and Jenny turns out to be just the woman to heal it and set him back on the straight path in life. The plot takes many twists and turns as our pair battle the town gossips, the baddies (and they are sooooo bad indeed) and Jenny’s suppressed memories of what really happened to her family.

Is this not the most awful cover ever?

Yes, I know it sounds like the usual romance stuff, but there’s a few twists in this that bring it up a notch or two. I really liked having a plainer heroine, as well as a hero who cares more about what’s on the inside. I liked the interactions with Luke’s large family and most especially the way Jenny was able to heal the emotional wounds of Luke’s two children and in the process perhaps heal her own as well. There’s quite a nail-biting finish topped off with a very enigmatic HEA that will leave you wondering what really happened. Despite the appearance of the covers (thank gawd I didn’t get cover #2), the sex scenes are rather few and far between, although when you do get them the purple prose is plentiful and fairly standard for 80’s romances.  All in all a quick, enjoyable read and the only quibbles I had was how the entire town (minister, sheriff et al) could look the other way and accept a notorious band of robbers into the bosom of the community and for that I’m knocking off a half star – 3.5/5 stars.

The Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme

Nags Head, The Outer Banks, North Carolina – the Civil War is over and the slaves freed. Once prosperous plantation owner Noland Sinclair builds a cottage at the beach and brings his family for the summer. Noland asks his daughter Abigail to tutor local fisherman Benjamin (Ben) Whimble. Abigail is repulsed by a very smelly, unwashed, barefooted Ben, but he proves an apt pupil and the two soon strike up a friendship. Abigail’s mother is more interested in her own problems than those of her children and papa Noland is busy scheming with an early-day KKK group to find and punish a runaway slave – and he hopes to involve Ben in his nefarious scheme.  Hector Newman, an affluent doctor’s son courts Abigail and he plans to wed her despite the Sinclair’s current financial status.

Ben continues to challenge Abigail into thinking about the hypocrisies of her parents and friends and the two become very close – which man will she chose? And that’s pretty much it in a nutshell. While the book had a lot going for it story wise – setting, social mores, bigotry against the freed slaves, etc. – it just didn’t quite deliver what I’d hoped for. Abigail’s parents were painted just a tad too *black*, I would have preferred the characters fleshed out a bit better. As for the grand love between Abigail and Ben? I loved the idea, but again it just didn’t quite come off as well as I’d hoped – I didn’t pick up on much chemistry between the two, let alone how quickly she got over her revulsion to his very dirty smelly person (or did he start taking baths all of a sudden and I missed the boat again?).

A good book and a nice first outing for this author, it just doesn’t have enough pizzazz for me to give it a higher rating. 3/5 stars.

My copy courtesy of Amazon Vine.

All For Love by Patricia Gallagher

Wealthy New York banker Earl Britton is named guardian of Jacintha Howard upon the death of her beloved grandparents. Virtually penniless, she is left without much more than the family’s dilapidated estate, Riverview. Earl would rather she sell the run-down estate, take the money and find herself a husband but a defiant Jacintha digs her heels in and refuses. Married to a wealthy heiress he has come to loathe, Earl finds himself falling in love with Jacintha and makes her the only offer a married man can make, which she refuses. Eventually Jacintha’s desperation to save Riverview leads her to accept a marriage offer from the much older Cole Danvers, who built his fortune on saloons and sweat-shop labor.

Of course you know Cole is going to be despicable and brutal, let alone hot to make an heir, but there’s really no way for Jacintha to get herself out of this pickle so she tries to make the best of it – and at least Riverview can be returned to its former glory.  At the outbreak of Civil War, Earl joins the Union Cavalry and Cole rubs his hands with glee at the thought of the increased profits.  And since this is a romance, you do know that our hero will be wounded and our heroine will have to whisk him off someplace safe to nurse him back to health and well…you can figure it out from there can’t you?

