Release Date April 28, 2020

​This was the Okayest book that I loved the most. This book and I got off to kind of a rocky start. The initial writing, particularly dialogue made me question its historical accuracy. I am not a historian, so it is probably perfect, maybe just different than I was expecting. There was a big chunk of “memory” that maybe should have been sprinkled throughout the book instead of just dumped near the beginning. Hopefully, that will be corrected, since this was an advance copy… With that being said, I loved this book more with every page I read.

I have been into historical fiction lately and westerns are no exception. I would actually love to see westerns make a comeback. They are such an exciting mix of danger and naïve optimism. This book did a good job of illustrating that people did not put their lives on hold while they were on the trail. They continued their hobbies and work in some cases, got married, and had babies. Can you imagine? Having a baby. On the trail. Westerns are wild.

Naomi and John are fun, strong-willed characters that play off each other nicely. Amy Harmon does a good job of writing the sexual tension between the two characters and it helps add to the excitement of the story. It was amazing to find out that John Lowry and many other characters in this book were real people with a personal connection to the author. Don’t miss the author’s note, it was one of my favorite things about this book.
     
This is a western expansion, soft romance. If you like wagon trains, pioneers, settlers, Indians and sexual tension with no sex, this is the book for you. Fans of the ancient series Into the West (2005) will love this book. If you are looking for a western with no romance try News of the World.

Where the Lost Wander is a historical romance - a love story between John and Naomi during their trek toward the west.  It depicts the hardship, sacrifice, fear, and death the people face along the way.  Naomi is a widower and John is half white and half Pawnee.  They are an unlikely pair, but they bonded and fell in love through all the adversity.  There is a lot going in this book than a love story to really summarize.  The dynamic of Naomi’s family.  John’s life struggles as a half-Pawnee man half white yet a stranger in both world.  Life and death on the Overland Trail, the tragedy, and the sacrifice they faced.  The details of the landscapes described was quite remarkable, beautiful, vivid, and well researched. There is a bit of violence and a few other triggers that were a little difficult for me  What can I say, I like roses and sunshine but that wouldn’t be real, would it? There isn’t a lot of hot and heavy scenes either given the timeline, but very romantic in a beautiful, old fashion kind of way.  If you love historical romance, you must read this.  It’s a heartbreaking, inspiring story about love, loss, sacrifice, and new beginnings.  Must I say the author’s writing is exquisite? I suspect you already knew that!

One of my favorite historical romance.  Simply STUNNING!

Can you imagine traveling by wagon train from Illinois to Missouri all the way to California? The immense hardship and loss. Strength and perseverance. Love and family. John Lowry is one of my all time favorite characters. His Indian name, Two feet, given because he straddles both the white world and the world of his mother. And Naomi, the only daughter in a family full of boys with aging parents who need and rely on her. I can relate! I loved her story and admired her determination.
A great story for those who love history and the human desire to dream of a better life.

Where the Lost Wander was an enjoyable story about an emigrant train on the Oregon Trail. The story alternates between the two love interests. Naomi - a young widow traveling with her parents and brothers - and John Lowry - a half Pawnee half white young man looking for a new start. The story is not light with many details about the hardships the emigrants encountered along the trail. I enjoyed both main characters and the development of their relationship. The ending felt rushed and little incomplete to me.

Where the Lost Wander is historical fiction written during the westward movement in American history.  I have always been most fascinated by this time period and have personally traveled along the Platte River and into Wyoming following the trail described in this book.  Having seen the terrain and the landmarks described in this book myself I was easily able to imagine the trials of the pioneers and their wagon train.  The details of the book were well researched and written beautifully.  The characters of John, Naomi, and the May family were believable and I was drawn into their struggles, sorrows, and joys.  I commend the author for not shying away from the difficult topics and hardships that pioneers on the trails west faced, however these incidents will be difficult for some readers.  
I look forward to enthusiastically recommending this book and I give thanks to  NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book and I am providing this, my unbiased review and opinion.

I will post this review to Goodreads closer to the time of its release.

I love Amy Harmon's books and have made it a personal mission to get her books in as many people's hands as possible. She is so underappreciated. This was a book that I kept thinking about until I could finish it and I am sure that I will continue to think about.

I’m not one to read historical fiction regularly. This book was hard to put down. I felt like I really had an inside look to what is was like to travel the Oregon trail. Something I haven’t thought about since grade school. A well written page turner. Amy Harmon doesn’t disappoint!

