Thank you @netgalley and @spiegelandgrau for this advance copy.
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What a stunning debut from Shelley Read. It’s difficult to describe this book without giving away spoilers. This is a coming of age story that follows main character Victoria across decades, beginning when she is seventeen years old in a tiny Colorado town. There is solid character development, but also a plot that had me turning pages hours past my bedtime. Beautifully written, this book has it all - heartbreak, sadness, resilience, and hope. Be ready to shed a few tears.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 in 1948 Victoria Nash is the only surviving female on her families Colorado peach orchard. At 17 she manages all the household duties without complaint. When an unexpected traveler comes to town her life begins to change. Leaving home, she turns to the woods, learning to survive on her own and stand up to her past, all while facing heartbreaking decisions.

This was such a page turner. The writing flowed so easy. At around 300 pages the story progressed pretty quickly. I read this in three days, during the week, while working a full time job. I love these coming of age stories and seeing Torie progress through her life, grow, learn from her past and then face it. I know it’s early in the year but definitely a top read so far. Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel and Grau for this advanced reader copy.

*Publish date 2/28/23. Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Victoria Nash finds herself as the woman of the house at age 17 after an accident claims the life of her mother, her cousin, and her aunt. She cooks, cleans, and cares for her father, her brother, and her uncle in addition to helping our with the family peach orchard in Iola, Colorado in the 1940s. A stranger, Wilson Moon, appears in town, helps Victoria when she injures her ankle and sparks ignite. Another series of events lead Victoria to the decision to run away from Iola and all that she has known. As she struggles to survive, she taps into strength she didn't realize she had and resolves to regain what she can of what has been lost.

Highly recommend!

Me loving another coming of age story!! What a story and how is this a debut?? It was beautifully written and knew it would break my heart. I love a strong woman in a book and Victoria was no exception. I cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy on publication day as there is so much I want to tab.

Thank you so much to Spiegel & Garu and Netgalley for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Out on February 28, 2023

A beautifully written tale, and I really enjoyed reading this one and can’t wait for the love it gets upon its release. My thanks for an advanced copy!

A beautifully written story of a resilient young woman determined to survive in small town Colorado in the late 1940s. It is as lovely as it is sad.

Victoria is a humble, obedient young woman whose life drastically changes when she meets Wilson “Wil” Moon, a drifter passing through town. She risks her family’s and community’s scorn to spend time with Wil. Soon, she is on her own, wondering if and how to move on.

The writing is clear and deceptively simple and full of emotion. I enjoyed getting to know Victoria over the span of 23 years and recommend this to anyone looking for a moving mix of historical fiction and coming-of-age story.

Thank you to Spiegel and Grau and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

4.5
A sweeping saga spanning decades following our young protagonist Torrie in the Gunnison area of Colorado beginning in the 1950's. Life is hard working the land, where they grow and harvest the best peaches around. She becomes the only female in a household full of men, and with that her chores and responsibilities are long. As she begins to grow out of her youth she meets a handsome drifter that catches her eye and her world changes forever.

This was such a readable, engulfing book! I read it over a 5 days or so and with that it allowed me to savor and enjoy the story and for me to "Go as a River" with it. Some of the quotes and phrases shared are beautiful to consider-the writing is so well done.

I loved the location and sense of place. I loved the time period and to get a sense of what life was like for the people then. I loved following Torrie's life. There's something to be said about watching a young girl blossom into a woman through the pages of a book.

My one qualm is that I never felt fully committed to the relationships, I felt that I was "told" rather than "shown" about the true love or deep relationship of the characters. It was almost as if not enough time was spent on developing the story of the relationship-I was just told that all of the sudden they were madly in love, etc.

This will be on all the radars and it will be a huge book this year, I am certain of it!

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for the advance e-copy of this book.

This falls into the category of "compulsively readable literary fiction." Our characters are well drawn, flawed but likeable. The setting is atmospheric, with a strong sense of place high in the Colorado mountains. The plotting is well paced; I could not put this book down. My only complaint is a few instances where the author does more foreshadowing than I would have liked, but it definitely kept me turning the pages. Hard things happen in these pages, but the ending is ultimately redemptive. Add this to your TBR if you like books about found family with a survivalist element, like This Tender Land, The Great Alone, and Shiner.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

This will be one of the best books of 2023! I'm trying to find the right words to describe this poignant and deeply moving story about loss, family, motherhood and what it means to be a woman in the mid 1900s. From the first page, I could not believe that this story was written by a debut author - it is absolutely fantastic! The imagery and descriptions of this breathtaking and wild landscape was integral to this beautiful story and I felt myself hanging on to every word! This story has so many emotional aspects to it, including the star-crossed relationship between Wil and Torie, the relationships between Torie and her family and even of those with the forest and animals on the farm. Being a fan of historical fiction, this book reminded me of Where the Crawdads Sing and The Girls in the Stilt House which are both a couple of my favorite reads. This book would be a wonderful book club pick because there is so much richness to the story that could easily be discussed and have many different viewpoints. I am looking forward to hearing more about this author and the inspiration for this thought-provoking story! Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a memorable story and one that will be one of my top reads this year. It is a story of a motherless Caucasian girl who meets a Native American boy; they know each other for mere days but that brief time affects the rest of her life. The writing is lyrical and polished; the setting transports the reader to the rivers and forests of Colorado; and the wonderful characters grab your heart and emotions for the entire novel. HIGHLY recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the ARC to read and review.