No, I’m not spoiling you will see that one coming a mile away. All in all a fairly typical Civil War romance, with the usual plot twists, but still an enjoyable read. Since the story is set mainly in New York, there isn’t a lot of first hand battle experiences, just brief historical recounts. Tammany Hall is little more than a brief mention, but Gallagher does give some insight into the horrible conditions of the sweat-shops and treatment of the laborers. Kudos for that – this is not a wall-paper historical.  There aren’t a lot books set in this period (we’ll not discuss those awful Luxe books), either Civil War or old New York, so it’s always a treat to find one. While not the most absorbing book ever (her Castles in the Air trilogy is much better) and despite its predictability and pat ending, I’d recommend it for fans hungry for one more Civil War romance. There is some sex in this book but not what you’d expect from the cover and very, very tame by today’s standards. 3/5 stars.

FTC, I know you really really care about where I got this long-forgotten OOP book so I’ll tell you – PaperbackSwap.

The Rebellion of Jane Clarke by Sally Gunning

   The book begins in 1769 as the Winslows and Clarkes battle over water rights and a horse – was it Jane’s father who whacked off the ears of the Winslow horse?  Jane defies her father and despite the heated political sentiments decides to ship her off to tend to Aunt Gill in Boston.  Jane settles in and cares for her elderly aunt, but her world is soon torn asunder when she witnesses British troops shoot down five civilians (the Boston massacre), inflaming the rest of the town to a heated frenzy. Jane’s brother was shot, but he survived and the two have different recollections of what really happened.

Will Jane’s relationship with her brother survive their disparate testimony at the subsequent trials? Will Jane find more than she bargained for living with Aunt Gill? Will she marry the man her father choses or find love with another in Boston?I’m not sure if it was me or my current mood (life was a bit off-kilter the last week or so), but I never warmed to Jane nor cared much what happened to her. I really had a hard time keeping track of some of the lesser characters, as well as events as related by the author. Perhaps I’m a bit dense but I couldn’t always tell exactly what was going on – the writing was too obtuse for my tastes – and in the end the author just did not suck me into her world. A shame as the massacre and ensuing aftermath should make for gripping reading, but it just didn’t work for this reader – I didn’t feel the crowd’s anger nor the soldier’s fear of the crowd – I didn’t feel anything at all. A good book, just not a great one.

My review is based on an ARC I received through Librarything Early Reviewers.

The Lost Summer of Lousia May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees

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little women, louisa may alcott, new hampshire

 

“…Jo would have ceased to be Jo if she had agreed to marry Laurie.”

This book is a “what if” account of the supposed “lost summer” of author Louisa May Alcott. The story begins in 1855 as the Alcott family moves to Walpole, New Hampshire after a relative offers them a home for the summer (Louisa’s transcendentalist father Branwell had a rather unique view of working sponging off of others for a living).  Louisa meets Joseph Singer and Joseph *courts* her quietly – that is until his father drops a bombshell that threatens any relationship the two could have had. A heartbroken Louisa eventually moves to Boston to further her writing career, but will Joseph offer her one more chance at happiness? Or will the lure of the pen lure her away from true love?

Full disclosure – I am not a huge Louisa May fan and I honestly can’t recall if even read Little Women in my younger days – so I’m not as fascinated with her story as a true LMA junkie might be. That said, I still didn’t find this book all that enthralling.  The book was very slow-paced and not much of anything happened outside of a visit to a circus and a local play, although you can’t expect much else in a small town in the 1850’s. My biggest problem is the lack of chemistry between Louisa and Joseph, they left me feeling a bit cold. I felt the characters could have been better developed, and I certainly didn’t pick up on any grand passion and dedication from Louisa for her writing career.  In the end, it is a good book, just not a great one.

My review is based upon an ARC I received through a giveaway at Librarything.

Western Passage by T. J. Hanson

Tags

North America, us history, wagon train

This is the story of Abby, who is recently widowed and determined to finish her husband’s dream of starting a new life in the Wallamet (now spelled Willamette) valley. The story follows her through her journey to Independence, getting her wagon purchased and stocked, hiring the fur trapping mountain man Jacob to man her rig and off on the trail to Oregon. This is not a page turning, racy sit on the edge of your seat type of book. This follows every bit of day to day business, from how they made their food, hunted, crossed the rivers, and kept not only themselves but their livestock alive.

