Good people are like candles; they burn themselves up to give others light.

Sandra Dallas presents a thought-provoking novel encompassing a very different Western movement in America. It's February of 1852 in Chicago with fierce winds propelling off the lake and bone-chilling rain soaking the brave souls who venture out onto the wooden sidewalks and muddy terrain.

Maggie clutches the hand of her four year old daughter and reads the bulletin tacked to the outside of a meeting hall. It's an ad calling for good Christian unmarried women with high moral character to make the trip to Goosetown, California. The gold fields are filled with men who made the prior journey and are seeking wives for this community. Two ministers will accompany the women on this long and arduous trip over land treacherous by Nature and, moreso, by the unknown.

Dallas will introduce us to these women who will bring the basics of necessities along with them. But we will come to find that they all carry the oppressive weight of their secrets and their past lives. Prior incidents will never stay buried in Chicago, but will accompany them on the harsh trails step by step leering in the shadows.

As the journey begins, the women feel out of place with one another and react to the hardships as individuals. The time period never prepared women to work together as a productive unit. As the journey progresses, they are forced to rely on the strength of the group made up of varying untapped skills and talents. I almost shook my head to think that times haven't changed much. Women still have difficulty putting aside the power of one to the power of many.

Westering Women is a deep character study of the human spirit under the most dire of circumstances. It shines a light on the dynamics of bravery and self-sacrifice that one can only imagine during the Western expansion........with some mighty female voices in the mix.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest opinion. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Sandra Dallas for the opportunity.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

Margaret(Maggie Kaiser) and her daughter,Clara need to stay as far away from abusive husband and father, Jesse. But this is Chicago in 1852 and what can a woman do? But in Chicago there are adverts that are encouraging the women in the East to migrate to California to marry. Maggie finds herself attending the information meeting and befriends Mary. Soon they find themselves joining the wagon train of women and it soon becomes clear that Maggie isn't the only person that is running away.

I have never been able to resist a wagon train story and I have enjoyed a few of Sandra Dallas's books. The trials and tribulations of women setting out to travel across America's terrain is a very inspiring story. There is brutality, death, and a testing of faith as the women have to learn to work together to reach their goal. I know that I have said this more than a few times before but favorite book of 2019


Goodreads review published 05/11/19
Publication Date 07/01/20

I love stories about the pioneer days so I was very happy to get this copy of Westering Women by Sandra Dallas.
Several papers were posted around town which read in part:
If you are an Adventuresome Woman with high moral character and fine health....only good Christian women with highest principles need apply.
In fact two preachers have offered to take women out to California to choose husbands among the gold miners out there. This is a story of 44 women and one child who set out on the overland trail from Chicago to California in 1852 and their trials and tribulations over the months of their journey. It’s also the story of love and the fierce friendship of women, and of heartache and loss.
You know the bad part of reading a book on your iPad is that you stop and look up things you are reading about. You know that’s the best part too. I loved following along the overland trail with the women. I stopped to refer to the old on-line map every now and then. And I looked up the City of Rocks and Independence Rock and oh that 40 mile desert! I really loved this story. I loved the way the women were a force to be reckoned with. How they walked for miles - some barefoot - then they made their campfires, made supper and slept on the ground. Maggie and Mary were wonderful characters that will resonate with me for a long time. Ms. Dallas writes beautifully. Her description of the wagon train and the journey was brilliant. Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review

A wonderfully epic story of a group of women from Chicago who travel together from Chicago to California in the 1800's when travel was not an easy thing. These women are looking to escape to a better life, so agree to become potential brides for California's mining population.
Sandra Dallas has developed a perfect cast of characters; painting them so well, you can see them as they battle the elements and outside influences to build a strong connection to each other. The descriptions of the country they must travel are vivid, lending so much to the story line while never taking over the story. Westering Women is one book you will remember and recommend for a long time to come.