This book. This beautiful, beautiful book. I saw 2 or 3 posts online from book friends exclaiming their love for this book. I was intrigued.

The gorgeous cover adorned a single peach still clinging to its branch of green leaves. I will admit that cover art, while often catches my eye for a moment, is not something I find will cause me to be drawn more or less to a book. But before I even read the blurb, I found myself studying the image that was both behind and in front of the title. I used my phone to zoom in on the peach that contains a fuzzy image of a person peering out at a river in a canyon. Was it a woman? A man? I wasn't sure. I looked closer at the river and landscape and I just knew, this was a book about Colorado, my home. And I fell in love with the cover.

Go as a River is a sweeping historical fiction coming-of-age novel that takes place in western Colorado in the now extinct town of Iola. I did know that there were towns that had been swallowed up by the creation of the Grand Mesa Reservoir, but I really didn't know much more than that. We meet young Torie Nash, later going by Victoria, a teen in a household of men who is still deeply mourning the loss of her mother, aunt and cousin. She is running pretty much everything on the family peach farm in Iola, Nash Peaches, from cooking and cleaning to helping with farm work and selling peaches in the stand. One day she has a short but powerful run-in with Wilson Moon, a drifter from tribal lands. What could have been just that, a chance encounter, instead changes everything.

That is all I am going to say about the story itself as I just don't want to spoil a single thing. I want you to have the same opportunity I did to meet these unforgettable characters on your own terms. And on my own terms, I did. I find myself to be a fairly fast reader. It is not unusual for me to finish a book in a day or two. But not with Go as a River. I slowed it way down. I regularly found myself closing my kindle at the end of a chapter, getting up off the couch and engaging in a mindless task while just thinking about Victoria's story. I read every single word of every single sentence with intention. I have to admit I am having a hard time understanding how this is a debut novel by author Shelley Read. Each sentence was expertly crafted with each word flowing towards the next like the river that it follows throughout the story. And Victoria's voice! Shelley Read has managed to seamlessly incorporate Victoria's voice of the present, the future and the past all in one. We flip back and forth through time without the trendy voice change chapter breaks that have become the norm. She instead expertly crafts a story that we learn everything at once as she weaves her tale. Go as a River is some of the most beautiful writing that I have encountered.

Lastly, Colorado. I do believe that my friends and family that love Colorado as much as I do will be drawn even closer to this book. From my friend that lived on a peach farm in Palisade to those that have hiked among the peaks and passes mentioned; this is a love letter to Colorado from a 5th generation Coloradan. Those that live here will recognize and love many of the mentions within the pages. There is something about reading a book that you are familiar with the setting - you can actually see the landscape in your mind and it becomes much clearer beyond words what has occurred. The sacrifices, the struggles, the successes are so realistic because there is a deep understanding of how that would actually look or play out.

So did I love this book? Yes. Five big beautiful stars. I think there is a good possibility that I just read my #1 book of the year in January.

Thank you to NetGalley, Shelley Read and Spiegel & Grau for an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest review. Go as a River will be published on 2/28/2023.

Historical fiction isn’t my normal thing, but I’ll throw one in the mix now and then. When I got an email telling me I was pre-approved for this, I looked at some blurbs and decided it was time to venture out of my normal genres again.

I’m not falling all over myself about this, but I did like how it turned out. I liked the last half a lot more than the first—which was a real agony-fest—and I enjoyed the writing (more the vivid descriptions of nature and the connection Victoria felt to it than the emotional melodrama [the scene with Abel the horse made me roll my eyes pretty hard, since I felt like I’d seen it a million times before in movies and other books]).

I think this will appeal most to historical fiction fans and people who enjoy prettily-phrased descriptive writing.

One word - wow! I absolutely loved this book - from the gorgeous cover to the writing to the storyline. Hard to believe it’s a debut novel! It’s a beautiful sweeping saga comparable to those written by Kristin Hannah and Delia Owens. The story takes place in Colorado beginning in the 1940’s and taking us all the way up to the Vietnam War. We are introduced to the main character, Victoria “Torie” Nash as a young teen living on a peach farm with her father, brother and uncle taking care of all the household chores after her mother tragically passes away. She lives a fairly isolated life until a chance meeting with Wilson Moon, a Native American teen who is not much older than her and homeless. Their relationship blooms and while it consumes the two of them it is also dangerous because of Wilson’s ethnicity. Suffice it to say what happens to Torie shapes the course of the rest of her life as time after time she has to draw on her inner strength, courage and resilience.
I can’t wait to recommend this when it comes out to the public. I predict it will be a bestseller!
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the advanced readers copy of this book.

