By Gabrielle Meyer

In 1815, the New World offers a fresh start – something the destitute Lady Eleanor Brooke needs. With nothing to tie her to England, she moves to the Red River Colony near Lake Winnipeg, ready to offer her services as a teacher, and hoping to reconnect with Arran MacLean, the man who still holds her heart.

Arran is not pleased when Lady Eleanor arrives. Yes, he is still desperately in love with her, but, as assistant governor of the colony, he knows first hand how brutal life can be in the Canadian wilderness. Bitter winters, sickness, and starvation are the least of their worries. An all-out war is boiling up between rival fur trading companies, and the Red River Colony is trapped in the middle. Arran needs to convince Eleanor to return to England before he fails to protect her and Canada becomes her grave.

Cons: I wish there were maps. I am not overly familiar with Canada’s geography and I lost my sense of direction while reading. Google Maps and an atlas sort of helped, but they don’t list the historic places mentioned in the book.

I also got bored and cheated and read two other books during the first half of The Lady of Red River Valley. But when I picked the book back up… holy cow!

Pros: I didn’t know that happened?!?!?!? I know a lot of United States history, but not much at all about Canadian history. I was shocked. I will not spoil the details for you, but the tragic midpoint of this book will grip you and keep you frantically turning the pages until the very end.

While I love the historical research Gabrielle Meyer puts into her books, the other thing I love are the romances she writes. I am not a fan of a lot of romance books because they are so shallow and fabricated, but her books bulldoze the tropes and cliches and leave you with characters you actually care about and root for (instead of rolling your eyes and screaming at their stupidity).

Bottom Line: A heartwrenching love story set in the brutal yet beautiful Canadian frontier.