When I was a little girl, I thought I would be a teacher when I grew up. Occasionally other careers came to mind for me, acting, singing, social work, but for the most part, teaching remained my main objective. If you had even suggested to me that I might have a future doing computer programming, I would have laughed. Really? Yet here I am, well into two decades doing exactly that. Computer programming. And not doing it as drudge work, but actually loving it.

So often we have plans for ourselves that are not God’s plans. Plans, perhaps that are good and noble, but not what He has intended for us. The good news is that God’s plans for us are good and we can trust Him. All the time.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9 NLT

This Wilderness Journey

by Misty M. Beller

Series: Heart of the Mountains #2
Publication Date April 24, 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction, Western, Christian Fiction, Clean Romance
Setting: Canada Victorian Era – Canada – 1837 – 1901
Written for: Adults
Pages: 267

I would like to thank Celebrate Lit for giving me this copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.

Also in this series: This Freedom Journey, This Courageous Journey, This Homeward Journey, This Daring Journey, This Healing Journey

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Monti, the lovely French princess according to Joseph, was determined to be a missionary to the Indians with her cousin. She was also determined to never marry. I really liked her confident gentleness and the way that she was so determined to learn whatever she needed to in order to live and thrive in the breathtaking Canadian Rockies that were now her home. It was fun watching her feeble attempts to cook for the first time.

Joseph struggled with a view of himself based on the disability that came about because of a terrible accident. Scarred and unable to use his hand, he felt that he was less of a man. He also had a past that he was ashamed of. Nevertheless, he was noble and protective. He adored his little niece and played with the Paiute children, which made him so appealing.

The overall tone of the story is quiet, peaceful, and restful, yet with a touch of adventure. I thought the way the author used the term “Indians” for the natives of the area was quite appropriate because in the mid-19th century, that is how they were known. That is just one example of the way she gave the sense of time and place through the story.

There is a strong Christian message; however, I wish there was a more obvious point where Joseph realized that God’s love extended to him as well as to Monti. The allusion to his shame over something in his past wasn’t explained more. Perhaps it was explained in the first book of this series but as this book is about him, it seems like it should have been described here as well.

Overall, the story was very good and enjoyable. This is a great option for readers of historical fiction that takes place in the “Old West”.

The Frontier Cook

by Misty Beller

I love to write frontier romance, where the challenges were tough and the people had to be even tougher. And one of the things I love to imagine is how my characters cooked during those days.

Can you imagine how hard it would be to cook over an open fire? Every. Single. Meal. Of course, it’s not like they had a lot of variety to work with. Once you learned how to make a decent stew or corn mush, you didn’t have much to worry about, right?

Yet, many of the frontier women became quite adept at cooking over their cabin’s hearth, or even over an open campfire. In my new book, This Wilderness Journey, Monti (the heroine) came from a middle-class home with a paid chef and never had to learn to cook at all, much less without the use of a wood stove (which is still so much harder than heating a hot-pocket in the microwave). After she burned the corn mush their first night on the trail through the Canadian wilderness, Joseph (the hero) taught her a few basic meals.

As I was researching some creative ways frontier women cooked in an open hearth, I discovered the wide use of puddings, mostly because of how easy they were to make. By wrapping the ingredients in a cloth or pudding bag, they could be dropped in a pot of boiling water and left until the ingredients had softened and expanded. An entire meal could be made with a few ingredients, a pudding cloth, and a pot of boiling water.

One of my favorite cooking scenes in This Wilderness Journey is the making of the Oatmeal Pudding. What do you think? Sound like something you’d like to try?

Preview of This Wilderness Journey

Blog Stops

A Baker’s Perspective, June 7

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Two Points of Interest, June 8

The Power of Words, June 8

Blossoms and Blessings, June 9

The Christian Fiction Girl, June 9

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Splashes of Joy, June 10

Neverending Stories, June 10

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Bibliophile Reviews, June 14

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Janices book reviews, June 17

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Carpe Diem, June 18

Red Headed Book Lady, June 18

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Bigreadersite, June 20

Christian Author, J.E.Grace, June 20

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/cd16/this-wilderness-journey-celebration-tour-giveaway

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