Thank you for sending me a copy of Pathfinder by Anna Schmidt. I enjoyed this book and look forward to sharing it as a recommendation with my community.

Loved it! Max and Emma’s story has all the good stuff. There is romance, suspense, crime, and an amazing cast of characters. I found the story to be unique and interesting, especially with the transition from the Old West to the 1900’s. I highly recommend this series. It has been fabulous to read.

Returned to another western themed read. Into the world of the Harvey Girls and travelling wild west show.
Max sees Emma and knows she's for him.
Romance, intrigue, decrimination. A lovely look into what a Harvey Girls life was like

I just really enjoyed this book. It was just really easy to get lost in this book. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

A good mix of western and romance set in a time when the "wild" was being tamed out of the west. Two characters with completely different goals for their future meet and inevitably decide they can both bend their goals a little to make room for each other. A different kind of western and a different kind of romance make the combined story entertaining and worth your reading time.

Highly entertaining, action packed and engaging adventure filled with exciting charters, witty banter, heart racing twists and undeniable passion.... was a great read from beginning to end. Really enjoyed this wild west, down home romantic journey!

As the star of a Wild West show, Captain Max Winslow wants things as authentic as possible, and this includes having some Blackfoot Indians as part of his cast. Max has both educating and entertaining in mind. Max and some of the cast are staying in what was known at that time as the Harvey corporation in one of their hotels. Meeting Harvey Girl Emma Elliot proves to be the perfect distraction while in residence.

Max and Emma hit it off from the very beginning. However, there are plenty of obstacles in their path. For one thing, with Emma being house mother to the girls in residence leaves very little chance that anything blooming between her and Max could lead to anything long-term. Considering that Max and his show will eventually move on lends truth to that fact.

Despite that, the connection is there between Max and Emma. Emma cannot help but think of her friends Grace and Lily. This is because being a Harvey Girl precludes Emma finding long-term love, yet that is exactly what her friends did (in books one and two, Trailblazer and Renegade, respectively). Emma can't help but wonder if she too will find everlasting love when it comes to Max. Just when Emma thinks she can actually dream of such things, obstacles get in their way, and it is these very things that concern both her and Max.

This lovely romance by Anna Schmidt touches on serious issues, especially when it comes to the hatred of some of the Indians in Max's cast. That was rather heartbreaking for me to read, but I do applaud Ms. Schmidt for addressing the realities of things and keeping things as factually as possible. I do wish I had read the previous books in this story, although Pathfinder did perfectly well as a standalone. I am not certain if there will be more books in the series, but if there are, I certainly will be sure to read them. This engaging read had a wonderful conclusion.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Pathfinder is the third book in Anna Schmidt's early 20th century western series Cowboys & Harvey Girls. I really enjoyed the first book, but was a bit disappointed in the second. Luckily, the third installment seems to have gotten the series back on track.

Captain Max Winslow was formerly a pathfinder with the military, but now he's the star of a Wild West show. Max wants to educate people in the way the West used to be, besides entertaining the masses. In order to save money, Max and the show's manager decide the troop should stay in Juniper for the season, Juniper being the home of one of the famed Harvey House restaurants and inns. At the Harvey House, Max meets Emma Elliot, manager and house mother to the other Harvey Girls. Emma always dreamed of excitement and travel, and feels left behind after her two best friends found their true loves and married. Sparks fly between the two, and they begin to wonder if life can be more together than each has separately. Events begin to intrude, however, determined to keep them apart.

The story started rather slowly and I was having a bit of trouble staying focused. However, I kept with it and was glad I did. The romance between Max and Emma was rather sweet, though not chaste. It was a lovely change of pace that they didn't hide their feelings and affection for each other. Besides the romance, some suspense infused the story, together with some domestic violence and racial discrimination against Native Americans. My favorite parts, though, were the appearances of Grace and Lily, Emma's best friends who starred in the first two installments. All in all, it was a fun romance.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.