When Maggie sees an advertisement looking for young single women to travel to California via the Oregon Trail to find husbands, she jumps at the chance of a new life. With her young daughter in tow, she pretends to a widow, rather than a woman running from an abusive husband. Nearly fifty other women join the train, with a pair of pastors heading the expedition. As Maggie gets to know the other women, she realizes that most of them are also escaping a bad situation or hiding a secret. As the women trek the 2,000 miles west, they encounter hunger, exhaustion, Indians, and treacherous teamsters. Together, they are determined to overcome.
I could not put this book down. Both the characters and setting were fascinating. I loved the relationships that developed among the women, it felt very realistic. I would love to read a sequel to this book, or more from this author. Highly recommended.

This historical novel by Sandra Dallas is outstanding. Maggie and Mary see a notice about a wagon train of women going west to look for a husband in the gold fields. Both women are running from their current lives. This book details the hard conditions the 44 women experienced, and the hard work that led the wagon train to its final destination. Not all the women made it to the final destination, but they develop a deep bond as they travel the Overland Trail from Chicago to California. They depend on each other for their survival. I would suggest this well researched and well written book for all women, including younger women and girls. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGallery. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I wish there was an accurate word to describe how much I loved this book. It had so much of what I love in it: the frontier, strong women, and a vivid setting. This is my favorite time period for historicals and I have the biggest book hangover now.

The setup: The year is 1852, and a wagon train with 44 women, 1 child, and 2 pastors sets out from Chicago to California. The pastors have organized this group of women to travel out to where the gold miners are set up in California during the Gold Rush for the sole purpose of marrying them. There is an interview process before the women are approved for travel, and most of the women have a secret underlying purpose for their relocation. These women are leaving behind things like abuse and mistreatment, tough jobs as servants or slaves, and spinsterhood or widowhood. They know the road will be long and hard, but they have no idea what difficulties lie ahead.

Maggie is a fabulous main character. She makes almost impossible decisions just to get to the point of interviewing for the trip, and then she makes hard decisions all throughout her journey. She goes through what felt to me like the worst of circumstances-more than once. At first, she clearly tries to remain under the radar and not attract attention to herself, but she grows stronger and more comfortable with herself as the trail goes on. She endures heartbreak and fear. She is tough in a way that I am not. She cultivates true friendships with the other women traveling with her, and I completely soaked up these relationships.

The setting all along the trail was such an enjoyable reading experience for me. The group traveled along the Overland Trail, which was well-traveled and a very real thing that you can look up and read more about. I kept taking breaks from the reading so I could research more about the various places mentioned: Independence Rock, the Forty Mile Desert, etc. It was fascinating to read about these very real places and to imagine these characters trudging along the trail-hot and tired and hungry and thirsty-stopping for a few minutes at places that seemed too wondrous to walk right past.

I couldn’t help but imagine that I was right there with them.

And I had emotions! There were a couple of places that I got choked up and two places where I lost a couple of tears. I’m not sure if everyone else will get quite as emotional as I did, but I was so connected to the time, the place, the people that I couldn’t help it. It’s just that the things that would happen to different women along the trail seemed so unimaginable to me as I sat in the comfort of my reading chair. I was overwhelmed and I love that the story got to me in that way.

This was my first book by Sandra Dallas, and HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? It’s almost like she asked me directly “Hey Asheley, what are your favorite types of historical fiction?” and then created this story. Other readers that love the Gold Rush, the 1800’s, and pioneers will absolutely love this one. Readers that love strong characters that have grit and determination will love this one. I’m thirsty for more books like this! I read this as an early digital copy (from NetGalley), but I can’t wait to get a permanent copy to sit beside my Nancy Turner books on the top shelf of my bookcase.

In 1852 advertisements all over Chicago are enticing women to join a wagon train going out West to the gold fields of California. For these Christian women it is a chance of a lifetime to start fresh, leaving whatever secrets behind. For Maggie it is a chance to take her and her daughter as far away from her husband as possible, a man who beats and abuses her. 44 women under the care of 2 ministers set out from St. Joseph, Missouri in the hopes of finding husbands, or at least a new life. There will be many trials and tribulations along the way, and you have to ask was it worth it, just how desperate are these women? The answers between these pages makes it quite difficult to put down.