Amy Harmon knocks it out of the park yet again! She is an exceptional writer. Where the Lost Wander was truly a journey I was taken on. Every feeling in the book that we conveyed was the same feelings I felt while reading. The over all feeling I had from this book was INTENSE. However that should be expected from a book about Pioneers. Crossing the plains was not light and fluffy affair. At every turn there were struggles and hard ship In the deepest way.  But among all that happened you still felt love and happiness come through in the characters. . To be written any other way would have been false. 

There is a part in the book where they talk about being careful about who you hate. I love how simplistically Amy Harmon conveys this message. Her main Male Character John could have easily hated so many people. The Indian family that left him, the white family that raised him but that kept him at a distance. Yet he chose to forgive and try to understand them. Even when people all around him did cruel things to him.  It was a message that could be felt through the whole book. 

I loved this book and appreciate the story and part truths that we are able to be apart of because of Amy Harmons imagination.

I do not like historical novels. They are not my go to for a good read - UNLESS Amy Harmon writes them. She is flawless in her research, her writing and her attention to every detail.  She tells you the truth, she shows the reader the  ruthlessness and the how hard it was to be a pioneering family. Everyone needs to read this

Where the Lost Wander is a beautifully written book by Amy Harmon.  It is an epic western, historical fiction, and romance book all in one.  The story follows a journey from Missouri to California in a wagon train.  Going across the country in the 1850's was not easy.  There were bugs, lack of water or difficult crossing of water, fire wood could be scarce, diseases, death, hunger, & Indians were some of the threats to these determined people.

Naomi and her family join a wagon train.  They face many hardships in their travels.  Naomi is a talented artist which helps her along the way and is woven throughout the book.  Naomi is also newly widowed.  She chose to travel with her family even though her in-laws were part of the wagon train.  This does causes some tension in the group.

John is a mule man and was supposed to deliver some mules to a fort along the way and return home.  John basically finds love at first site of Naomi.  John has inner demons about his being loved and accepted and personal conflicts about being half white and half Indian.  John and Naomi have a nice courtship and romance on the trail west with some near misses on being together.

While this story is not entirely new, it is well written.  The historical facts are somewhat based on the authors family.  The book kept me interested all the way through and the ending ended up being a real page turner for me.  

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book for an honest opinion!  The book will be published April 28, 2020 #NetGalley #AmyHarmon #WheretheLostWander

I can’t get enough of Amy Harmon’s books! She is such a talented writer. This is the third I have read, and all have been completely different. In Where the Lost Wander, we become immersed in the journey of emigrants crossing the plains in the mid-1800s. Love, loss, self-awareness, culture... there is so much depth to the story This one was a bit slower paced but that just meant more to enjoy. Harmon blends fact and imagination to make the perfect historical fiction novel.

Amy Harmon has such a way with words, I go through so many emotions every one of her books. Where the Lost Wander is no exception. If you're looking for a book to pull you in from start to finish, look no further.

Brazen! Barren! Brawn!
I guess that some's it all up with a Western feel that excited the pallet and tickled the fancy.
The characters were colorful but shady and restless in nature.
I constantly felt like we were always on the go so there's plenty of action and suspense to keep the intrigue.
For me the hard part was the material in question: rape, scalpings, slavery, sexual content, violence and raw foul language.
It was a brutal time and I understand the idea behind it but not quite sure it needed to go so far over.
The writing was good as always it was the subject matter that threw me off.
If you're a fan you'll form your own opinion rather quickly but just be cautious entering.
Storytelling at its finest!

This is an epic wagon train adventure set a few years after the California Gold Rush.  The male lead, John, is a half-caste man (Pawnee mother, white father) trying to find his place in the world.  The female lead, Naomi, is a young widow travelling with her family in the wagon train with which John is helping.  Naomi is not prepared to follow the norm of marrying again quickly as some think there is little future for her without a husband.  Adventures on the 2000 mile trek west highlight the hardships of the time, with death coming in many disguises.  The viewpoint of the native American is well represented and the characters are strong and sympathetic.  highly recommended.

Where are all of my Oregon Trail/historical fiction peeps at? You will devour this book. I used to play Oregon Trail for hours on the computer and lost more wheels, axels, oxen and food than you could count. And, I always died of dysentery 😱

The fact that an author was able to portray the real, non-fictional aspects of that time period with such beauty and accuracy is astonishing. In fact, her husbands great-grandfather 5x removed is who she based her main character on. He kept indepth journals of his travels on the trail which make this another reason to read. I was engrossed by the love story and really felt invested in everyone's struggles.

This book doesnt drop til April/May 2020, but add to your TBR list ASAP so you don't forget!

What a beautiful story. For me it was very slow to start. Was kinda boring in some areas. But it gives you perspective of life long ago with Indians and immigrants and the troubles they had to endure on their journey from Missori to California.

