I tried several times to read it, because it really seemed exactly like something I would like...but it just didn't work for me on many levels. Other reviewers have said it, so I won't here.

I'm going over my backlog that I forgot to post on netgalley, sorry for the late posts.

If you remove the expectation this novel will be anything like Outlander and replace those ideas with it being a great Western, you'll love this!

The story is told from the main character, Dr. Catherine Bennett's perspective. She is an opinionated, intelligent woman for the late 1800's who survives many ordeals on her escape from New York City. Like any Western, the story is a little over dramatic (for instance the love story isn't played out well enough for me to really believe they're that close) but it's what you expect from the genre - down to the last line.

The author actually leaves the story open-ended and I wonder/hope for a sequel. But even if there isn't, it makes for an enjoyable poolside/beach read.

An interesting premise, a woman doctor who has to change her identity to avoid a hanging. Her trials and tribulations dealing with the Wild West were very disturbing and gritty, but I feel that they gave the book more depth and realism..

I couldn't get into this story. I tried but was unable to finish the story. I think it was more me than the author

DNF, but I wanted to at least explain the "why", since at first glance this book seems right up my alley: historical fiction meets murder mystery plus a feisty heroine. Gold, right?

While the plot sounds fun, the writing style just...wasn't. It felt like the author was stuffing in extra synonyms (and syllables!) to reinforce her points. The verbose rambling really dragged down the pace.

There's also the uncomfortable "Natives are just savages and better off dead" plot point. I get that this is a reflection of viewpoints at the time, but there are books that acknowledge and challenge this attitude and then there are books that use it as a main method of pushing the plot forward. It feels lazy and gross.

Finally, a CW for rape in multiple scenes. I'm not a fan of using graphic rape scenes and/or sexual abuse as a way to define a character's personality or story arc. It rarely feels necessary, is almost never handled with sensitivity, and usually--again--it feels lazy and gross.

TL; DR: I wanted to like it, but I was slogging through the verbiage and poor plot points and had to quit.

Dr Catherine Bennett is a tough, smart woman; This is well written historical fiction. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC>.

The main character's determination to take whichever path is most dangerous makes it hard to feel sympathy for her. Her circumstances often seem unrealistic for the period.

The story shifts in the last third, becoming much more violent and graphic. The events and the writing style don't flow with the early part of the book at all.

Gritty, raw, exciting, and gripping - it took me far too long to pick up this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down.
Melissa Lenhardt has crafted one hell of a character in Dr. Catherine Bennett - determined to stay alive and to do her job, surviving situations beyond belief, and keeping her head about her. This is historical fiction with the edge of a western. I think what, for me, takes out of the range of historical fiction alone is the level of violence rather graphically depicted. That said, the violence is not gratuitous - it depicts the raw violence and fight for survival that people endured in this era.

While ordinarily, this level of violence would normally put me off, in this instance it drew me deeper into the dangerous times where Catherine was living.

RATING: 4 STARS
2016; Redhook Books

Take a look at the cover for this book. It is gorgeous, but it screams "I am a light read!". I was thinking it would be a historical mystery/western with lots of romance. Nope. Heed my warning, fellow reader, this book is gritty and violent. If you cannot read the Outlander or Into the Wilderness you will not get through this novel. In fact, I would say if you are looking for just romance, skip this one.

There is some romance in this book, and it balances out the "dark" aspects of the novel. The main character, Laura Elliston is a female doctor in a time where women could not get into medical school. Laura would apprentice with her father and treat sex workers to practice her skills. As she runs away, against her better judgement, from a crime she didn't commit she heads out west. As the White men sign and break treaties with the Indigenous tribes, violence and darkness rises. Greed and betrayal crash against one another. After an attack, she starts to use her medical skills on the Fort's soldiers. It is here she is tested to see what she is made of.

I am a huge fan of Outlander and Into the Wilderness (I have some of my issues with them, but on the whole I love them) so this book was right up my alley. I enjoyed the characterizations and the realism of most of the novel. I found that Lenhardt did a great job in researching as she really brought out the time and place. I could feel and see the descriptions. The author thanks her father in the Author's Notes for his love of Westerns giving her the motivation behind this book. Having a dad, that also loves westerns, I totally get it, lol.

