Laura Frantz
Temperance (Tempe) Tucker and her family built and run an inn on the Shawnee River. Tempe does what she can to help her mother, brother, and father (who frequently goes into hiding since he's wanted in Virginia for a crime), but she can't help but long for death, to join her beloved fiancé James, who was killed in an Indian attack a few years before. Sion Morgan is a surveyor, charged with charting out Kentucke, but with Indians on the warpath (encouraged by the British), he has to change course. Determined to still do some surveying, he needs a guide. Tempe has no desire to be his guide, but, forced to do so by her family, she guides Sion and his group, and as she does so, she and Sion--who has known tragedy of his own--come to find hope and peace in one another.
I haven't read many books from this time period, so it was a little bit hard for me to get into the book at first--I wasn't used to the language, wasn't familiar with the geography, and didn't really know anything about surveying or early settlers in the Kentucke region. Some genres, settings, and time periods, I can just slip comfortably into, but that wasn't the case here. But that's okay! If you're not familiar with it either, and are tempted to give up reading it, don't! It's totally worth sticking it out. It was a really interesting time to learn more about. It's very richly detailed and really helps the reader envision what the time was like, showing day-to-day life and the very real dangers and struggles, alongside the hopes and dreams, of the characters. Tempe is smart, resourceful, and so competent, all things I really liked about her, and Sion, the strong, silent, determined type, which made me love him. Really fascinating book.
I read a copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
4 stars. Clean read.
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