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May 09, 2011

Barbara rated it:

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Oct 02, 2011

Terri rated it:

I loved this series. I read it because I was a huge Diana Gabaldon fan, and I saw her recommendation on the cover of the first book in this series. However, I became a fan of this series based on it's own merits and the talent of the author, Sara Donati (Rosina Lippi). I won't waste anyone's time giving my own synopsis of the story, that is better done by the author. I do want to say that I appreciate the world and the characters created by Ms. Lippi, and that it was a pleasure to spend some More...

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Dec 28, 2011

Nancy rated it:

I found the following, posted by the author, on Amazon.com:

I am Rosina Lippi, aka Sara Donati, author of the Wilderness series. If you've come here because you are wondering about a book in the series called "Journey's End" please note: there is no such book. The sixth book in the series is called "The Endless Forest" and that is available here on Amazon for preorder. Journey's End was a working title that somehow (mistakenly) found itself way onto Amazon, but I d More...

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Feb 02, 2011

Nancy rated it:

OK--three and a half stars. I read it quickly, to find out what happens to all of the characters.

It's one of the better books in the series (although I liked "Queen of Swords" a lot, being full of colorful detail about New Orleans in 1814: real characters, events and place). The epilogue is very satisfying and feels almost real.

But there's something kind of flavorless about the writing. When an author accrues such a large cast of characters, she's got to give them s More...

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Jan 23, 2011

Gretchen rated it:

Ah, the final book. The challenge for anyone who ever writes a series - how to wrap things up so that you tell the story you intended to tell, while satisfying readers with the story they want to hear. It's a tough line to walk, and Donati does it quite well.

I loved the return to Paradise and the extended Bonner family. The prologue with Curiosity catching us up on what's happened was wonderful. Curiosity is one of my favorite characters and I loved her in this book. I also really en More...

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Nov 30, 2010

CJ rated it:

The continuing saga of the Bonner family of Paradise, New York, circa 1824, finds Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bonner now joined on their mountain paradise by their offspring, come home to roost. All are now married with children of their own, or expecting, save the youngest Bonner sibling, Birdie. Most of this, the final story, revolves around Daniel Bonner and his romantic entanglement with Martha Kirby, the good-hearted–and polar opposite–daughter of the family’s arch nemesis—Jemima Southern Quick More...

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Jun 24, 2010

Lori rated it:

ENDLESS FOREST ends the saga of the Bonner family and the series that started with INTO THE WIlDERNESS. The series opens in the 1790's and runs to a conclusion (in the ENDLESS FOREST)in the 1840's. The story takes place in colonial New York north of Albany at the edge of the endless forest. Through all the trials and tribulations of the Bonner family and friends you will travel a number of places, including Scotland, Canada, "the west", Florida, New Orleans and more. When they go off t More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Melissa rated it:

The Endless Forest is the sixth and final book in Sara Donati's series. The series is set in the 1800's and involves a large family living at the edge of ruralness. It's not really necessary to read the other books before this one, but it does help with some of the background and keeping the people straight.

Its years later and Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner's children are mostly grown up and starting families of their own. Hannah is the town's doctor and little Birdie is in school, More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Karen added it

Donati is an excellent writer, and this series is unique in its portrayal of a fascinating time period and place. While the book had me turning pages rapidly, afterward I felt disappointed about certain aspects of the story. Daniel and Hannah are beautifully written about in the book - I was gratified to read about Daniel's gradual acceptance of his pain and disability, and loved reading about the development of their relationship. Once again, Curiosity is a wonderful character, and it was in More...

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Jan 19, 2010

Kd rated it:

What a finish!!! At least I am assuming this is the last in the series. All the loose ends were tied up in the last few pages and in such a unique way. When our library acquired Queen of Swords and paperbacks of all the previous books in the series, I knew it was time to reread the whole set, especially since I had been waiting to read the 'Fire' one. Two weeks and many late nights later,I was finished with all that had been published so far and waiting for 'Forest'. This week it came to t More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 14, 2010

Julia rated it:

This is the sixth and final book in the series that started with Into the Wilderness. At the outset this is meta-fiction/ historical fiction the son of Hawkeye from The Last of the Mohicans and Elizabeth Middleton, a Jane Austen character, meet and fall in love.

Now it’s thirty years later and this novel is mostly concerned with their grown children and grandchildren. Martha, who is the villain Jemima’s daughter, falls in love and marries Daniel (Elizabeth & Nathaniel’s son) who lost More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 08, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I can't remember when or why I ever started reading this series, except that it was long ago and probably had to do with my fondness for pioneer stories. The whole series turned out to be more romance-y than I might prefer but I managed to get sucked in anyway. Now the series is done and, as always, I am sad to say goodbye to people with whom I just spent 600 pages, but I'm glad that everything got wrapped up in the end. I was a bit worried that I'd be lost, given that I read the previous five b More...

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Mar 24, 2011

Angela rated it:

This is the fifth and final book of the Into the Wilderness series. It is a historical romance set in revolutionary and post revolutionary America. It chronicals the lives of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bonner and their many friends and offspring in New York.
This was my favorite of the series it was sad to say goodbye to characters that you have come to know and care about. It has a nice epilogue at the end of the book that nicely "wraps up" the lives of all the characters. More...

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Feb 14, 2010

Jacqui rated it:

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Dec 13, 2011

Jill rated it:

I have been a fan of this series since the beginning. Originally, I wanted to read the first book simply because Donati paid homage to Diana Gabaldon by mentioning Claire Fraser and young Ian Murray, from the Outlander series, in passing. As a huge Outlander fan, it was quite the thrill to see their names in another author's story.