What made me rate it a 4, instead of 5 stars, was (view spoiler).

I would recommend this novel if you can stand a grittier story.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

My Novelesque Blog

Sawbones is the first book in the Sawbones series. It is a nitty gritty Western book about a female doctor right after the civil war who is falsely accused of murder. The book does get pretty graphic in describing the Indian attacks.
Published April 11th 2017 by Redhook (first published March 29th 2016)
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own.

Life at the Frontier in post Civil-War America was not a bed of roses, least of all if you happened to be a qualified doctor AND a woman. This is what Melissa Lenhardt proves us in Sawbones, the first book in her western trilogy that runs under the same name.

Catherine has to leave New York behind urgently after she gets accused of murder. She has no idea why one of her former patients holds a grudge against her, however she has no choice but flee if she doesn't want to hang. She believes her best chance to disappear is in the west but her journey through the Colorado prairie is paved with danger. She has to build her life from zero again in no man's land among people she is not sure she can trust, bearing the stigma of a woman who practices what was considered a man's profession at the time.

For me the strongest quality in Sawbones was the plot. Although it took some time, I got to the point where I was genuinely interested what happens next. Ms Lenhardt is good at building up tension and she doesn't shy away from major plot twists either – when I was only a few chapters in, the story took a totally different course than I thought it would in the beginning. First I wasn't sure if I liked the new situation but soon I became immersed and couldn't stop guessing what would come next.

The second best component I'd say was the romance. Captain Kindle, the love interest, is a very entertaining flirt. He strongly reminded me of Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind (that's a compliment in my book). I liked that his and Laura's (Catherine's) acquaintance actually went back to the war and yet they started out as strangers to each other.

Catherine, the heroine, however was a character I simply couldn't like. Her being a representation of an issue – the way men treated (smart) women at the time – stole away any possiblity of character development. She is without flaw from the beginning and she mainly does what she was created to do: comes up with snarky remarks whenever she is verbally attacked (mostly by men). Don't get me wrong, I like her sharp tongue, but I think the situations when she has to use it are unnecessarily numerous in the book. I hope I'll see some changes later so I can grow to like her in the sequels to come.

The villain was mysterious in the first half of the novel and he had a decent backstory, which I appreciated. I also liked most of the side-characters and the way life in the fort was described.

I'd like to continue on with the series because of the gripping plot. I don't read enough western anyway, which is a shame...

I was approved for this galley last year, but I just couldn’t get into the story. I’m not a big fan of Westerns, but on my second reading the plot hooked me.

There were twists that I couldn’t have predicted. The twists weren’t even the answers to my questions. There were many surprises, and not all of them good.

Some of the descriptions of injuries and medical procedures are hard to read. I think that’s why I struggled with the book before. However, it added some realism to the story.

I think Catherine was a little ahead of her time in some of her medical ideas. For example, she says she doesn’t think smoking is good for your lungs, but that wouldn’t have been known back then. Her advanced knowledge reminded me a lot of Claire in Outlander. They were both thrown into similar medical positions in a world that is not ready for a female physician.

I enjoyed this book after reading it again. I’m curious to see how this series turns out.

In 1871 - shortly after the devastation of the Civil War - headstrong Dr. Catherine Bennett finds herself thrust into a crisis; falsely accused of a scandalous murder, she flees New York society for a new life - and a new identity - in the great American West. Accompanied by loving and loyal Maureen, strongly determined Catherine rapidly discovers that the West is fraught with dangers greater than she could have imagined. Evocatively described characters and melding of historical details are the shining elements of this story..

My Disclaimer:
I was provided a free copy of this book by the author’s representative. I am voluntarily providing an honest review in which all opinions are fully my own. I am not being compensated in any way.
~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review

My Review: ✭✭✭✭
At Antietam, she’s dressed as a male orderly and assisting her father in the medical tents. An officer with his face brutally sliced open listens to her exhausted chatter while she stitches his face for him since no doctors were available. Nine years later, she meets a man with a facial scar on a different sort of battlefield. He remembers her talk about Aunt Emily and her embroidery lessons. Their recognition is instantaneous. Their rapport is not. But again she is called upon to use her medical skills to save his life as she races to care for him ahead of a coming storm.