This book was strong, absolutely showing the courage and bonds of sisterhood. Held together by this bond and the pioneering spirit that made this country great, it was a pleasure to read this novel. Never having read any works by Ms. Dallas, I am sure this will not be the last one to come across my Kindle.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining story of a group of women who in 1852 Chicago, after having seen postings around the city looking for “eligible women”, to travel to the goldfields of California with the intent of marrying some of the miners. Maggie the main character and her young daughter, signed up for the 2,000 mile journey by wagon train with 43 other women. Led by 2 ministers that had organizing it and a few men to help them out.
The main character Maggie, had a reason she needed to leave Chicago, and the other 43 woman, some wanting husbands but some like her who were also running from secrets, set off on the long hard journey. Along the way the women become very bonded and their stories came out.
This is a story of a group of women who were once not sure they could do it, to becoming a force to be reckoned with.
It was interesting to read about the conditions they had to withstand, from the weather to dealing with people they met along the way. I liked how they always had each others backs.
I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.

The way West was a fine framework for this story. By placing the diverse group of women into the confines of the wagon train, their stories were allowed to play out through description, dialogue and action. All of the triumphs and woes of women in this period are given a berth among treasured possessions, perceived necessities and frontier supplies. The central characters of Mary and Maggie are well delineated. Recommended as a sure bet for Book Clubs.

I'm just going to start out with the fact that I was super excited to read this book. Many thanks to the publisher for giving me the opportunity and I'm sorry my review isn't better. We carry a lot of Sandra Dallas in the library so I was expecting good things and a story about women conquering the west sounded amazing. I'm really hesitating to even write this review because I was so disappointed and got pretty angry with her by the end. Here it goes anyway.

TL;DR version: A bunch of women take a road trip where all men are bad and rape and death are the only two plot devices known to our author. Ms. Dallas definitely has a target audience (hint it's Christian white women) and plays to that audience strongly.

Long version: Prepare yourself for a romp through the old west where all the men are terrible and the women make dumb mistakes but it’s all the terrible men’s fault.

Ok, so some preachers decide to gather up all the single ladies (all the single ladies) and take them to California via wagon train because the gold diggers need husbands, I mean wives. They advertise for women of “high moral character and fine health” but that would be boring so of course we get a bunch of women who are predictably not. They all are pretty cool ladies though. We get to watch them “become stronger” as they travel from one side of the country to the next in a very TL;DR fashion. Sooo much is left out and you don’t really get to see a whole lot of their growth but I guess if you want the quick and dirty version of the Oregon Trail trip this is the book for you.

From the get go we start to see that in this world men are bad and women know everything. Beyond the two preachers, there really are not any good men. Multiple women are running from abusive relationships and almost every man encountered tries to take advantage of them in some way. Even the preachers are portrayed as being unfeeling and self-important until later in the story. It got so blatant that I started noting the instances of “man bad, woman good” and there are 8 instances from chapter 15 on. Every chapter has someone getting abused by a man. I know times were more difficult and restrictive for women back then but it really got to be too much to be believable or enjoyable.

And then there are all the just plain dumb things (many spoilers follow):

Someone made a cap for a baby out of twine. Has Ms. Dallas ever actually felt twine? Ouch!

No one in the wagon train knows how to hobble or tie out the Oxen? These are one of the most expensive and important assets they have and they are just allowed to wander off more than once. Heck I think they even released some because the wagon broke. I’m pretty sure I would have been loading them up with stuff or eating them.

Paragraphs started to feel copy pasted from previous chapters. Yes, we know wagons can fall off cliffs and men are around every corner waiting to rape you. Could we experience something new?

Ms. Dallas beats it into our heads that these women are SO strong but then they run from a mortally wounded man who was put in jail by friends even though they still need supplies to help them survive the rest of the trip. They repeatedly ignore the advice of the man leading them and never really learn from it.

