This was cute, but not one of my fav romances. I liked the MC enough but the romance fell a little flat for me. Enjoyable, but ultimately not super memorable.

I always enjoy a historical romance featuring two women. So i also enjoyed thos one. It was very well writtem and although it maybe wasnt a firework kind of book I would still recommend. Well done

I‘m usually not a fan of books set in the past, but I decided to broaden my horizons and try reading a book set in 1935 by an author new to me - and I wasn’t disappointed!

Sam Ledel tells the story of two women in a rural mountain town, Lida and Hazel. Lida is the daughter of a Russian immigrant who’s found work in the coal mines of Cedar Springs. She’s an educated and ambitious young woman who’s quite progressive for her time. Hazel is the daughter of Clara, the owner of the towns diner. She’s used to putting her family first, helping out her mother, caring for her elderly grandfather and looking out for her younger brother.

Honestly, queer books set in the past quite scare me mainly because of the homophobia I‘m immediately expecting. This book however has barely any in it - there is distaste and disagreement, the hiding, the fearing, but no harm done to either character which I‘m extremely grateful for. The entire town is quite progressive, a bit unusual for a rural town at that time, but it’s fiction so I don’t see an issue with it.

Lida and Hazel have great chemistry and an easygoing romance, despite a few hurdles, but nothing they can’t take. They have common interests and shared ambitions which makes them work incredibly well as a couple.

The book does deal with important problems set in the time period such as coal miners, the lack of education, poverty and the lack of mental health support.

Definitely going to check out more books by this author!

Usually I don’t read historical novels because they are super depressing for me due to the treatment of women and minorities. This book is set in 1935, which isn’t too far back, and it’s not all that depressing. There is some racism, but not really any homophobia. It’s more like a “don’t ask don’t tell” kind of atmosphere.

There also isn’t any tension. The story could be called a slow burn, but without the burn. The two MCs don’t meet until the 30% mark and don’t have an actual conversation until nearly the halfway point. The timeline is very drawn out, as they go months (like from July to November) without any contact.

Most of the book is the two young women going about their days and dealing with the untreated traumas of the older men in their lives. Their relationship just happens with very little thought or tension for either one of them. There is a small spark of drama right before the end that gets resolved pretty much instantly.

The characters are Lida, who appears to be butch or at least GNC and it’s lampshades once and never mentioned again, and Hazel, who initially comes off as incredibly whiny and anachronistic with the most sympathetic character being Clara, Hazel’s mother. Her brother also appears to be autistic which is a slightly interesting detail that doesn’t really go anywhere.

If you want something lite-historical with not a lot of drama, this is a good story for you.

This is the first book I have read by Ms. Ledel. It is a romance set in 1935 in the town of Cedar Springs, Utah. The two main characters, Hazel Thompson and Lida Jones, come from completely different backgrounds.

Lida is the daughter of an immigrant drifter. When the story begins, we find Lida and her father traveling to Cedar Springs for yet another job. Lida is hoping for a new beginning and is looking forward to finally establishing permanent roots. She finds a job she loves as the local traveling librarian while her father works in the mines. Although the population of Cedar Springs is not large, she is making friends and really enjoys the company of Hazel.

Hazel works in town with her mother in a small café. There is always work to be done as the café has many miners and local people who come to eat the excellent food her mother prepares. One of the traveling library stops is Hazel’s home. Hazel is drawn to the wonderful books the library has to offer and also to Lida.

There is a very slow romantic burn. Readers will enjoy the build up of the relationship between Lida and Hazel. Ms. Ledel does a good job of developing the characters as well as the story. I always enjoy historical books and this one paints a good picture of life in the West in the post-1929 depression. The details of hardships of immigrants, miners, and women were very informative.

I look forward to the next book by Ms. Ledel. I rank Wildflower Words with 4 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A great historical romance novel with a lot of well-filled out and fun side characters. The romance was enjoyable, but tame (though it didn't feel out of place for the world of the book). A fun and easy read.

I did not care for this book. I felt like the main characters lacked any kind of believable chemistry and that's pretty much a deal-breaker for a romance novel.