That is the first 20% of the book. Captain Kindle spends the next 30% of the book recuperating at the fort under her care while she goes about causing trouble just being herself and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She tries to clean up the place and runs into dishonest people right and left. She causes ruffled feathers with the women of the fort because she’s an attractive woman and she’s interacting with the men, especially with Captain Kindle. She crosses the officer-in-charge’s sister, Harriet MacKenzie, but in the end, they understand each other very well and find common cause.

When Catherine/Laura is kidnapped by a man bent on vengeance, the Captain rises from his sick bed to go after her and save her life. This brings the Army down on them with all its authority. He has deserted his post without authority to do so, and the Army doesn’t take desertion lightly. Even when your post is a sick bed and love is involved.

I really liked this book, but it did have its problems. The situation at the fort was really strange and I would have liked it explained better so that I could have “seen” it better. I felt like I was bumbling around half blind most of the time. I know description isn’t popular these days, but a bit more of it would have helped me. It was frustrating, and it didn’t add to the story for me. Believe me, Laura had enough frustration of her own to deal with.

I felt the characters were well written. They had some great personalities. The people in the wagon train were well-done, especially Catherine’s companion. Harriet MacKenzie was wonderful with her presentation of the typical spinster type and her disapproval of Laura, particularly the way things worked out later on. The wagon train portion was richly portrayed, but the fort part was rather sparse. More details so that it could have been a clearer picture would have helped.

But, like all good romances, it has its HEA. I definitely enjoyed this book. The story of a historical feminist is fun! If I get a chance, I’ll certainly try another in this series. I suggest you try this one and see how it fits onto your reading shelf.

Sawbones by Melissa Lendhardt is set in the 1870's, mostly in the frontier. It is the story of a woman doctor - Catherine Bennett. Catherine has been falsely accused of murder and has had to escape with the help of a friend. She travels from New York out into eventually the wilderness of Colorado.

This is not a story for the faint hearted. Oh - that's right, I am a bit faint hearted, but it was still for me. I just skipped quickly through the grim and horrible realities of attack on the wagon train, the deaths that ensued. And that was the first of the atrocities, more were to come and were just so horrible.

What kept me reading? Well it was the grittiness of Catherine. She ministered to soldiers at Antietam, mostly before this story opened. She was a doctor and healer to her core. She understood the need for cleanliness and its relation to infection. She ministered to the person. She was a good person and good doctor and she was treated so badly. In spite of all that she faced she kept on, and when raw danger reared its ugly head she did what she had to do.

William Kindle is a officer at the army camp Catherine finds herself at. They've met before under different circumstances - at Antietam. Now some years later Catherine or Laura as she now is, heals Kindle again. They are attracted to one another, but ... this is not your normal pretty story with a rainbow at the end of the ride. Sigh! But... maybe something better, grit and determination and loyalty and trust. I wonder where they'll end up? I see Blood Oath and Badlands are #2 and #3 in this trilogy so there is more to follow.

This story has violence, brutality and rape. But it has people in it who stand for goodness and truth, people who are willing to help others and see them on their way. Yes, I'll read through to the end, although ... I might skip a bit here and there!

Sawbones is a gritty, wild and intense western that tells the story of a female doctor (which was almost unheard of in 1871) who is falsely accused of murder by a prominent family in New York. The doctor, Catherine Bennett, is forced to flee to Texas and change her name, taking with her just a few possessions and her lifelong maid.

Upon arrival in Texas, there is a glitch in her plans and she decides instead to get on a wagon train bound for Colorado. Now posing as Dr. Laura Elliston, she and her maid set out with the wagon train which is later attacked by Indians. Luckily for Laura, she survives and is taken to Fort Richardson, where she saves the life of Captain Kindle and eventually falls in love with him.

