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The Lady of Red River Valley (Ladies of the Wilderness #2) by Gabrielle Meyer

 

Summary (from the publisher): By 1815, Arran MacLean has been working for three years to build the Red River Colony near Lake Winnipeg. Each year, the colonists have been driven out by disease, hunger, and their enemies, the North West Company. He's thankful that the woman he loved, Lady Eleanor Brooke, had enough sense to turn him down when he asked her to marry him. But her rejection still haunts his memories.

Lady Eleanor Brooke has one regret, not marrying Arran when he proposed to her four years ago. At the time, her father had been in deep financial trouble and needed her to marry well. Now, with her father in Newgate Prison, and a scandal hanging over her head, Eleanor has nothing left to lose. She travels to the Red River Colony as a teacher, hoping to rekindle her relationship with Arran, but quickly realizes that coming to the North American Wilderness was a mistake.

Life in the colony is dangerous and heartbreaking, and Arran doesn’t want Eleanor to suffer. He plans to put her on the first ship back to England in the spring, but his plans are thwarted when their enemy attacks, and they are faced with insurmountable odds. When the worst happens, will they have what it takes to fight for the Red River Colony, and for each other?

Review: A huge thank you to author Gabrielle Meyer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Four years ago, Lady Eleanor Brooke turned down Arran MacLean's proposal of marriage. At the time, Eleanor knew she needed to marry well to help her father out of financial ruin. Since then, Arran has spent three years to build the Red River Colony near Lake Winnipeg, Canada. Life in the colony has been dangerous and frustrating, and Arran is relieved that Eleanor turned down his proposal and isn't exposed to the rough living. But imagine his shock when she appears in his colony. With a bleak future in England, Eleanor has braved the journey to the North American wilderness in search of the man she has never been able to forget. 

This was such an enjoyable second chance romance. Gabrielle Meyer is known for the way she beautifully weaves in Christian faith into her novels, and I think fans will be pleased with Eleanor and Arran's story. While Arran is stubborn in admitting his feelings, the two are deeply loyal and faithful, not only to each other, but to the commitments they make and to others in their life that they care about. I deeply appreciated the theme of found family in this book, with Eleanor caring greatly for a baby who loses its mother and Arran being very supportive of her in this role, which only confirmed what a great man he was.

I learned so much about the history of the Red River Colony or Assiniboia, as it was called by those who lived there (present day Winnipeg, Canada) through reading this book. The colony was originally founded in 1811, so this novel, which is set in 1815, is right in the thick of the colony's bid for existence. 

There is a lot of tragic death in this novel. The history of the colony is one of bloodshed and violence and that is featured in this novel. Eleanor is also a single woman alone in a wild and untamed land and experiences hardship and unwelcome advances from dishonorable men. I do wish we had gotten more backstory on Arran and Eleanor's initial meeting and courtship, and I wish a little more of his journey to the colony and early years there had been explored. 

I greatly enjoyed this book, learned a lot about the time period and area, and can't wait to read book three in the series. This was such a sweet response about a couple who face a series of tremendous obstacles but thanks to their faith and perseverance, weather them all. 

Stars: 4

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