A bunch of men (of course because men bad) packed up, took stuff and animals in the middle of the night, and didn’t wake a single woman up. Really? I'm awake if one of my dogs breaths wrong. I have a hard time believing none of the 30 women there with no walls or doors to block noise didn't hear this.

A young black artist named a dog “Blackie”. I haven’t heard a name that bad since my kid was five and trying to name goldfish and I’m pretty sure such a creative young woman would have come up with something way better.

Everyone talks normal until she wants to make a person look dumb (usually men) and then all of a sudden she drops some terrible grammar in. It is very distracting.

Also distracting is Maggie’s son being named Dick. Now, I don’t normally have my mind in the gutter (I’m serious. My terribly dour sense of humor is the bane of my husband’s existence.) but when Maggie talks about her daughter running around saying “I want Dick!” it’s just too much. I was completely taken out of the story.

They threw a flute out in the beginning but somehow a violin made it almost to California? A huge deal was made about not throwing the pulpit out and then it being thrown out is mentioned after the fact like it was no big deal.

I really enjoyed when a woman’s dead baby boy was almost immediately replaced with a live baby girl (*cough* men bad, women good *cough*) and Maggie thinks about how the “Lord might be compensating them for the loss” and immediately realizes how ridiculous that was. So maybe Dallas is aware of how predictable and ridiculous her writing is?

The whole situation at the end where the woman with a black daughter magically ends up with the man who *surprise* used to have a black wife got a “Oh for f***s sake!” out of me. Pretty much all of the marriages were ridiculously predictable, simplistic and rushed.

These were just my notes from chapter 15 on. I frankly have already wasted too much of my life on this book and refuse to go back and note all the ridiculousness before that.

n 1852, Maggie sees an ad:

"If you are an adventuresome young woman of high moral character and fine health, are you willing to travel to California in search of a good husband?"

Maggie has good reasons for leaving Chicago and attends the meeting explaining more about the trip. She joins forty-three other women "good Christian women" who are looking for husbands--or escape from their pasts--on the dangerous 2,000 mile journey.

An interesting historical novel about the hardships and heartbreak a group of courageous women were willing to endure in order to begin life anew. The reasons for these women to undertake such a hazardous journey varied, but were all based on hope for something better than the situations in which they were currently existing. One has to admire the courage and determination required to survive and the bonds the women forged.

Although I didn't feel a strong connection to any of the women, I admired them for the fortitude they exhibited and enjoyed the historical elements.

My interest in the Oregon Trail and westward journeys of the 1800's began when I was in my teens and read Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow.

Read in August; blog review scheduled for Jan. 2, 2020.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Historical Fiction. Jan. 7, 2020. Print length: 336 pages.

Westering Women is an inspirational story of a group of women from all walks of life who join together to travel from Chicago to California during the California gold rush. Dallas captures the determination and perserverance of this group of woman; many running from a painful past or abusive husbands; all seeking a better happier future. The woman face loss and hardship as they journey to California; however, their forged bond is inspirational. The novel itself losses some steam near the end and seems to drag on. The ending wraps up a little too conveniently. This book will appeal to readers who are interested in the journeys from the east to the west.

Westering Women by Sandra Dallas is a wonderful story of how a group of women made the 2,000 mile wagon train journey west from Chicago to California in 1852. The purpose of the journey was to find husbands amongst the thousands of men who had already settled in one of the small towns during the California Gold Rush. Readers will experience every mile of this treacherous trip with the women and will get to know why they would leave their homes in the first place. Detailing their tales of adversity and strength, which are STILL all too common to women today, we laugh and cry with the characters throughout the book. If you like historical fiction and want to learn what life was like in this part of our country during this time, I strongly recommend this book for you. It also reminded me of the TV show Wagon Train I used to watch as a kid, although a realized I couldn't possibly understand what people, no less women, had to deal with in a very underdeveloped and rough part of our country. Many thanks for Net Galley and St. Martins Press for the privilege of treading and critiquing this advance copy.
Rhona

The author has done a fabulous job of telling the story of total strangers that became a family. The struggles that they experienced are typical of those traveling west but by the end of the book, you feel that you have become one of them.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have enjoyed all of Sandra Dallas's books that I've read and this one is no exception. I've not read westerns before and this was borderline western but also a great historical fiction novel. Thus book is unlike other pioneering books that I've read and it was very enjoyable. The characters were well developed. There was a lot of realistic action and true to life challenges that these women faced.

