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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Book was ok, but not in the same class as the Outlander series...and way too long...
Sara Donati's historical fiction includes nods to Outlander and The Last of the Mohicans, considers the trials and adventures of a feminist woman in the 18th century wilderness of New York, and offers copious romance and lush description.
In this first book of Donati's Wilderness series, it's 1792 and Elizabeth Middleton has traveled with her malcontent lush of a brother from a grand English estate to a wild New York settlement to meet up with her father, who has been building business connections there for years.
She quickly realizes that her father's oblique promises that she could teach school in their new home may have been a ruse to get her to New York--and he then planned to push her into considering marriage in order to serve his business interests.
But she's determined to follow her own path--and her strong-willed decisions fly in the face of rigid society's expectations concerning women, slavery, and appropriate marriage prospects.
And Elizabeth can't fight her immediate attraction to the no-nonsense Nathaniel Bonner, a white man dressed in Mohawk gear.
I've heard this called Outlander fan fiction (Jamie and Claire Fraser are mentioned in this novel), and have also heard that the Hawkeye character in the book (Nathaniel's father) is the same character as in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans.
Regardless of its true origins, Into the Wilderness did scratch the itch of reading a combination of historical fiction, romance, and rich descriptions of taming the wild.
Elizabeth is a feminist in a time in which independence and freedom are not encouraged in a woman. She finds clever ways to assert her strong will by working within and around the confines of the law and of social expectations.
The Elizabeth-Nathaniel relationship is romantic and saucy and swoony. Richard is a powerful, vindictive, greedy third wheel (who, like Nathaniel, is white and has deep Indian roots; it often felt to me as though he played an over the top Evil Nathaniel Alternative here). Elizabeth's brother Julian is weak, easily tempted, shirks responsibility, and is set upon seeing others fail.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and it ran 30 hours and 13 minutes.
Sara Donati is the pen name of Rosina Lippi. Lippi has primarily published academic works under her real name, as well as the novel Homecoming.
Donati is also the author of the wonderful book The Gilded Hour as well as Where the Light Enters and ten other historical fiction novels.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Into the Wilderness.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
In this first book of Donati's Wilderness series, it's 1792 and Elizabeth Middleton has traveled with her malcontent lush of a brother from a grand English estate to a wild New York settlement to meet up with her father, who has been building business connections there for years.
She quickly realizes that her father's oblique promises that she could teach school in their new home may have been a ruse to get her to New York--and he then planned to push her into considering marriage in order to serve his business interests.
But she's determined to follow her own path--and her strong-willed decisions fly in the face of rigid society's expectations concerning women, slavery, and appropriate marriage prospects.
And Elizabeth can't fight her immediate attraction to the no-nonsense Nathaniel Bonner, a white man dressed in Mohawk gear.
I've heard this called Outlander fan fiction (Jamie and Claire Fraser are mentioned in this novel), and have also heard that the Hawkeye character in the book (Nathaniel's father) is the same character as in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans.
Regardless of its true origins, Into the Wilderness did scratch the itch of reading a combination of historical fiction, romance, and rich descriptions of taming the wild.
Elizabeth is a feminist in a time in which independence and freedom are not encouraged in a woman. She finds clever ways to assert her strong will by working within and around the confines of the law and of social expectations.
The Elizabeth-Nathaniel relationship is romantic and saucy and swoony. Richard is a powerful, vindictive, greedy third wheel (who, like Nathaniel, is white and has deep Indian roots; it often felt to me as though he played an over the top Evil Nathaniel Alternative here). Elizabeth's brother Julian is weak, easily tempted, shirks responsibility, and is set upon seeing others fail.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and it ran 30 hours and 13 minutes.
Sara Donati is the pen name of Rosina Lippi. Lippi has primarily published academic works under her real name, as well as the novel Homecoming.