This novel takes us back into the time of the Great Depression and paints a realistic picture of life in remote parts of the US. It is 1935 and Lida comes with her father into a mining town in Utah high up in the mountains. They are outsiders esp. as recent immigrants from the East, but Lida comes to love the community and performs a vital service - she works for the packhorse library instituted by FDR and brings books to the families. I loved how the author brings the town to life: the lodge where the social center of the town centers - and where Hazel works. The hard life of the miners, invalid interracial marriages, Mr. Cordova who altered his name, etc.
Hazel already knows that boys are not for her and against the mores of her times defies marriage in favor of Lida. Lida is subtly butch and well read. She takes care of her father who suffers from depression. It comes to the point where she has to come of age and has to take care of herself. So both main characters have to struggle with their role in society and their families.
PS.: I was quite irritated of the frequent donkey-„braying“ of Lida‘s horse - the horses I know neigh, snort or nicker. And Russian immigrants rarely if ever go by the last name of Jones.

• Wildflower Words
• Sam Ledel
• Utah
• 1930s
• MC Hazel Thompson & Lida Jones
• Canyon Café
• Clara Thompson Hazel mother
• Pack Horse Library



This story take places in Cedar Springs, Utah in the 1930’s.
Lida Jones and her father have arrive in Utah so he can start working in the mines. Lida gets a job at Pack Horse Library to help out with the finances.

Hazel Thompson works in restaurant along side her mother. Hazel is a loving kind girl who always puts her family first.

This love story moves slowly. Which I didn’t mind, since it really set up the back stories. When Hazel and Lida meet and their relationships starts to develop, it is very sweet.. Lida really thinks she may have found her forever place and person. However, Lidas dad struggles with his own demons and her forever home, may not be.

This is my first period book. I’m glad I didn’t put it down. I found it very interesting, and the author did an incredible job with all the details. I really enjoyed the almost pure sweetness of the relationship between Hazel and Lida. I enjoyed it being almost angst-less. I thought it was a good story about two woman in a small town during the depression trying to start a life together.

This is a sweet story. You have to find your own way. Be brave enough to live your truth.

I give this story 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I will definitely keep an eye out for any new books from this author. .

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes book. through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First time reading this author and I definitely enjoyed it. Hazel and Lida as main characters had chemistry together, but we also get to know them as individuals. All the supporting characters were adding something to the story. The book is set in 1935 which allows the readers the learn about the living conditions at the time along with themes such as immigration, alcoholism and depression.
Overall an excellent historical romance!

okay LOVE. This was my first read of Sam's but brb adding EVERYTHING to my tbr. This story was so sweet and different. I love everything about it.

𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀.

My heart wasn't totally in this one but that's on me. I picked this up on a whim knowing that I'd likely have trouble with it. I don't usually indulge in historical romances although Jae changed it a little for me, and even then, I tend to gravitate towards stories where women pretend to be men. But this story isn't like that at all.

The book is set in the 1930s in the coal mining town of Cedar Springs, Utah and the place is surrounded by men and women trying to earn a living. I know the setting would interest some readers but I struggled a little to immerse into the story. One of the main characters, Lida, who comes from Russia with her father, lands a job as a Pack Horse librarian and there's some family side story that unravels along the way. The other main character is Hazel, who works alongside her mother as a cook. Hazel wasn't always aware of her preference for women before Lida but it seems like she was aware of her disinterest in men and I'm glad the author didn't turn this into a story about self-discovery. The romance was slow to pick up but once it did, my interest piqued too. The characters are sweet together and considering the time period this romance is set in, reactions to gay women were surprisingly muted. I kinda like that actually, so that's good.

I don't know how many people have heard of Sam Ledel before this. I certainly haven't. But I think she has written a story that's good enough to generate its own fans.

This book was so, so good! I loved the chemistry between Hazel and Lida and the backdrop for this story. It won't be the last time I read one of Sam Ledel's books. I was highly entertained from page one, and I would highly recommend this book to othere!