Westering Women is an engrossing story of the hardships and perils that a fictional group of women face as they head west on a wagon train in search of husbands. Along the way, the women face countless struggles and loss and discover strengths that they did not know they had. Women discover the strength that comes from the bonds forged in friendship.

In 1852, Maggie decides to respond to a broadsheet advertising for strong and good Christian women to embark on a 2,000-mile journey to find a husband in California. Running from her past in Chicago, Maggie hopes no one will recognize her along the way. Shortly after they begin their travels, the group of women led by two pastors experience countless hardships, loss, and sacrifice.

Misogyny, disparity, and injustice are revolving attributes surrounding the myriad of stories told by women that Maggie encounters on the Overland Trail. We see a period of inequality for women that often approved of domestic abuse if the reasoning was passable; for example, if the woman said something the male did not like.

Thematically, the Overland Trail represents a multitude of symbolic comparisons. As the story progresses, such as life, values and priorities of the women on the journey begin to change based on new experiences and developing circumstances.

Chapter by chapter, history is felt during the excursion in the setting, the environment, and the harrowing situations the women face along the way.

The language was appropriate for the time period, though sometimes dry. I did not feel too emotionally attached to the characters, and think maybe it was because there were so many women involved in the story that it was hard to attach myself. I could relate to them, but I couldn't connect with them. There were some gripping twists along the way, but I also felt like some of the story could have been condensed.

My technical notes: The first 13% sets the foundation for Maggie’s background, the qualifications for signing up, and prerequisites for the journey. The journey to California then begins at chapter 4 (or 13%) and continues until 94% of the book. Thereafter, the last 4% of the story (94-98%) loose ends are tied up. The chapters are told chronologically by date, and the dates range from February 22, 1852- September 30, 1852. On their journey they stop at a fair number of landmarks and notable sites along the way including but not limited to Independence Rock, the City of Rocks, Gold Rush Alley, Ft. Kearny, Ft. Laramie, and the Sierras.

Overall, I liked the novel and think the story of what emigrants encountered on the western trails that is fictionally mirrored through Maggie’s tale is astounding. I recommend this to advocates of feminism and 19th century historical fiction readers.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Sandra Dallas for this copy. Opinions are my own.

I have always loved stories about the westward journeys of pioneers who crossed the north American continent in the country's early days, and this one joins the ranks of my favorites. This story opens with two ministers who are recruiting young women of "good Christian morals" who are willing to travel the 2,000 miles from St. Joseph Mo to Goosetown, California, a goldrush settlement. They are warned that they will be walking most of the way, and will face numerous hardships, but even so 44 women sign on for the trip.
Many of those who start the journey, departing St. Joseph Mo in May of 1852, become important characters in this novel. The author creates backstories for them, full of past abuse or mistreatment, or with well-harbored secrets. Some are running for their lives, and some are pursued by those who feel they own them. They are faced with many challenges and hardships along the way--hostile Indians, violent men, desert heat, treacherous mountain passes, raging rivers--and the women continue to grow stronger, both individually and as a unified force. Those who did not believe a group of women, the "weaker" sex, after all, could possibly complete such an undertaking were in for a shock! Sadly, not all who began reach the destination in California, but the story of their journey made for a great read!
My thanks to Netgalley, Sandra Dallas, and St. Martin's Press for the copy of this book I was provided.

Finally, the book I have been waiting for, something different. This is the story of a group of women who join a wagon train going West. They are traveling to a mining camp where there are hundreds of men who are looking for wives. All women have reasons to leave, some are battered wives, some are in dead end lives, lives leading nowhere. They form incredible friendships along the way. Some will be lost but all will feel that the chances they took were worth it.