Donati is also the author of the wonderful book The Gilded Hour as well as Where the Light Enters and ten other historical fiction novels.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Into the Wilderness.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
I began reading this book quite intrigued at how the author continued the storyline of The Last of the Mohicans (all my knowledge of that story is the film). About 300 pages in however, things went sour. A character recounted an anecdote which mentioned the existence in this story's mythology of characters from the Outlander series. My biggest frustration with this is the fact Into the Wilderness is touted as an historical fiction. Outlander is clearly historical/fantasy, because time travel doesn't work. I felt the melding of these two genres completely impossible and ridiculous. From that point on, it was impossible not to draw comparisons between the two. Here are several:
1. Heroin finds her inner strength only after sleeping with male protagonist.
2. Heroin has a nickname given by their lover.
3. Both are chased by the antagonist for mostly ridiculous reasons.
4. Characters find themselves in ridiculous and contrived circumstances.
Along with these traits, there are various plot deviations which bring nothing to the main story (child being adventuresome with an inkpot for example). I am not convinced I should finish the series.
And I'm not sure of others, but when time is of the essence, I'm not sure taking the time to do it in a church is really necessary. I can't think of a worse mood-killer than someone dying and needing to break someone out of jail so they can be there for the death.
1. Heroin finds her inner strength only after sleeping with male protagonist.
2. Heroin has a nickname given by their lover.
3. Both are chased by the antagonist for mostly ridiculous reasons.
4. Characters find themselves in ridiculous and contrived circumstances.
Along with these traits, there are various plot deviations which bring nothing to the main story (child being adventuresome with an inkpot for example). I am not convinced I should finish the series.
And I'm not sure of others, but when time is of the essence, I'm not sure taking the time to do it in a church is really necessary. I can't think of a worse mood-killer than someone dying and needing to break someone out of jail so they can be there for the death.
The large cast of Scots, British and Native Americans (and maybe some French) in the same story was confusing at times. I really enjoyed the central story and the relationship between the two main characters. I'd like to see more of the supporting cast of Native Americans, but the title of the next book makes me think Nathaniel and Elizabeth will be leaving the cocoon of Hidden Wolf.
Apparently this is a sequel to The Last of the Mohicans set in the same universe as the Outlander series. I could forgive the lack of originality if the plot was excellent, but no- instead it sprawled and carried on unnecessarily. The characters were vibrant, but their relationships were lacking. I did not even find the love story compelling. This is one series I will not be continuing.
Great adventure romance frontier type book !! Loved the characters and references to Jamie, Claire, and family
This book was recommended to me by a co-worker. At first I had my doubts it is not like all the other books I like to read. But I was very surprised when I could not put the book down. I love this book and I can not wait to read the second book in the series.
Amazing, amazing, amazing! This is the best book I've read in a long time. I can't wait to read the rest in this series!
Everyone says this is Outlander-like. Not for me.... I'd rather re-read Outlander.
This took me awhile to get through, I won't lie. It was worth every minute, and every page turn. Just when the story seemed to slow down, it would pick up again with another character or another thread of the continuing story. Elizabeth was a character you wanted to root for. You wanted her to achieve her happiness, yes, but you wanted her to fight for it- to break down her walls, to learn how to survive in the wilderness. One thing all the characters of Paradise seem to have is an unbreakable spirit. No matter what happens, they keep going, heads high, ready to face the next obstacle. We seem to have lost that drive, somehow. As life becomes easier to live, the drive to be happy and fulfilled doesn't seem as strong.
Most of the characters who deserved their bad karma got it in spades, which I was very content with. I found myself lost in the pages once I started reading, and not realize how much time had actually passed until I became distracted. That, to me, is the mark of an excellent author and a great book. I'd highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Great read.
Most of the characters who deserved their bad karma got it in spades, which I was very content with. I found myself lost in the pages once I started reading, and not realize how much time had actually passed until I became distracted. That, to me, is the mark of an excellent author and a great book. I'd highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Great read.