I worked at Fort Snelling... This book is terrible due to it's horrible historical inaccuracies and the fact that it is one of the dullest books I have ever picked up. Do not bother.

If you are a fan of Maude, then this a must read.

my feelings are of confusion as to how i feel, because on the one hand lovelace writes beautifully & deftly, and the characters are sharply drawn & utterly captivating (particularly the heroine), and the history...but on the other hand what was that plot. and the emotional unfaithfulness?? and a scene felt like it was missing from the end from m'sieu page's pov.

but dee is a gorgeous character

and lovelace knows how to make you Feel the Feelings, for sure. (in a natural, i feel this way because it's so real, not manipulative or wallowing, way.)

and voyageurs! you must know i can't resist voyageurs.

I love Lovelace's way with words. You feel the changing seasons in your souls as you read about them.

While I give this 5 stars, there are some bits that I wish she had expanded upon, particularly the change in relationship between Jasper and Dee. It's addressed so slightly that it's easy to overlook. And, given the way she dips into various characters' minds, she could easily have gone into Jasper's while he transitioned from passion for Mrs. Boles to a more measured love for Dee.

Despite my love of history, I've never been one for sweeping, old-school historical romances. But the Maud connection put it on my to-read list.
Glad the focus was more on the people surrounding Fort Snelling than Fort life itself, and having visited Fort Snelling last summer, I was able to picture the landscape. None of the characters really captured by attention, but something pulled me along.
Definitely not one of the better of the genre--and it really paled in comparison to All This and Heaven Too (I would place both books in the same general genre). There were glimpses of the Maud to come, which I enjoyed, but you could tell this was written early in her career.

From time to time caught a glimpse of charming prose that I love in Betsy- Tacy. Young adult fiction was obviously her calling.