Backwards to Oregon

Luke Hamilton, a former dragoon officer who fought in the Mexican War (among other battles), has a dream of traveling to Oregon and starting a horse ranch. The only problem is that Luke has been disguising her true sex for nearly all of her adult life. In an effort to bolster his masculine appearance (and for other reasons, which are divulged later in the book), Luke decides to take a wife - Nora, a prostitute he barely knows, along with Amy, Nora's young daughter - with him to Oregon. Luke never intends to feel anything at all for Nora - she has been alone for many years, and she never expects that anyone would be able to accept her secret, much less feel any true affection for her. Nora, in the meantime, has absolutely no idea that show more her new husband is actually female, but she's incredibly intrigued by how Luke acts towards her. Used to being treated poorly by her family, customers, and society in general, Nora blossoms into a self-confident woman on the trail. But there are many dangers along the trip, and the most deadly aren't the harsh terrain that they must travel through to get to Oregon.

After reading Divided Nation, United Hearts by Yolanda Wallace, I really found myself wanting to reread this book. I love historical f/f fiction, and there's just so little of it around - or if it is more plentiful, I haven't found it just yet! For some reason, the first time I read it I only gave it three stars, and that kind of baffles me at this point, because I enjoyed the book so much more the second time around. Who says that reading tastes don't change! ;)

It's never particularly addressed whether Luke is trans or not. There are times where she admits that she isn't comfortable in her own body, but I'm not sure if that is because she has been forced to hide it for so long or if she would feel that discomfort even in a more accepting time. And it really doesn't matter - Luke is just, well, Luke, and that makes sense because of the time period in which the story is set. I refer to Luke with feminine pronouns in my review, because that is how Luke refers to herself in the book.

The relationship between Luke and Nora is slow to develop, which is a nice change of pace. So many romance books have the characters tumble headlong into love, and this isn't the case at all. Luke and Nora go from strangers to partners to people who trust one another to friends and, finally, to genuine partners. I liked watching their relationship evolve and Nora slowly but surely pecking away at the wall that was between them.

Luke is such an incredibly "good" character. I apparently took issue with this during my first read through (I'm not sure why), but it's almost like slipping into a nice, warm, comforting jacket on the second read through. Her goodness, which could have logically been suppressed or even trampled upon because of her upbringing and her rough life afterward, continued to shine through, especially in contrast to other character's not-so-goodness. Luke is an incredibly progressive "man" for the times, which many of the women on the wagon train found appealing.

Nora's evolution as a character was also interesting - she goes from being very passive and submissive (which was instilled in her by her overbearing father and only increased during her time as a prostitute) to having her own opinions and thoughts, and being unafraid to express them. And she also makes good, genuine friends while on the trail - something that has eluded her for most of her life, first by her family and then by her profession.

I think what I enjoyed most (besides of the historical nerdery, which was magnified when I recognized landmarks along the trail, as I don't live too far from the historical Oregon Trail, particularly Chimney Rock, Ash Hollow, and Scottsbluff) was Amy's character development. She was used to being shunned as the bastard daughter of a prostitute, about as low as low could be, and then she was plucked from that life and given a new one - one in which she has a father figure in her life who cares about her, a "respectable name" that makes her an acceptable playmate, etc. She grows from being very shy and retiring, much like Nora, into a little girl with much more confidence.

Like I said, I'm a sucker for historical f/f fiction, and this is probably one of the best titles the genre has to offer. I'm bumping my star rating up to four stars, and it really confounds me why I only gave it three stars the first time through. ;) show less

I love historical fiction books and have found myself trying a variety of authors in this genre so when I came upon this book I had no idea as to what it would be about. I didn't look at the genre it fell under nor did I read the reviews, I just saw historical, western and got it. I usually don't read the reviews until after I have listened to or read a book for the simple fact I don't let other opinions persuade me one way or another so I truly got this book blind. I have to say I was unusually impressed. My first thought was oh NO....here we go again steamy hot sex not really a background or story but as I listened to the book I realized it was actually a great book. It is not indecent at all, just a bit of cursing but not to bad. I show more am a very open minded person when it comes down to how a person chooses to live their life but this book even went beyond it being about two women being together in bed. It really shows us that people have been people for a very long time, and I mean in a sense of not thinking about gender, race, or even professional background when it comes down to true love. This book had me on the edge of my seat all the way. The anticipation of the wife finding out she had married a women, to the danger, to the outcome of the trip to Oregon. I laughed, I cried, and I awed, and gasped throughout this whole book. Jae I apologize but until I found this book I had never known you existed and I am so grateful at how you illustrated the love, determination, and life of these two women set in the Pioneer days. My hat is off to you....great job. show less