The adventure is just getting wound up at this point. There are bounty hunters searching for Laura (aka Catherine Bennett) and there is a strange man who seems to be trailing her. In addition to that, Captain Kindle has some secrets of his own.

Sawbones is a novel that is just as rough and untamed as Texas was during the late 1800’s. There are descriptions of the Indian attacks and raping of women, as well as descriptions of the medical conditions Elliston is treating. Definitely not a book for the squeamish.

I thought the ending was thrilling and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
On a side note, I met the author in my local Barnes & Noble as were were browsing the shelves of new fiction releases. Melissa Lenhardt, I am so glad I met you and after we talked, I bought Stillwater and The Fisher King. I’m looking forward to reading them this fall.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Redhook books for the opportunity to read a copy of this book for an honest review.

Defiantly working in an unnatural female profession in 1871 Manhattan, Dr. Catherine Bennett has rich society women as clients and believes she’s found her niche. Then a patient’s husband is killed, and Catherine is falsely accused of adultery and murder. Along with her motherly Irish maid, she flees, hoping to make a new start out West as “Laura Elliston.” However, her past follows her to Galveston, where she joins a wagon train with settlers intending to form a new Colorado town. The government’s “peace policy” towards the Plains Indians is strongly resented, so their journey is fraught with danger.

The action is constant, and Laura proves a determined survivor as she recovers from a vicious Indian attack—points to Lenhardt for her depiction of this mental trauma—and takes charge as temporary doctor at Fort Richardson. Historical events like the Salt Creek Massacre and real people, like an arrogant General Sherman on his Texas inspection tour, are deftly worked into the plotline. Laura’s flirtatious romance with a wounded army captain illustrates her vulnerable side and the author’s gift for clever dialogue.

Many will praise this book for its brutal realism—there are scalpings, murders, and graphic sexual violence—and for not holding back on the era’s racist attitudes. This is a compelling read, but it’s not meant to be comfortable, and given her experiences, Laura’s terror and hatred of the Indians are understandable. Still, the one-dimensional “savages” (an overused word in the book) do little except kill, rape, and grunt, and the heroine, otherwise a compassionate physician, doesn’t seem too conflicted about wanting the Indians wiped out altogether. Keeping company with Catherine/Laura is sometimes difficult. This is the first in a trilogy, so perhaps Blood Oath and Badlands will show a greater character arc for this daringly bold and challenging woman.

I went into reading this book with the expectation that it would be some kind of western romance. It was sort of that, but it was so much more than that. This book features a strong, independent woman making her way as a physician in 1871. Even after some unfortunate occurrences (tragedies, actually) Catherine/Laura is incredibly strong, and a true pillar of all of the communities she is a part of.

Many people have been comparing this book to Outlander, but I don't see it. I think this really stands on its own, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

If ever there was a series to utterly and completely capture my heart, attention, and respect, Sawbones, surely, is it.

This book is like no other.
And I truly mean that.
No, really!

It has exceeded all of my expectations, going completely above and beyond whatever ideas I had for it before I began reading it.

I instantly fell in love with Catherine/Laura. She's everything you'd ever want in a main character, modern or historical. She's tenacious, spunky, clever, loyal, intelligent, and passionate. Nothing slows her down--not even the atrocities she is forced to deal with from the beginning to the very end of the book.
I have to say, if I had been her and faced the same challenges, I don't think I would have made it through like Catherine did. She's incredible, and it makes me wish so badly that she was, in fact, a real figure in history and not simply a character in a fictional series.

At the end of the book, Harriet and Catherine have a conversation in which Catherine is thanking her, and Harriet's reply to Catherine resonated with me, summing up the type of woman Catherine proved herself to be perfectly: "The world needs more women like you, not less."
When I read this, I couldn't help but smile to myself. Like other women in history I have had the privilege of reading about, Catherine Bennet is remarkable and admirable, even if she never technically existed. (I'd like to believe that although this particular story is fictional, there were indeed women just like her who made a mark on history, disregarding convention and societal norms in order to stay true to themselves and their dreams and passions.)

