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Freedom Reins

E.M. Spencer (Goodreads Author)

3.75 · Rating details · 8 ratings · 5 reviews

Charlotte Logan, affectionately called Charlie, spent her adolescent years under the control of the Grey Nuns. Now, her free spirit needs to be set loose. When her confined surroundings challenge her sense of adventure, she uses the art of manipulation to join a small wagon train heading west to the Fraser River in search of gold. Travelling across untamed land brings new ...more

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Hardcover, 248 pages

Published November 18th 2013 by FriesenPress

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Feb 09, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Freedom Reins by E.M. Spencer gives us the story of eighteen year old Charlotte (Charlie) Logan.Charlie has suffered more than her fair share of loss,and often felt confined by the strict rules of the nuns at the Saint Vincent orphanage where her father's friend Big Jim Mulligan took her after the death of her pa.Now Big Jim has come to tell her he is headed west for gold. Charlie insists on going along and wants to take her friend Dusty too.Big Jim begrudgingly agrees, There are seven traveling ...more

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Jan 15, 2014 Kalen rated it liked it

This is the first book I won in the Goodreads giveaways. I was really excited about this book when I got it. I really liked Charlotte's character for the first part of the book where she wanted to be adventurous and seek her own life. I didn't like how she changed and turned into a damsel in distress. I also struggled to understand the motives of the character "Benjamin Randall". I felt like he had plenty of time and opportunities to achieve his motives but he didn't.

Overall the book was fine b ...more

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Jan 10, 2015 Sonja rated it it was ok

Freedom Reins is set in the 1860s Gold Rush era on the Fraser River. It focuses on the story of Charlie (Charlotte), who as a young girl was orphaned, raised in an orphanage by nuns, and is now on the brink of womanhood. She has an adventurous spirit, and joins a wagon train that travels from Fort Garry across rugged mountainous regions, and verdant plains to Fort Yale, where there is a rash of gold fever on the Fraser River.

The wagon train is lead by a friend of Charlie’s father, Jim Mulligan, Freedom Reins is set in the 1860s Gold Rush era on the Fraser River. It focuses on the story of Charlie (Charlotte), who as a young girl was orphaned, raised in an orphanage by nuns, and is now on the brink of womanhood. She has an adventurous spirit, and joins a wagon train that travels from Fort Garry across rugged mountainous regions, and verdant plains to Fort Yale, where there is a rash of gold fever on the Fraser River.

The wagon train is lead by a friend of Charlie’s father, Jim Mulligan, and he takes on the role of guardian, ensuring Charlie’s safety along the arduous trek. The wagon train is composed of an eclectic band of men including Percival Mead, a pompous, rich Englishman; Jacques Piche, a dashingly handsome and womaniser Frenchman; Will Tanner, a good looking young man, with a mysterious past; and Dusty, Charlie’s friend from the orphanage.

The crew make their way safely through rough terrain to Fort Yale, where Charlie finds safe lodgings and work in Lil’s boarding house while the men head out looking for gold. Will Tanner’s mysterious past catches up with him and Charlie is kidnapped in retribution. Jim and Will must find a way to rescue Charlie, and there is a bloody trail left in their path. Charlie and Will fall in love, marry and move to Fort Victoria, where Will and Percival go into business and build a grand hotel. Life seems perfect for while until Will gets gold fever again, leaving Charlie alone. Danger and retribution surface once more from Will’s past, a murderer is on the loose, and the group do not realise there has been an imposter in their midst until it is too late.

The storyline for this novel sounds exciting and exhilarating, but ultimately the book doesn't quite deliver on expectations. It’s a big story, with a lot of characters, but the story feels rushed. Rushing to get from one place to the next, to get through the events. Everything is very neat, each step forward is neatly tied up; there is no mess, a lack of underlying tensions or frictions to propel the narrative forward.

E.M Spencer has obviously done an extensive amount of historical research into the gold rush era, the landscape and the people that lived there during the time period. There are sections of interesting historical details that convincingly convey the life during this era. It is in narrating these details that the strength of Spencer’s writing shines through. During the wagon train journey from Fort Garry to Fort Edmonton and beyond, there is a lot of detail that focuses on the surroundings, the plains, and the mountains. These are wonderful descriptions of the landscape and these sections were vivid and alive.

I found the characters, however, to be rather flat and we only get superficial glimpses into them. If the characters had as much attention to them as the background against which they were set, then this would be a very good book. As it is, the characters lack substance, and I never felt connected to any of them. There wasn’t enough emotion or depth to them. There was a lot of ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’ when it came to character development.

There are also problems with the plot. For example, Will Tanner’s first wife, Caroline, dies without adequate explanation. She was raped on her wedding night, after which she just takes to her bed and dies. Doctors can find nothing wrong with her, and her only symptoms are tiredness, nausea and headaches. Yes, she was raped, but the stereotyping of women, making Caroline insipid and unable to cope with such an act that she ultimately dies, out of what I can only assume was grief or inability to accept the events, is poor writing. At least give her a real medical condition to explain her death. Later, Will Tanner then heartlessly dismisses his marriage to Caroline as that of “a career move”. At no point early in the book are we given insight that these were his feelings at the time. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I found Spencer’s use of onomatopoeia strange. She uses the word “Bang!” to indicate a gunshot has occurred. This was distracting, and detracted from what were meant to be tense scenes. This made me wonder why the editor hadn't picked up on some of the problems and helped Spencer correct them.

Overall, Freedom Reins is an ambitious story with a great plot outline that simply didn't to meet the mark. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be read. The settings and historical details and descriptions were great, and gave a definite sense of place, and insight into the culture of the time. These were the parts that I enjoyed the most, as they read well and were alive and engaging. Yes, the character development was not as strong, but the story does flow well. This is a book with great potential that has not been fully realised, written by an emerging writer who has shown that she does have good writing skills. It is an easy read, with some wonderful historical details that definitely expanded my very limited knowledge of Canadian history.

NOTE: I received a free copy of Freedom Reins from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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Feb 15, 2014 Francis Guenette rated it really liked it

1860's BC History Joins a Delightful Cast of Characters

Set in the Canada's untamed West of the 1860's, Freedom Reins follows the adventures of a feisty young woman named Charlotte - Charlie for short - an orphan girl who comes of age in a not so easy time of history. But Charlie has an ability to draw friends and protectors close. She is, all together, a delightful character who finds herself in the company of a whole cast of equally interesting men and women.

I found myself stepping back from Sp ...more

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Feb 16, 2014 Susan rated it it was amazing

Freedom Reins straps you in to an adventure across Canadian territory. The relationships between the main characters are touching and memorable. The adventures are believable because the author has done her research.

Prepare yourself for an action-packed journey in one sitting.

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About E.M. Spencer

E.M. Spencer

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Elaine enjoys writing fiction and travelling. She has lived in a number of places across Canada and makes her home on beautiful Vancouver Island.

She works as administrative assistant and devotes as much of her off time as possible to work on research and writing.