What an amazing debut novel. I absolutely loved everything about this beautifully written historical fiction novel. It is similar to Where the Crawdads Sing but with different twists and is based in a real life town that no longer exists.
Victoria Nash’s life changes forever with a chance meeting in her hometown of Iola, CO. Her life until then is full of loneliness caring for her grieving father and cruel brother and uncle on their peach farm overlooking the river. Circumstances lead her away from her home and she is forced to make difficult decisions surviving on her own.
I especially loved the author’s descriptions of the Colorado wilderness. I felt like I could breathe in the mountain air and feel the cold water of the river. It also made me crave a fresh, sweet Nash peach.
I did not want this book to end and I believe this author is going to be one to watch in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for an advanced copy.

Wow, this debut novel blew me away with beautifully written words and the emotions it stirred inside my heart.

“My secret tickled at my insides as if I had swallowed a spiraling feather”. Victoria Nash is just a teenager in the 1940’s, but she runs the household on her family’s peach farm in Colorado. Go as a river is a coming of age story about love and loss, resiliency and the meaning of finding home.

The story pulled me in immediately with such vivid details of the Colorado landscape. It also pulled at my heartstrings as I rooted for Victoria all the way to the end. If you enjoy stories about family, friendships and freedom from past mistakes, read this debut novel!

I received an electronic advanced reader copy from publishers Spiegel and Grau and Netgalley Thank you for the opportunity to preview this poignant debut novel.

“A woman is more than a vessel meant to carry babies and grief.”

I am crying in public because thats where i had the bad luck of finishing this absolutely beautiful book.

Victoria Nash, the daughter of the only peach farmer in Iola, Colorado, is bound to a house of men-broken by war and work and love, when she meets a Wilson Moon- a boy who changes the course of her life forever. Iola is flooded and lost beneath the blue mesa resevior, and victoria is born away by life but haunted by what was left behind, and what might still be hers.

More than romance, more than a family drama, more than time and progress...this book was just so much about love, and what this someone to the world and life. It was so beautifully written and i just loved it so so so so much.

Thank you a million #netgalley for giving me this book.

This was such a beautifully written book. It tells the story of Victoria, who is dealt a bad hand in life. She loses her Mom, older brother and beloved Aunt and is left with her awful brother and her Dad and takes the role of caregiver on their peach farm. She works hard but wants more than the small minded thinking of others around her. The minute she meets Will Moon things change for her and in her. Their love is pure, simple but complicated. And sets Torie on a path she wasn't expecting. Well developed characters, beautiful writing and a book I won't forget. I think it will be on my best of list in 2023. Well done!

This novel hits some of my favorite topics – motherhood and what it means to be a woman with living with the expectations of society pressing down on them. In this story we follow Victoria Nash from her teenage years in the 1940s to later adulthood in the 1970s as she navigates her changing world on a family peach farm in Colorado. It deals with first love, tough family dynamics and the unexpected loss of a mother and cousin and what that means for Victoria’s life as the only female left on the farm.

Read’s writing is beautiful and this is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. I will be thinking of late-picked peaches and dammed-over towns. I loved that the novel stayed with one character for most of her life and we are introduced to others as they come in and out of her life. Such a special story.

Thanks to @kellyhook.readsbooks for putting this on my reading radar, I look forward to the chat she will be hosting with the author later this year. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review. This comes out March 7, 2023.

A story of loss and love set in the Colorado wild.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. At first glance, it was far outside my usual reading choices. However, the cover was calling to me. My curiosity was entirely on the book. Sitting down to begin reading, I was whisked away to the Colorado wild. The story had be crying in places, and laughing in others.
While the story was enjoyable, the content is far above the level of young readers. Unfortunately, the book would not be appropriate for a school library.

This was one of the most beautifully written and transportive novels I’ve ever read. Shelley Read’s descriptions of the land and characters in Go As a River instantly immersed me into this world and allowed me to vividly imagine every person and place in the story. It starts off as a bit of a slow burn in the best way; at first the world building happens as a series of intricate memories linked to small events happening in Victoria’s (the main character) present, which proves to be an effective mechanism to establish the rich details and distinct atmosphere of the story. The pace picks up once the events begin to unfold, but doesn’t move so quickly that you can’t feel your feelings, and believe me when I tell you — you’re going to feel a lot.

Go As a River is a coming of age tale, a love story, and it’s also a contemporary Western that dances might close to being a tragedy. This story is filled with with grief, loss, and sorrow, all of it written so well that I finished this book in a single day because I could not let myself put it down until I could finally feel hope for Victoria again. Go As a River’s story is still lingering with me today; I woke up this with Victoria and Wil still heavily on my mind, their star crossed love, the events that followed.

Though the story is more contemporary, I think this book will also appeal to fans of historical fiction, as well as fans of Westerns. I couldn’t help but hear the narration in my mind as the voice of Isabel May, the actress that plays Elsa in the Western series 1883, though the time period and the premise of Go As a River is different.

It blows my mind that this is Read’s debut novel. I won’t be a bit surprised when it becomes a bestseller in 2023 and I think it’s destined to collect awards. I can’t wait to see what else this author will give us.