Diana Gabaldon also recommended this book. So I read Into the Wilderness. I became hooked. In the first book, you meet Elizabeth Middleton who believes she i More...

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Jan 05, 2012

Melanie rated it:

Sara Donati is kind of my guilty pleasure when it comes to reading. Her writing style is incredible - she can weave a crazy good story - but I always have to give several caveats when recommending the books to others. Having said that, her final book in the Wilderness series was really good. I felt like the story bogged down toward the end (perhaps reached a plot climax too soon??) and I didn't like the newspaper synopses for the last few pages because so many important pieces of information wer More...

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Sep 25, 2010

Lynda rated it:

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Feb 20, 2010

Heidi rated it:

This was the last book in a series that I started when I lived in Germany. The series takes place in New York in the 1700s-1800s. I think that is part of what initially caused me to pick up the first book. It is set in the "wilderness" that was/is upstate New York. I really liked it and thought that she ended the series well. I wouldn't recommend it if you have not read the others though. She tried to make it so it could be read alone, but I don't know if that would really work. More...

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Feb 02, 2010

April rated it:

I am always sad to see a series such as this end. It must be a very daunting task to have to close out in words the lives of so many loveable characters. This was not my favorite of the wilderness series but the love building relationship between Martha and Daniel was beautifully written as was all the back story of the Bonner crew. I found Mima's story lagging and almost inconsequential by the end. And OHHH the epilogue! What a tear jerker that was. But I must thank the author for such a More...

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Mar 29, 2011

AJ rated it:

Alright so call me naive but I like stories that are all wrapped up happily ever after. I floated through this book on a cloud of happiness, loving the stories of the Bonner clan all together at last, everything coming together nicely for the characters we have followed for six books and then WHAM - the Epilogue! I know that people die, but after loving these characters for so long, I really didn't want to know about it. Thankfully there were some happy hightlights in there as well but I must More...

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Oct 30, 2010

Jeanette rated it:

I started this book knowing that it was part of a series and that I was starting in the middle. It was a great story that just kept drawing me in. I wanted to know what happened to Birdie, Hannah, Lily, Martha, Daniel. Everyone in the book is the main character and they become your family as you read. At just over 600 pages I was a little unsure if I would make it but once you get halfway, then you can't put it down!
The only thing I did not care for was the epilogue. It was sections More...

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Apr 16, 2011

Sally rated it:

What a wonderful series this has been. To me, it has the same effect on me as the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. All these wonderful characters, developing over the time of the series. The stories of each blending in with the ones gone before. The Bonner clan come together in this final book of the series.

I cant recommend this series enough, but please start at the beginning as Sara Donati gives little detail of the stories that have gone before and you really dont want to mis More...

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Feb 28, 2010

Susan rated it:

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Apr 26, 2010

Kimberly rated it:

This was a great book with lots of well-developed characters. I especially liked how well she describes the strengths and motivations of the women in her books. I have not read all of the books in this particular story line, but I had no problem picking this book up and understanding what was going on, so it works fine as a stand-alone. A decent amount of action, though perhaps not as much as in the other book I read in this series. It is more strongly about the people she has been following More...

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Aug 19, 2011

Clmk rated it:

I liked this one! The romance between Daniel and Martha read like a stand alone novel. I had a hard time re-imagining Paradise as it was in this book. I wish there had been another map. There seemed to be some loose threads in this one, too - especially around Birdie. I wish we had been given a chance to read hear story. I also want to know more about Ethan and Callie. It seems there must be more there. I think the epilogue was one of the hardest parts to read. It was awful to read the obituarie More...

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Aug 10, 2011

Lucy rated it:

Sara Donati's The Endless Forest is the sixth and final book in her Wilderness series and it is just as entertaining and exciting as the first one. This is one of my favourite series of books and since it has finally come to an end, I really tried to savour this last book. This has been a journey of epic proportions. Over the books and over the years I have watched all my favourite characters develop and grow into someone wonderful and unique. Sometimes I really feel like I know these people!
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Aug 14, 2011

Aly rated it:

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Jun 16, 2011

Erin rated it:

I was extremely disappointed last week when I went to the Wheaton library, which the library system website assured me had possession of this book, only to be unable to locate it. Even the librarian couldn't find it. Now, this could have something to do with the horrible set-up of the Wheaton Library, but nonetheless, it was disappointing to concede defeat and sign up to have the book transferred from another distant branch, with a multiple day wait. I hunkered down with the first of the Hun More...

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May 17, 2010

Jen rated it:

My reader-friends know that I love a LONG book so a long series is even better. I want to get to know everything about the characters and if I read a recommended "quick-read", I'm often disappointed. This book does not disappoint -

First of all - I really do recommend the whole series. I thought #1 was good. I thought the un-ending racy scenes in #1 and especially in #2 got a little old. In fact, when I finished #2, I wasn't really recommending the series to anyone (pr More...

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Sep 25, 2010

Tara rated it:

It's been a LONG journey.

As already detailed in my LiveJournal, this has been on my to-read list for quite a while. Subconciously, I probably avoided picking it up for any number of reasons, but conciously I knew I wasn't ready for the story to end.

I've long been a fan of historical fiction, with contributions by Dontati, Gabaldon, John Jakes, and Caleb Carr among my top favorites.

This sweeping story, over several volumes and generations of one family is an More...

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