Good story. The main characters were very easy to like, and the supporting characters were likable as well. Hazel and Lida were such a sweet couple together you could just feel how much they loved each other and wanted to be together. I liked that the author wrote this as a turn of the century piece and we get to see the juxtaposition of how people traveled from place to place whether it be by train, car, or horse and buggy.. Lida was a traveling librian who used a mule or pack horse to travel from neighbor to neighbor, to deliver library books for people to read. Hazel was a cook who helped her mother run the restaurant and dance hall that they owned. I felt that this was a slow burn romance were the two women became friends first and fell in love later.I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family, and I look forward to what this author writes next.

I had no idea how much I would enjoy historical reads. The learning in regard to history tidbits is wonderful. I am looking and reading more and more. This read is set in a small mining community in Cedar Springs, Utah in 1935 during The Great Depression. Lida Jones, immigrant from Russia with a desire to settle down. Lida has been following her father as he moves (losing one job after another) from town to town. Lida is offered a job as a Pack Horse Librarian and she starts to feel a sense of home. Hazel Thompson and her family own a restaurant. Hazel loves her family and the town, but she feels like she is missing something. When Lida and Hazel meet, it is such a lovely romance with secondary characters especially Hazel's brother, Nicholas that enrich the story. Historical learning, so very awesome.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction. The characters were relatable, well developed and had great chemistry. It was an amazing read. Well done. I recommend getting a copy.
4.5 stars


Thanks to the Publisher Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.25 Stars. So I enjoyed this alot. Like to the point where I basically read this thing in one sitting. I have no idea why. It could be that there's just some small amount of loneliness the protagonists feel that is just floating around the edges of the narration. It could be that I adore our leads' characterization and how well they complement each other. It could be that this is a bit of a slow burn romance, with small moments of quiet yearning, mixed with the contentment the two characters feel just being in the other's presence. Whatever it was - I just couldn't wait to find out more about them.

It stars Lida Jones, the daughter of an immigrant who bounces around jobs for some reason. They're well travelled, and Lida is well read despite her poor to working class upbringing. She lands a job in the mining town of Cedar Springs, Utah as a Pack Horse Librarian after she recommends a book to the wife of the mine owner in town. Hazel is the second of our pair, and she works in the local restaurant as her mother's right hand woman. Hazel is one of those people who finds joy in helping others, often at the expense of her own mental health. When these two meet, sparks immediately fly. Lida finally found a place and people that she wants to stay with, and Hazel may have found a kindred spirit in the quietly intelligent Lida.

This is a historical romance, but it really is more concerned with the small corner of Utah that is Cedar Springs. The Pack Horse Librarians were an amazing group, and a wonderful organization as a whole, and is really a precursor to the bookmobiles, books-on-bikes, and smaller lending library programs today. Even the advent of digital outreach has its roots in the Pack Horse librarians. I also loved the added touch of Lida and her father Anglicizing their names to try to fit in, but it is only mentioned once, and only emphasized in smaller ways. Hazel often wrestles with the worrying lack of upward mobility in Cedar Springs - a town like so many in the west - where the whole economy is centered around the already dwindling wealth of mining. Hazel's views on education and how the lack of it further forces dependency on the mine are very progressive for her time, but it stills fits in with the historical setting. I love that balance.

Hazel and Lida just fit together. Both young women are extremely intelligent, lonely, and stuck in stifling circumstances not of their own making. What I love is that we know they're lonely, but they kind of don't: Hazel has the diner and her family, and Lida has her father. It really isn't until they meet each other that they realize how lonely they are. It progresses very well, an just hangs on just off to the side until an emotional moment happens, then it just slides right to the front where the characters finally have to confront that reality.

Everything in here just works so well together, with some nuanced depictions of the towns folk with the exception of Lida's childhood friend turned romantic pest, who is a little too much of a stereotypical entitled idiot. He's just a bit too jarring to me for a novel that does its best to have distinctive characters, but ones that aren't cartoonishly loud. But I guess all smaller towns have 'that guy' so it isn't terrible, even if he was an annoying addition.

This is a lovely historical romance that just moves smoothly, has an amazing setting, and downright relatable characters. This mostly hit with me, and I had a fantastic time.

