Leanne W. Smith

Title: A Contradiction to His Pride
Author: Leanne W. Smith
Pages: 422
Year: 2018
Publisher: Self-published
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
This novel is a sequel to Leaving Independence written by the same author. Reading these novels set on the Oregon Trail in the late 1800s was pure joy and excitement. I was amazed as well as mesmerized by the action, danger and how quickly life could be lost as depicted in the stories. Here, the settlers from the wagon train we met in the first book are now trying to establish their town and lives when a bank robbery turns the characters’ lives in a tither.
During the grieving Corrine experiences after losing a dear friend, she is also wrestling with being a grown up and handling a less than the picture-perfect life she once held dear. A couple of the characters from the town are hunting bank robbers as well as going after James and his group to let them know danger is on their heels. Life is very precarious in these days and the author does an excellent job of showing readers that as well as how a community can come together to rejoice in good times.
I think these novels will be enjoyed by those who love history, westerns, well-crafted, lifelike characters and a riveting plot! The climax scene was just pulling me further into the book and the ending, I believe, leaves room for a sequel with these characters later in life and time. I can’t say enough about the enjoyment I had reading the books and hope others will soon grab copies, lose themselves in the tales then share them with other readers, family or friends.
Don’t wait to get your books as these are too good to wait!
Note: I received a complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility.
Other reviews can be read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/. Also follow me on Twitter@lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457… (més)

The Oregon Trail was a means of expansion west after a time when the country had been torn in two and people were looking to start fresh. Abigail Baldwyn thinks she is a widow with four children and no way to pay on her home as the death benefits she requested from the War Department were not coming. Abigail was shocked to learn that perhaps her children weren’t fatherless, and she may not be a widow after all! But, with few options before her, she sets out to meet up with her husband, even though he doesn’t want her to bring the children.
Abigail’s father wants nothing to do with her since she married a man who fought with the Union and he lost a son who fought in the Confederacy. Her two brothers don’t feel the same, but there is little they can do to help her out. Abigail gives Mimi her freedom papers as her maid is remaining in the area to help care for her sick sister.
The novel is rich in detail, grit and intrigue. The letters Abigail is getting from her husband aren’t making much sense and she is falling in love with another man. Abigail is a tough woman who hates to lean on others and prefers to do things for herself and her children. Her memory of various passages of Scripture sustain her. She loves to garden to see the beauty of the flowers. The adjustments she must make on the long journey are many and at times beyond her ability to look at squarely.
However, the hint of a mystery involving Abigail’s future is what leads to a very climatic and surprise ending. I couldn’t put the book down! At the beginning, the author shares her notes on the history of the times, and what was fiction, along with what she knows was fact during this era. I hope, if you haven’t had an opportunity to read the novel, you will grab a copy and enjoy the many adventures and dangers Abigail and the wagon train handle until they reach their final home in Oregon.… (més)