A well written historical novel based on an epic love story. It is thoroughly researched with a lot of details of that era. An enjoyable read although sad in some parts.
Trigger warning: incident of sexual violence

I never read or played the Oregon Trail in school so this book provides everything I feel like I left out on. A haunting story about love and loss, sacrifice and life. Beautifully written, would be a great discussion book for book clubs.

Some times the introduction or synopsis of a book can be a little misleading. Not with this one. "In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss." ALL of THAT!
This story was truly epic and haunting. Sad and heartbreaking, The trials families went through on the Oregon Trail were astounding and many did not survive. You had to be hard. You had to be strong both physically and mentally.
The writing was fantastic and I felt like I was on the journey with Naomi and John. I often recommend this book as it still sits with me. I'm looking forward to rereading it.

This was an excellent historical novel - it's also a wonderful love story. I hesitate to call it a romance, as some have, but it is most definitely a love story. Amy Harmon does a beautiful job of describing two very different worlds. One is the world of the settlers moving across the American West on the Overland Trail, making a journey that is beautiful, harsh and unforgiving. The other is the world of the native peoples who watch their world shrink as they're displaced as the settlement expands westward. She does an excellent job of being even-handed with her characters and reminding us that there are good and bad people and behavior in both worlds, and that attitudes towards each other weren't created in a vacuum.
Our hero, John Lowry, has a foot in each world, being the son of a white man and a Pawnee mother who died when he was young - but he isn't comfortable in either world. Naomi May is a young widow who is drawn to him instantly when he joins the wagon train with which she and her family are moving west. The book becomes even more special with the author's words at the end - John Lowry was a real person, one of her husband's ancestors, and a few of the other characters were also real.
Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

This is a beautifully written story of love, loss, and growth. Amy never disappoints. One of my tops reads!

): Dangitt man I was soooo looking fwd to reading this one! DNF at 43%! It's just not holding my attention at all (I still luv u Amy)

Thanks Netgalley for giving me an advanced copy so that I can share my opinions with y'all

I read a lot of historical fiction, but most of it is based in Europe around the time of WW2, so it's always refreshing to read a historical fiction book based on another time-frame and/or in another setting. his book sucked me in from the first page and kept me enthralled all the way through. Beautifully written and captivating, one for historical fiction lovers looking for something different from the norm.

It is 1853 in Missouri, newly widowed Naomi May, along with her family, are set to embark for California via the Oregon Trail when she meets and is instantly enamored with John Lowry, the muleskinner also set to join the wagon train. John is known as "Two Feet" given he is both white and Pawnee Indian, but never felt much like he belonged to either of his dual heritages. He is just as drawn to the fiesty, artistcally talented, outspoken Naomi, but the story of their courtship while on their arduous journey is ladden with horrific tragedy and grief.

I just finished this book and am wiping the tears from my face as I try to come up with an adequate enough way to describe how deeply I loved this novel. I was pulled immediately into the story thanks to a prolgue that starts with a soul-rattling bang and the grip on me never loosened. I adored all the characters, cheered with them, ached with them, and was continously swept away by the incredible descriptions and dialogue. This author painted an incredibly beautiful story, albiet one filled will so much hurt and hardship. It is a story that will stay with me forever and one I will surely read again.

My sincerest gratitude to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this incredible book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. Five stars is certainly not enough.

I recieved an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Note: content warning at the end of review.

Where The Lost Wander is an epic historical western that straddles the line between historical fiction and historical romance. Naomi May and her family are emigrating West to California and the journey via wagon trains is long, hard, and fraught with sickness and danger. But it is also where Naomi and John Lowry, a half Pawnee man, meet and fall in love.

The prologue of this book jumps straight into the middle of the journey, where Naomi and her family get attacked. This immediately forces the reader to be on guard before we officially meet the characters in the first chapter. And given the time period and setting of the story, it is not surprising that we have to brace ourselves for dangerous situations.

This really is a beautifully written book. I ended up listening to the audiobook and it took some time to get used to the narrators. I appreciate the descriptive writing of nature from a distance, but it's not something I usually find engaging. In this case, the audiobook smoothed the way for me and made it easier to get though the nature descriptions. In fact, the audiobook really helped me in immersing myself in the setting. The overly descriptive passages about nature do not overwhelm the story and characters. For the most part, the nature descriptions actually work in tandem with the characters and the plot. And I think that's what ultimately makes the writing in this book so special.

The romance was more on the sweet part and it is a bit of an insta-love between Naomi and John. But I'm satisfied with the relationship development and the HEA.

Where The Lost Wander is a memorable book that definitely stands out in my mind. And I especially enjoyed reading the author's note, which adds a whole other layer on top of the already complex story. If you're looking to lose yourself in a rich historical western, I highly recommend this book.
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CW: rape on page. Briefly described. Not graphic. Racist language, in accordance with the time period.

