Deeply researched and lovingly told, Howard's soft, accessible style frames Charlotte's journey from high Victorian society to a voyage aboard an English "brideship" to begin life in a land equally treacherous and beautiful.


I enjoyed the balance of travails and triumphs, small moments of grace and the embrace of humanity. While never shying away from presenting the limited opportunities afforded women in the 19th Century (often worth more as bartering chips than human beings) Howard still provides readers with a warm, slow-burn romance and a salient treatise on hope and the human spirit.


A note that I am so excited that this publisher is making room for quality Canadian historical fiction. It serves us so well to find voices who open the doors to lesser known parts of our past.


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