When it comes to historical fiction Amy is a magician with her keyboard. She has a way of taking you out of the present and transporting you back in time, whenever and wherever that may be. Her descriptions and world building are some of my favorite things to read. 

This book was nothing short of exquisite. The characters, the time, the world. Just everything about it was captivating from the very beginning. Amy takes you are a hard journey but in the end you can be nothing but in awe of how she makes you feel. In one second she could be breaking your heart and in the next your heart is mended and filled with nothing but joy. This is the magic of Amy Harmon. 

I'm going to leave this one short and sweet because in the end there are no words I could type out to even begin to describe how I truly feel about this story. If you love historical fiction please pick this one up or any of Amy Harmon's books in this genre. She will leave a mark. I promise.

I was so excited to read this book. I wanted so badly to love it. I've seen nothing but great reviews. I'm so happy for Amy Harmon in that regard. She's such a beautiful human. 

I hate having to say it wasn't for me. I've recently gotten into historical fiction and love it. This book, however, was so slow for almost the entire book. I kept thinking, HOPING, it would pick up. It just barely did towards the end. I'm left teetering here in the middle. The writing was good as always with Amy Harmon novels. There were good moments throughout as well. As a whole I just felt underwhelmed. Maybe this part of history just isn't for me. 

I think if this time period is of great interest to you, you'll probably like this book. If you're just slightly interested- like me, I could honestly take it or leave it- you might have a hard time getting through it.

I’ve read MANY historical western romance over the years, and the plot for Where the Lost Wander isn’t unique, it’s actually a fairly typical plot about a hero that is both, white and Native Indian, and a wagon train going west. But what makes this book so fantastic is that the author took the basics of a classic historical western romance and turned it into a beautiful work of art.

The book was just STUNNING!!! Beautiful, raw, thoughtful, and touching.

THE COMBINATION OF ALL OF THE ABOVE MADE FOR A COMPELLING, AND UNFORGETTABLE TALE.

And I think what makes it stand out even more is the eye for historical detail, the feeling that these people were drawn from something more. It’s a love story, more than a romance and it comes deep from the heart. Naomi and John’s love for each other was palpable, and transcendent.

Where the Lost Wander isn’t a steamy book. There is actually barely any sex at all in this book. Instead the romance goes much more deeper, and the story follows this epic but also at times tragic journey across America, on a wagon train where many will never reach their destination. 1850’s wasn’t a kind period for settlers. Battles between the natives and the settlers, sickness and disease ravaged the country. This book is real, raw and feels entirely authentic.

I fell in love with both, Naomi and John. Both were steadfast, and grounded people. Knowing what they wanted, but also aware of repercussions, and expectations. Naomi had in someway an easier time because she was widowed and had the freedom to chose John without having to worry about what people thought. John, was more circumspect. He knew what it meant to live as neither, fully white, nor fully native. He walked as both but also lived in neither. And he didn’t want Naomi to feel the same. So he had thoughts. I liked that he was a thinker, quiet, peaceful, and hardworking. Naomi was the dreamer, artist, carer. They matched so well, and completed the other in a most touching way.

This book was everything a historical western romance should be. Incredibly well researched, characters that were likable and genuine, and a plot that had heart and soul.

Where do I start? Simply put, I really enjoyed this book. I've always been intrigued by the Oregon Trail (anyone remember the old PC game?!), partly because I grew up on a stretch of it and loved picturing emigrants who may have traveled that route in search of new lands and opportunities. They faced numerous hardships and many people died.

This story is told from two POVs; Naomi, a widow who is travelling with her parents and brothers west, and John, a man in charge of helping the May family with their mules. 

The story follows their journey along hundreds of miles of challenges, heartbreak, death, love and triumphs. Though I'm not terribly familiar with the accuracies of the Oregon Trail, I live in Idaho, and it was interesting to come across Native American tribes and words I am familiar with from my area (Shoshoni, Bannock, Fort Hall, Pocatello, etc.) which makes me appreciate the history in my geographical location more. 

I appreciated Harmon's attempt at portraying everyone -- white settlers, Native Americans, Mormons -- with the utmost respect. While it's easy to look at someone else's differences and label them as savage or ruthless, that isn't how we can adequately learn from other cultures and ways of life.  

Overall, I wish the book had been longer; I felt the ending was rushed. I appreciated the slow growth of the characters as they faced tragedy and hardship, while celebrating the joyful moments in between. Overall, this is probably my favorite historical fictional depiction of the Oregon Trail. I rated it a 4/5 on Goodreads.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. You can pre-order Where the Lost Wander on Amazon.