Where The Lost Wander is the first book that I have read by Amy Harmon and it definitely won’t be my last! I was captivated from the first page to the last!

I highly recommend!

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

This book had all the potential to be a story of a woman ahead of her time, battling the odds to head West and make a new life for herself after the death of her husband.
But instead it turns into a barely believable and needless to say sappy love story between the main character and a man who is half-Native American. Although the social scandal regarding the relationship could have been an interesting sub-plot, it quickly became a Lifetime movie, where it becomes all about the romance and very little of the hardships of the trail.
The book isn't terrible, but there are much better ones out there that deal with the topic in a less frilly way.

There’s no one more disappointed than I am that this book didn’t work out for me. Amy Harmon is a skilled and gifted storyteller and writer. Sadly Where The Lost Wander was a miss. Neither the characters or the story succeeded in capturing me or my attention. The story felt flat, drawn out and boring. I tried my best to invest myself in Naomi and John but I just didn’t care about them or their journey. I was very interested in the premise of the story. The reason I wanted to read it in the first place. I could easily tell that there had been a lot of research done but sadly the execution wasn’t what I expected.
I’m disappointed that this book didn’t work for me cause I’ve had fantastic experiences with other books from this author.
It has many raving reviews so don’t let mine deter you from reading it. It just wasn’t for me.

I recently read Amy Harmon's historical fiction novels (well, I listened to them in audio), and fell so in love with her writing and storytelling. What the Wind Knows and From Sand and Ash blew me away, so when I heard she was releasing another historical fiction novel, I knew I had to read it! I was excited for Where the Lost Wander mainly because the blurb made me immediately think of the Oregon Trail game, which I used to play as a little kid. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my love for Amy Harmon's previous books. It did give off Oregon Trail vibes, but mostly only the depressing parts. The book was pretty boring, dragging for most of the middle where the main characters were traveling, and towards the end everything just got sad and depressing. Which is normal for Amy Harmon, but after being so bored for most of the read, I wanted something a little different. I wish I could've loved this more but it was a miss for me.

A nicely written book about life, live, loss, and the Oregon Trail. I love that it shows historical fiction doesn’t have to revolve around WWII.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you for allowing me to get a review copy of this book - unfortunately we didn't mesh and I decided against forcing something that wasn't there. The book begins in violence and it was a little overwhelming for me, but I'm sure there's a good and interesting story here for those less squeamish than me.

Where the Lost Wander narrates the love story between Naomi May and John Lowry, who lose and find each other while travelling West on the Oregon Trail. I really, really enjoyed this novel, first and foremost, because of its storyline and setting. There are not too many well written and well-paced Western plus Romance stories out there and this one captivated me from the beginning. It offers suspense, love, historical context, nature descriptions and cultural knowledge, without being sentimental. I really like the way the author describes the endless miles West the trek has to cover, the obstacles, the merciless dust, heat, all the obstacles and adversities, and all of this without it becoming too grueling. Even though the sense of vastness and monotony is captured extremely well, the novel or the descriptions never become boring – I think that is quite an achievement and is due to the beautiful language and versatile writing style the author uses. The characters are also wonderful, although I have to admit that Naomi is unfortunately the character I like the least. She is a little too “modern“ for my taste and I find her difficult and very often challenging. Her talent and her outlook on life certainly make her unique, but I really have a hard time feeling for or with her. John Lowry on the other hand is a highly believable and well-constructed character and his complex identity, torn between two cultures, is thankfully also very much at the heart of the narrative and more or less also drives the action.
I am certainly no expert on the subject, but I have the impression that the novel is meticulously researched and offers the reader an insight into Pawnee and Shoshoni culture, which I find very appealing. The novel would have been a five star read, if I had liked Naomi better.

I was instantly drawn to this book because I loved playing Oregon Trail as a kid and I was hoping this book would give me all the feels. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this book and I was bored to tears. I felt the plot of this story dragged on and I was not connected with the characters at all. I really wanted more background on the Native American culture. There was one scene in the book I thought was very unnecessary and it was very out of the blue. I was really wanting to love this book because I was interested in that time period as I have not read anything from it. I am definitely a minority in not liking this book, it has amazing reviews on Goodreads so do not deter from not reading it because of my review.

This was a wonderfully written book about life, loss, and love on the Oregon Trail. I was hooked from the beginning and am already missing Naomi and John. Definitely recommend this one!

This was my second book from Amy and once again she took my breath away. Heartbreakingly beautiful, deeply touching and absolutely thought-provoking story.


I'd like to thank to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I truly love period novels, and this was no exception. It's been quite some time since I've read a book about the old west and this one was stunning. The characters were so well written and the story line well thought out and beautiful. I highly recommend this book, it won't take you very long to finish!

Thanks to the publishers via NetGalley for this free copy for an honest review.