Felt very surreal in a way, kind of like Westworld but without the trauma or the sci-fi aspects. I enjoyed this one and got nearly half way through the book in the first day simply because it caught my attention, which a lot of books haven’t lately. I feel like the little bit of sexual stuff was just too soon? Or maybe just not soon enough? I think having the one time they have sex be directly connected to the babies arrival was very jarring and for me, killed the vibes for the sex scene completely. I dont think I’ll check out the sequel but I think I might look into the offshoot of their granddaughter instead

I read the third revised edition, and I was blown away.

Despite living as a man, Luke is a woman. She just hates not having any agency and a limited career path as a woman, so she reinvented herself, joined the army and is now headed West on a wagon train.

Nora is sick and tired of prostitution and wants to offer her daughter something better. When Luke turns up and offers a marriage of convenience, she doesn't have to think long about it.

This is a slow-burn f/f romance that I can highly recommend.

What do I say about this? Romance Western. Two genres that I don’t normally go for, but it was a RL book club read, so I went for it.

And I actually enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book. Through a not-completely-unbelievable set of circumstances, in 1851 a woman (Luke) who has passed as a man for her entire adult life, marries an unsuspecting brothel employee as he is about to set out on the Oregon Trail. The benefit to him is that having a wife will be good cover for him among his fellow travelers, and the benefit to her is that she has the prospect of a new life for herself and her child in Oregon. At Luke’s insistence they avoid any closeness at all.

Of course, that doesn’t last for long and romance blooms by the end of the book. show more But the first part is interesting in its descriptions of life on a wagon train and the landmarks along the way.

Although the book peters out toward the conclusion, it was refreshing to read about strong, capable women this week, when the Supreme Court seems determined to set the clock back at least to the 1950’s - if not to the 17th century. 3.5 stars rounded up. show less

I know that it's probably very problematic (yes, thank you Xena Warrior Podcast for putting that word in my brain...) But, I really enjoy these types of stories, like Divided Nation, United Hearts by Yolanda Wallace, or Words Heard in Silence by T. Novan. Something about the combination of historical fiction and the Deborah Sampson sort of story hits the right notes for me. Although, I do have to say that in the case of this story, it was less about Luke dressing up as a man, and leaned more towards Luke being a Transgender Man.

As hinted at above, it's about a man named Luke and a woman named Nora. They meet in a woman named Tess' brothel (where Nora is a prostitute), although they do not have sex. Three days after they meet Luke asks show more Nora to marry him. They set off on the Oregon Trail the next day, along with Nora's daughter Amy.

And that's the story. The journey of Nora and Luke's relationship (as well as their personal growth journeys) set to the back drop of the massive (and massively hard) journey west to Oregon.

It was soo good. I felt like I'd read it before, but, at the same time I sometimes had no clue what was coming next. Also, I had some hard core flashbacks to Apple IIe's Oregon Trail computer game (I didn't finish that darn thing until I was in my 30s).

This was a fun novel that sucked me in faster and more fully than any book has in a while, and I look forward to reading more in its world sooner rather than later. show less

Backwards To Oregon is, thankfully, on the right side of sweet...at the point where it makes you sigh with its kind and colorful characters who care so much about each other, but also where it doesn't make you roll your eyes because it's too syrupy.

It's also interesting and gripping historical fiction and the only possible thing I could find wrong with it is it's just a tad too long. I would have loved to see Luke's big reveal occur much sooner in the novel.

Still, I wouldn't hesitate to read more by Jae and am super glad to see that the characters from Backwards appear in both a sequel (Hidden Truths) and a short story collection (Beyond The Trail.)