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Behind the Ranges #1
The Queen of Cherry Vale
The Oregon Trail... When newly widowed Hattie Rommel chooses a second husband, she doesn't expect him to fulfill her most secret dreams. She just wants him to take her to Oregon. Emmet Lachlan marries Hattie with the understanding that he will be free to leave her behind, once she is safely in Oregon. He is a wandering man, not a settling-down farmer. Then an old trapper bequeaths them a map to a valley where gold lies on the ground for the taking. While Emmet and Hattie gather the gold, they also discover each other. Even lost in love's magic, they both know it cannot last. When they run afoul of murderous renegades, they must flee across untamed mountains to the hidden valley Hattie calls Cherry Vale. In the home she's always longed for, Emmet discovers a peace he's never sought. The end of summer means they must resume their interrupted journey. Can Hattie leave the only place that's ever felt like home? And if she does, will Emmet give up looking for what's on the far side of the hill?
332 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2001
About the author
Judith B. Glad
29 booksFROM THE PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE:
Among her varied careers are a couple Judith B. Glad actually chose, rather than falling into. With her children in school, she decided it was time for her to follow her own dreams, so she went back to school and studied botany. After completing her M.S., she became a botanical consultant, and spent the next twenty-odd years picking flowers for a living. Well, it was a little more complicated than that, but she picked enough flowers to keep her happy.
Consulting is not always steady work, so one slow winter Judith decided to spend a little time at her second career choice. Now she'd done a lot of writing as a consultant, but somehow describing proposed mine sites and interpreting statistical data wasn't the kind of writing she wanted to do. So she wrote a book. And another, and... Before she knew it, she was spending more time writing than picking flowers.
Judith lives in Portland, Oregon, where her garden blooms all year 'round and the long, rainy winters give her lots of time for writing.
Among her varied careers are a couple Judith B. Glad actually chose, rather than falling into. With her children in school, she decided it was time for her to follow her own dreams, so she went back to school and studied botany. After completing her M.S., she became a botanical consultant, and spent the next twenty-odd years picking flowers for a living. Well, it was a little more complicated than that, but she picked enough flowers to keep her happy.
Consulting is not always steady work, so one slow winter Judith decided to spend a little time at her second career choice. Now she'd done a lot of writing as a consultant, but somehow describing proposed mine sites and interpreting statistical data wasn't the kind of writing she wanted to do. So she wrote a book. And another, and... Before she knew it, she was spending more time writing than picking flowers.
Judith lives in Portland, Oregon, where her garden blooms all year 'round and the long, rainy winters give her lots of time for writing.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 7, 2017
When I read a story or novel set in an earlier time, I want two things. First, I have to be able to recognize the characters as actual people, with emotions and reactions I can identify as being just as genuine and human as what I and other people living in the present might feel and do in the same situations. Just as important, though, I want to see the real differences, in detail and attitude, between that time and my own – because there ARE real differences, and they're significant. It's a delicate balance, and in "The Queen of Cherry Vale" Judith B. Glad gets it just right.
She lets us know right away that going west in a wagon train in 1845 isn't just a picturesque version of driving across the U.S. in 2017. People die of fevers, people drown in rivers that have to be crossed. Women bury their dead toddlers in scooped-out graves in dry, rocky ground by the side of the trail, and no one waits for them to finish grieving. When a woman's husband dies, she's quickly forced to marry one of the unattached male travelers, because a woman without a man to protect her and do the heavy lifting is considered a liability. At the same time, there are moments of joy; there are hopes and dreams, and sometimes the dreams come true.
Glad is a skillful, sensitive writer who makes historical romance fascinating and loads of fun to read. This is the first novel of her "Behind the Ranges" series, and since I've already read two of the others, out of order, I can tell you that each one stands alone. Still, I was delighted to discover people and places here that I recognized from later books.
The story is told from the points of view of the two main characters. For readers who prefer to know the "heat level" of a romance novel before starting to read it, it's fair to say this one includes a few relatively explicit but sensitively handled passages.
She lets us know right away that going west in a wagon train in 1845 isn't just a picturesque version of driving across the U.S. in 2017. People die of fevers, people drown in rivers that have to be crossed. Women bury their dead toddlers in scooped-out graves in dry, rocky ground by the side of the trail, and no one waits for them to finish grieving. When a woman's husband dies, she's quickly forced to marry one of the unattached male travelers, because a woman without a man to protect her and do the heavy lifting is considered a liability. At the same time, there are moments of joy; there are hopes and dreams, and sometimes the dreams come true.
Glad is a skillful, sensitive writer who makes historical romance fascinating and loads of fun to read. This is the first novel of her "Behind the Ranges" series, and since I've already read two of the others, out of order, I can tell you that each one stands alone. Still, I was delighted to discover people and places here that I recognized from later books.
The story is told from the points of view of the two main characters. For readers who prefer to know the "heat level" of a romance novel before starting to read it, it's fair to say this one includes a few relatively explicit but sensitively handled passages.
August 24, 2018
Slow Simmering Romance in the Face of Daunting Odds
The author draws us into a moving tale about the struggles faced by two young pioneers on the Oregon Trail. She brings excitement by slowly building romantic interest between the lead characters and interleaving this with hardships of the trail. This all comes together nicely in beautifully written period prose. If you like the edge that comes from slow simmering romance in the face of daunting odds, you will love this book.
The author draws us into a moving tale about the struggles faced by two young pioneers on the Oregon Trail. She brings excitement by slowly building romantic interest between the lead characters and interleaving this with hardships of the trail. This all comes together nicely in beautifully written period prose. If you like the edge that comes from slow simmering romance in the face of daunting odds, you will love this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews