Review: I would probably buy a sequel, but....
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 12, 2012
I enjoyed this book on the whole, but it almost lost me at the very beginning. SPOILER ALERT!!! At the beginning of the story is what can only be described as a rape scene between the two main protagonists, Josiah and Emma. Even if Emma was somewhat resigned to the situation with the practicality of her time, it would still have been traumatic. After all, she was only forced to submit to the lesser of two great evils. When Josiah says that "You know you enjoyed it".....well, I was equally very incredulous and very angry with the author, especially when Emma does not refute what the man says. That reaction was totally unrealistic for a woman who was genteelly raised and of her time....or even of our time. I wondered at an author who could be so disconnected from the reality of rape, and I didn't think it boded well for the heroine.However, because the book appeared to be self edited, and that was obvious periodically throughout the whole book, I stuck with it. I felt that the author deserved a chance to redeem herself. What I found was that despite some problems, the overall story was interesting and even exciting. I enjoyed the realistic elements that the author chose to keep, rather than romanticizing the life of mountain men and women. I liked the characters, including the supporting characters, and I found I could empathize with both Josiah and Emma most of the time. However, the story could easily have been shorter because the author repeated story elements and descriptions so frequently. We do not need to be told, repeatedly, how Josiah needed to "tussle" Emma to feel secure, nor do we need to watch Emma dither over certain observations beyond the first or second telling. Certain scenes became tedious. That said, if the author followed with a sequel that covered Mary and George's adult relationship, I would be interested. Mary and George were two of my favorite characters.