Reviews

Really great second full book addition to The Oregon Series! I’ve loved reading this series, and I’m so sad it’s over. This one was really good, and I liked that you got to see Luke, and Nora older, and their daughters and how they are a little more grown up. I was also really happy about Tess and Frankie because Tess was one of my favorite characters from book one, and both of them were favorites from the short stories. I really hope there’s more from this series in the future whether from short stories, full length books, or spin offs. Until then I will probably have to reread this series.

reginamea's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

__shaked's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

liligilsoul's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

nonbinaryknight's review against another edition

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5.0

I finally got around to reading the sequel to Backwards to Oregon and I think I love it more than the first book. As much as I loved to read about Nora and Luke falling in love, somehow Rika and Amy were better.

Amy is Luke and Nora’s eldest daughter. She loves horses and riding around, and she wants to prove to Luke that she can run the ranch while Luke goes to Fort Boise. She’s headstrong but insecure. She is also enlisted by Phin, the ranch’s foreman, to go pick up his mail order bride. Rika is fleeing from Boston after a series of unfortunate events, and she’s fleeing to the Hamilton Ranch. She arrives with secrets and is brought to the ranch by Amy. She’s no stranger to hard work, but how easy is it to learn how to be on a farm. Secrets are abundant and various issues arise, but surely everyone will come out fine.

I really adored Amy and Rika. Rika is scarred from past events and she’s willing to help out if it means that she can keep a place on the ranch while waiting for Phin to arrive. She’s so easy to like and it’s so nice to see her grow more comfortable. Amy is living a life of fear and it breaks my heart. I love her so much and she’s so sweet. She’s scared about her feelings and she has to portray a rough exterior to get some of the men on the ranch to take her seriously. Under the rough exterior though, she’s an absolute sweetheart.

It was nice to see some more of Luke and Nora, but I didn’t really enjoy Luke’s parts very much. They weren’t bad, but they didn’t feel necessary, I guess. It was nice to see more of Phin though, especially considering the role he plays in Rika’s life. On the other hand, I adored every scene with Tess and Frankie. They were such a nice couple to have added to the story and it was amazing.

I was really happy with how the drama was handled in this book. In the last book I found that some of it felt like it had been drawn out more than necessary but in this book it worked. It might have drawn out, but it felt perfect with how the characters were portrayed.

I really enjoyed this book and at some point in this year I’ll get around to reading Shaken to the Core .

munleigh's review against another edition

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5.0

I thought that this was a good sequel to Backwards to Oregon. Seventeen years later, we get to see the girls, Amy and Nattie, grown up and the continuation of Luke and Nora’s love story.

I enjoyed the slow-burn romance bewteen Rika and Amy.

I also thought that Jae did a good job of describing life as a rancher as well as Amy’s inner turmoil regarding her sexuality.

Review also posted here: https://wp.me/p4Pp9O-KM

shippychaos's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 stars, brilliant second full-length book about the Hamilton family (readers *could* skip the first book and the short stories, but Hidden Truths is much enhanced by the backstory of the previous installments in the series)

Overall, this series is expertly crafted. It’s not fantasy/sci-fi, but Jae puts just as much care and research into shaping the world these characters live in (or travel through)—just the best. period. Every character has dimension, even some of the secondary characters: Bernice/Jacob, Phin, Tess/Frankie. The wordsmithing is as I’ve come to expect from Jae — superb. I love everything about this series and never want it to end.

.5 stars off because the ending felt abrupt. the epilogue was sweet, but the big reveal to Nattie at the end felt weirdly anticlimactic, and then... the end? there are two short follow-ups in the series that hopefully offer more resolution to Luke/Nora and Amy/Rika storylines (maybe Tess/Frankie too

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