*I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sam Ledel’s Wildflower Words is a delightfully sweet and charming tale about love. All types of love – bonds that can bind suffocatingly tight, love for family and friends, love for home, love of learning, and course, romantic passionate love. All of these are wonderfully explored throughout the book.

The downside of love is knowing that it can be fleeting, and it will break your heart. Since there is a synopsis available, I will not include one in this review. The main characters are very likable, and it was easy to become invested in their story right from the start. They are honest, forthright, and decent folks. The setting is Utah during the great depression. I thought of it as The Waltons out west.

The cast is rounded out by the denizens of Cedar Springs. All of whom are believably portrayed and bring their flaws and assets to bear. They help the reader feel what it must have been like to live in a town that has seen better days.

I would highly recommend this book for just enough angst to make me worry but not enough to make me doubt a HEA. This book is going to be added to my “comfort reread” list.

I received an ARC from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Only one question remains after reading this book: Why did I wait so long to start it during the holidays?

Nevertheless the idea of this book stood out prominently out of a few new publications on my reader, because "historic" wlw romances are very rare and it made me alsmot instantly fall back into the space of mind when I read Jae´s Oregon series. Sam Ledel´s story is nevertheless far more modern if you will, set in the 1930s.
We read about both women early on: Hazel (working in the family run "Old Lodge") and Lida (arriving with her father after yet another move across states with him looking for work) as they meet in Cedar Springs. She and her father are moving into a small cabin because he will work in the mine. Both women are seemingly in their 20s and it takes quite some time before they have more than a few moments together but the air is charged with meaning between them from the start.
During this time and in this rural area you have to work hard to earn even a little money, there seems not much of a perspective, the only school closed some time ago and there is quite some sorrow seeping through these written lines. Hazel and Lida lost one parent early and it is especially Lida´s father who is struggeling to leave the swamp of sorrow behind, because he seems lost and cannot hold a steady job because of this. But he loves Lida and would do everything for her.

But Hazel and Lida are like a breeze of strength and fresh ideas, flickers of hope amidst all of this and we can see all characters search for other ways to deal with the sorrows that come with living. Lida starts with a riding library to fill the gap the school closing left in terms of getting stories to the kids and in extension to the parents.
I love fluent poetric writing like for example: "...Wildflower centerpiece next to a lone, dull candle."
We need this hope, against all odds, two women meeting in the 1930s and falling in love even if it is in secret (sometimes I think there is not that of a leap to today).
There are no magical and far-fetched coincidences but two strong headed women getting to know each other natually and slowly with time. The have witty dialogue, dynamic peronalities and I loved this book because it is just fragile and sweet with more or less fade to black intimacy, but it fits perfectly.

There are some twinges of rasicm but never spoken clearly about and this is also true about homosexuality. I would have liked someone (even family) really putting a name to it and therefore acknowledging their romance/relaionship.
This is probaly also owed to the circumstance that this is a relatively short book and 50 to 80 page more would made it possible to make room for more topics.
Nevertheless I really got invested and loved their story very much.
Go read this (did I mention the awesome cover) and not procrastinate for 2 weeks like I did over the holidays!

(ARC via netgalley)

Lida Jones and her father Yaromir arrive in Cedar Springs Utah just in time for Yaromir to start his new job at the local mine. It’s 1935 and the Jones family has had a rough time for the last few years since losing their matriarch, Lida and Yaromir have moved several times making their way further west each time. This time Lida begins to settle in and make friends by serving as a roving librarian for the area and along the way meets Hazel Thompson. As the two of them grow closer Yaromir falls into trouble and Lida fears she may have to leave Cedar Springs before she wants to.
This was the first time I have read anything by this author and I definitely enjoyed it. I see myself picking up her next book for sure! Hazel and Lida had great chemistry together and their characters were believable for the time period. I always love these slow burn type stories and love to see the happily ever after sin the historical fiction genre as well and this covered all the bases. I loved the supporting characters, especially Clara and Nicholas, they were both adorable. Overall outstanding book and I will be on the lookout for the next release by Sam Ledel!