Title:  Westering Women
Author:  Sandra Dallas
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

In 1852, Maggie has a young daughter who’s been abused and an abusive husband who will kill her if he can find her, so she signs up to join a wagon train to California with 43 other women eager to find husbands. Maggie doesn’t care about the husband part; she just wants to keep her daughter safe. She’s not even sure her own husband is alive—if he’s not, she’s sure to be accused of his murder.

She soon learns she’s not the only woman in the group with secrets:  Mary, whose family treated her like a slave, just wants freedom, and on the trail her large size is  good thing. One of the women used to be a prostitute. One is also running from an abusive man. One is hiding a secret in plain sight. Throughout the journey the women—and the two minsters accompanying them—must learn how to fend for themselves and become more than who they were.

I loved the premise of Westering Women. I was a bit disappointed in the execution, though. The women’s stories are amazing, but their presence on the page was scattered and fuzzy at best. Even Maggie, supposedly the main character, seemed more like a bit player most of the time. Some of the transitions were very abrupt and came out of nowhere, too (when the men one of the girls was running from showed up randomly). A great historical jaunt, but the writing didn’t do it justice. Judging from other reviews I’ve seen, this is clearly a case of the book just not being a good fit for me.

Sandra Dallas is a New York Times-bestselling author. Westering Women is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

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