The book itself was well-written and quite believable; Lenhardt does a fantastic job in keeping with the times and maintaining credibility while telling Catherine's story. There is no doubt in my mind that the things that Catherine went through would be almost identical to what real women of her time DID go through.
That being said, I was no less shocked when I read the book. Lenhardt does not shy away from reality; she holds nothing back. Catherine endures a level of ruthlessness and brutality to which other authors would only ever allude, or give a passing nod at best. Lenhardt, on the other hand, allows Catherine's circumstances and, consequently, her vulnerability as a woman who is lightning years ahead of her time to become her very own kryptonite. Catherine's independence and pluckiness have inadvertently landed her smack in the middle of a landscape that does nothing to help her remain self-reliant and out of harm's (ahem, men's) way.
Still, there were countless times I was in utter disbelief. How could so much pain and destruction befall one person? A person whose sole purpose is to save the lives of those in need and bring a sense of well-being back into the world?
*shakes head*
It just goes to show you, I suppose, that the atrocities that humankind is capable of committing are limitless.

Beyond the book's believability, Sawbones accomplishes something few other series are able to: It does not drag on incessantly for 300-something pages in order to ensure that readers are hooked just enough to go out and purchase the final two books, unlike other trilogies I have had the misfortune of reading.
*cough cough*
I will remain civilized and refrain from naming names--suffice it to say, it was 50 shades of pure USELESSNESS!--which brings me to my next point: The romance factor in Sawbones was not so sappy or ridiculous that I was not able to enjoy it. Imagine my relief!
Lenhardt treaded dangerous waters indeed when she brought a love interest into the plot of a book whose theme shouts "Women can do anything men can do, and they can do it better." She could very easily have forfeited the integrity of the story and lost my vote altogether for a book that was supposed to be an inspirational testament to the strength that women have always shown in the face of frank sexism and unfounded criticism, BUT SHE DIDN'T! Lenhardt allows Catherine to remain true to herself and her cause while finding true love. She is able, somehow, to write Kindle as a lead male character who is very much a product of his Civil War-era world, yet is still willing to stand beside Catherine and not only support her "radical" hopes and dreams, but love her all the more for them, fully acknowledging her talents as a surgeon and giving credit where credit is clearly due.

Along with Catherine and Kindle, Lenhardt creates an entire cast of lovable, brave, and resourceful characters to round out the book and make it that much more enjoyable--with a couple of bad seeds tossed in to ensure the reader's interest is held firmly in place and will last the length of the series! I mean it when I say that I CANNOT wait to see where the next book leads, because before I even came close to finishing Sawbones, I just KNEW that there wasn't a chance in hell I wouldn't be purchasing the next two books in order to find out if Catherine gets the happy ending she so very much deserves.

What I'm trying to convey with this review is: There is no "taking a chance" when reading this book.
Pick it up, read it, fall in love with it like I did, and enjoy it for years to come. I assure you, Sawbones will NOT disappoint.


*A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Let me get this out of the way: I loved this book and would rate it 4.5 stars if that was an option.

I was very intrigued by the premise - a female doctor in a time when that was not just incredibly rare, but frowned upon by society. As a rather outspoken female myself, I'm not sure I would have survived this time period! I thought Catherine was a formidable heroine - intelligent, not too strong, but sure of herself. I loved reading from her perspective - she's certainly not a boring character.

I have read only a few western historical novels, so I don't have much to compare this to. It's obvious this is a savage time in our country's history; this book doesn't gloss over the negatives of the time period, that's for sure (if you are triggered by violence or negative sexual encounters, you might want to think twice about reading this). That said, I actually thought these things were handled better than other books I've read with similar sex/violent scenes. We're given detail - some of it pretty bad - but it wasn't enough to turn me off from the book, and I'm a bit of a tenderhearted lass.

I really enjoyed the mysteries in the story, be they little ones or large ones. I also really felt like I was with Catherine on her journey of discovery, and thought that was definitely one of the book's strengths. The romance was more of a back story to Catherine's experience as a doctor, and I enjoyed that this took a back seat.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn there was at least one more book in the series - I can't wait to read more about what our gal Catherine is up to!