This book seriously makes me wanna play the Oregon Trail computer game. We’ve got river crossings with wagons and animals, cholera sickness, and warnings not to kill too many bison or else it will spoil. Man, that was always the worst part of the game, rotting meat!
What’s it About?
Jake Owens is tired of life on his parents’ Montana ranch, catering to city folk who want a taste of old-fashioned country living. He enjoys life in the fast lane, with fast cars and even faster women. When he falls in with the wrong crowd and is accused of murder, a stranger’s bizarre offer at a second chance might be his only hope to clear his name.
Rachel Parker is highly devoted to her family. A tragedy prompts a daring move to the Oregon Territory for a fresh start in a new land. After meeting the wagon train’s scout, the meaning of a fresh start may be more than she ever imagined.
Jake can’t believe he’s been sent back in time to act as scout for a wagon train headed for Oregon, and given the added burden of keeping one emigrant woman safe during the journey. He and Rachel are confused by their attraction to each other. Jake’s ill-mannered, unconventional ways are overshadowed only by his notorious reputation. Rachel’s traditional values and quiet, responsible character are the complete opposite of what attracts Jake to a woman. When their forbidden attraction turns to love, what will happen at the end of the trail?
First Impression
The set up to this second chance romance was superb. Jake Owens is a rancher who fell in with the wrong kind of city girl, and has now been framed for murder. He’s basically given up any hope of ever being free when a mysterious man disguised as his lawyer provides him with an opportunity too good to pass up. If he guides a group of families in a wagon train along the Oregon Trail, all of his misdeeds will be wiped clean. Sounds too good to be true right? Well, this mystery man failed to mention that the wagon train is actually taking place 150 years in the past, so imagine Jake’s surprise when he wakes up in a different time.
Normally the time travel discovery moment is my favorite in these types of romances, not to mention the difficulties of transitioning to a different way of life in another time. However, I was slightly disappointed that for the most part Jake settles into his frontier life rather quickly and seamlessly after an initial mini freak-out. I guess traveling via horse across great distances out west hasn’t changed much in the last 150 years. It definitely made sense that Jake would be chosen as the scout for this expedition considering his previous background as a rancher. If he’d had no wilderness skills to speak of I probably would have questioned why he was selected in the first place. It was just kind of disappointing that for the rest of the novel I had to remind myself that he was from the future. If anything it’s like he’s now in his natural habitat.
And You Thought That Was Complicated!
Something which threw me for a bit of a loop with this read was the complexity behind Rachel and Jake’s relationship. Sure, he’s from the future. You could see how that might complicate things slightly, what with being born centuries apart and all that. But hey, we’ve all seen this before with time travel romances! An added complication we get though in this instance is when Jake first sets his sights on Rachel. His loins start to burn, some verbal sparring is exchanged, but he is ultimately made aware of the fact that she is Mrs. Rachel Parker. That’s right, Mrs. She’s not alone in traveling the trail, having a drunk husband and a couple of boys in tow as well. Now for all of you who cringe slightly at the idea of our main romance involving a married woman, let me tell you you’re not alone. I had the same reservations when this little tidbit came to light. However, let me just tell you that all is not necessarily as it seems in this situation. That’s all I’m gonna say!
Back to the Future
While some aspects of traveling the trail were slightly repetitious, the story really came together for me in the end, and culminated on a high note. Most of us know how time travel romances progress. At the start, our time traveler feels completely lost and shocked at having ended up in a time so different than their own. They usually have one goal in mind throughout the majority of the novel, which is to somehow get back to their own time. There is some kind of end point, some sort of landmark which serves as their window home. Whether it be standing stones in the Highlands, or traversing the Oregon Trail with a wagon train full of emigrants, there is something which our lead character is focused on with the intent of returning to their own time.
What undoubtedly happens at some point in the story is they meet a certain special someone who convinces them to give up their present in order to remain in the past. So romantic. And that is also the case here, although Jake also seems torn between remaining in the past with Rachel, or somehow convincing the man who sent him back in time to transfer Rachel and her children back to the future with him. However, what happens when we realize that end result isn’t possible? How do we resolve a situation where Jake can’t remain in the past, and Rachel is unable to travel to the future? I must admit, it was certainly an interesting twis. Normally the main conflicting feature is when our lead admits to their lover the fact that they are from the future, but in this instance we get the situation where our lead will have no choice but to return to the future without Rachel by his side. Is it possible our lovers won’t find their happily ever after? Seems blasphemous, no?!
Series: Second Chances Time Travel, book 1. Throughout most of the novel I kept thinking to myself, mkay this is enjoyable, but probably not a series I need to continue with. However, seeing how it all came together at the end, and with the epilogue especially I gotta say I’m pretty intrigued to see what might come next.
Final Impression: I wish there had been more of a history lesson involved throughout the novel. One of my favorite things about historical romances is learning more about the time period being featured. There wasn’t really anything covered I couldn’t have gathered from playing the Oregon Trail game for 20 minutes. There was also a missed opportunity when it came to interacting with the Native Americans along the trail. However, overall it was really a fun start to the series, with a final climactic build-up that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Smut Level: You’d think it would be tricky to find any alone time for intimacy on a wagon train with about 30 other families around you all the time. But you can’t help but love all the stops along a lonely river where Rachel and Jake just happen to find themselves alone and separated from the rest of the group.
Get it on Amazon: Click Here. FREE. Amazon Digital Services LLC. 253 Pages.
Romance Novels for the Beach 