The trail follows the western plains, over the Rockies, through Idaho into Oregon’s Blue Mountains and finally through the Columbia River Gorge on the way to the end of the trail at Oregon City. Although I mentioned some might not find this a racy page turner, I was thoroughly fascinated and had a hard time putting the book down. The historical detail, even of the day to day part of living on the trail was fascinating — the buffalo stampede was just heart stopping.

All in all a very good tale of a courageous woman with “sand” as Jacob called her, able to live up to and exceed the challenges of the Oregon Trail to reach her destination and achieve her dreams of a new life in Oregon City. I especially enjoyed the last of the tale, as Abby sees the Columbia River for the first time and her reaction to the beauty of that river. I am fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest and have traveled many times along that glorious river, and the author brought all of it magically to life — the rapids (which are long gone due to dams), the basalt cliffs, the waterfalls, Beacon Rock are all there for the reader to experience along with Abby.

This was a first rate book and I highly recommend for any lover of historical fiction or for one interested in the Oregon Trail. It looks like the prices on this are a bit high at the moment – don’t forget to check the library.

Charleston ~ Alexandra Ripley

Tags

civil war, historical romance

  Charleston is the story of the Lizzie (Elizabeth) Tradd and her brother Pinny (Pinckney) Tradd of Charleston, South Carolina and starts just prior to the end of the war. Pinny is injured in battle and returns home with Shad (Joe) Simmons, who the Charlestonians would consider as white trash. Lizzie is still a young girl who keeps every hurt and emotion tightly wrapped inside of her, and Shad is the only one who can break through to her inner self.

The story continues as the Tradd family attempts to recover their home(s) and livelihood in the aftermath of the Civil War, and continues Lizzie’s story into adulthood with a disastrous marriage, childbirth, business successes and failures, a love discovered later in life and a lifelong friendship that might blossom into something more.

Although I greatly enjoyed the historical details and the glimpses into the lives of upper crust of Charleston society, unfortunately the author used a good 2/3 of the book setting up Lizzie’s background and childhood and not enough time on her adult life and loves, and that’s much too long for me. I would have preferred to start Lizzie’s story as an adult and then tell her background via flashbacks. If you’re looking for a fast paced storyline I recommend you search elsewhere, but if you want to sit back a savor a slice of life in 19C Charleston society this might be worth your while. I’m giving this one four stars for the history and look at southern life and two stars for a very slow paced storyline, rounded out to three. Not great, but not bad either.

On Wings Of Dreams ~ Patricia Gallagher

Tags

historical romance, new york, North America

 (3.5 stars) Not as good as the first two in the series, but still a satisfying read

If you have read the first two books in this series Castles in the Air and No Greater Love and want to avoid spoilers you probably don’t want to read further. On Wings of Dreams continues the story of Devon Marshall and Wall Street banker and millionaire Keith Curtis. Now married and with twin daughters in addition to Scotty they spend their time between Halcyon on Hudson and New York City. Devon continues to work as a freelance journalist and also becomes involved in the suffrage movements and campaigns against child labor, which causes some tension in her marriage. On a trip to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia Devon is reunited with her former fiancé Daniel Haverston who much to Keith’s chagrin is still deeply in love with Devon. Worse yet, their son Scotty strikes an immediate attraction with Haverston’s daughter Fawn that develops into a lifelong love that causes tensions between Keith and Devon.

While I enjoyed this book very much and wanted to follow Devon’s story to the end, I did find this to be quite a bit slower paced with not as much action as the previous two in the series. The author does provide a glorious look at life in the upper crust society of New York, Washington, the reborn south including a tilting contest on a Virginia plantation (loved that!) to the opulent castles of Newport, Rhode Island and more. I also very much enjoyed the effortless way the author brought in so many wonderful details of life in the late 19C, the clothes and furnishings and social mores along with the main players of the day from presidents to railroad barons. As in the first two books, Devon and Keith’s story does have a soap opera/TV mini feel to it but still very entertaining. My only real complaint is that while not quite qualifying as a true “bodice ripper” there’s quite a bit more in the scenes between Devon and Keith than in the first two books and I would not recommend this for a younger reader. All in all an entertaining read and an interesting peek into 19C life, but only for fans of the first two books who have to read the rest of the story (and I did).