This is interesting in a Little House on the Prairie sort of way, but it didn't work so well and a romance for me- it was strangely emotionless and wooden

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I find myself in two minds on how I feel about this novel. On the one side, it was an easy read with a fairly even pace and nice linear narrative. On the other side, I felt as if it shouldn’t have been any of these things. When Evelyn’s husband dies unexpectedly she finds herself in a position that the only way to support her three children and keep the farm they live on is to go north into the mountains to a logging camp and pretend to be him.

Sarah, a young woman from another town, finds herself in a similar predicament. Her lover Abigail has also just died and Abigail’s brother offers her a position and cook at the logging camp. Set in 1853, this has the makings of a tension-filled, angst-ridden period drama. And I think that at the same time as dreading it, it was what I was hoping for too.

Situations seem get resolved with relative ease and there is a surprising acceptance of lesbians considering the time period. Evelyn and Sarah are both nice characters but they almost talk with one voice. In fact, all the dialogue is very similar irrespective of the speaker. I got a good sense of the environment like the snow and the hard work of farm life but I didn’t get a sense of the 1800s.

In essence, it’s not a bad read but I had hoped for more from it.

The Northwoods was about survival after the loss of a spouse/loved one and what constitutes a family. The two main characters, as well as the secondary characters, were all intriguing and the interactions were engaging. I really enjoyed the vivid descriptions throughout the story that effectively placed the reader directly into each setting such as the logging campsite and the layout of the farm. I also liked how the author allowed Evelyn and Sarah to develop a trusting and loving relationship over time since each had recently loss a partner. Additionally, it was interesting to see how other characters reacted to Helen and Jess’ relationship, especially in 1853. It would be nice if people were actually so accepting of differences. I think the best part of this story was showing how women were able to perform their jobs, some male related, as effectively as the men in very harsh conditions.