Tuesday, January 31, 2023

My Thoughts and More on Wagons West by Caryl McAdoo

 

 


About the Book


Book: Wagons West

Author: Caryl McAdoo

Genre: Historical Christian Romance

Release date: November 22, 2022

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Besides the God-fearing, decent folks seeking new beginnings, adventurers, miners, risk-takers, fugitives, perverts, and runaways alike—even royals—comprise a few of the characters in book one of the ‘New Beginnings Family Saga’ titled WAGONS WEST. The two-thousand-mile journey is wrought with danger, trials, troubles and tragedies, deprivations, and of course, romance, but the lure of gold and a fresh start urges the sojourners on to the Promised Land!

Blaire Beechy, a widow with two almost grown daughters, Adeline and Beatrice, and a twelve-year-old son Tucker sells everything to go for the gold only to discover the rules of wagon master Ambrose Lee forbids them to join his wagon train, but the widow is determined. Though the disgruntled and handsome widow turns his head, the man deals with troubles of his own. His train isn’t full, he has yet to hire a scout, and his integrity thrusts him into saving a troubled young woman called Birdie. The journey is an arduous undertaking, but he’s done it before and is up to the task.
Wagon Ho!

This story was first published in episodes at Kindle Vella, Season One, by the same name. Season two SETTLERS & TOFFS continues the story and episodes are now being published and are available at Kindle Vella.

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts:

Wagons West is a story of a family, a widow, Blaire Beechy and her three children as she decides to uproot them from Chicago, sell everything that they can, and head to California on a wagon train to pan for gold. In Blaire's thinking, everything seems pretty cut and dry. Unfortunately, no wagon master will take her and her family on without out a husband. For either her or for one of her daughters 16-year-old Beatrice or 18-year-old Adeline. So, to Baire's way of thinking she goes husband hunting. Though unfortunately or fortuitously, she is not the one who finds herself a husband, not yet anyway, and it is Bea who marries first. With some familial issues and jealousies, it is now time for this family to go. 

There is so much in this novel. It really is a family saga as this family is the center and we watch others come and go. There is much danger on the way, death, kidnappings, threat of attacks, and more. There were some very unscrupulous men that for their own wants, caused much damage. I could understand better why families with good honorable men were so needed. 

One of the other characters that they meet, and shelter is a woman by the name of Birdy who has experienced much abuse at the hands of her father and other men. She is very troubled and either demons or schizophrenia is troubling her. Hers was a very sad story, but it was not hopeless as we watch her story unfold.

There was plenty of forgiveness for each other and of course romance, the kind where true love conquers all. I look forward to more of this epic family saga and where their paths lead them.

I was provided a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author


Award-winning author Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and her best-selling stories—over sixty published now—delight readers around the world. The prolific writer also enjoys singing the new songs the Lord gives her; you may listen to a few on YouTube. Sharing four children and twenty-four grandsugars (six are greats), Caryl and her high-school-sweetheart-husband of fifty-four years Ron live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas. The McAdoos wait expectantly for God to open the next door.

 

More from Caryl

What a fun, new adventure writing WAGONS WEST! Ron and I stepped up to try a new program Amazon offered authors called Kindle Vella where we’d write episodes rather than chapters. In a year’s time, WAGONS WEST had thirty-five episodes and was over one hundred thousand words, about four hundred pages.

We continue to write Season Two of the “New Beginnings Family Saga” SETTLERS & TOFFS, with the same characters going into the following year, 1850, scattering into three settings: those from Season One’s wagon train who decide to settle Auburn, California, those just starting the sojourn west with Emmerson Pierce, scout in Season One, now wagon master, and we sail the Atlantic to England when the son of the Earl of Farnsworth receives word of his older brother’s death.

The characters in WAGONS WEST made it so special for me, and I believe you’re sure to love them as well. Robert E. Lee’s older brother Ambrose is our wagon master and the story’s main hero. As all my heroes (thanks to Ron’s part of our collaboration) he is strong but flawed.

Our matriarchal heroine Blaire Beechy, recently widowed, has sold everything and uprooted her three children—two almost grown daughters Adeline and Beatrice and their twelve-year-old brother Tucker—only to discover Captain Lee’s idiotic rules forbid an unmarried woman from traveling in his wagon train. Why must there be a man at the head of each family?

WAGONS WEST offers readers adventures with a colorful cast of characters who support, cause trouble, act a bit crazy, and play ball to make the story one you just can’t put down. All along the way, God is questioned,  given praise, denied, and surrendered to, saving sojourners again and again—not only in the spiritual realm.

It’s a story I’ve certainly enjoyed writing, and I’m hoping you’ll enjoy reading WAGONS WEST as much!

As always, I’m ‘Praying my story gives God glory!’ Hallelujah! There is no one like Him! He alone is the Great King over all the earth! Not a man that He could lie, but worthy to receive all glory and all praise!

Blessings, y’all!

Blog Stops



Giveaway

[Insert Giveaway Picture Here]

To celebrate her tour, Caryl is giving away the prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/23bc3/wagons-west-celebration-tour-giveaway


4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for choosing to participate in my WAGONS WEST CelebrateLit Blog Tour! I just have to say I love your blog pages, the burlap and dragon fly and flowers and beautiful color combinations! BLESSINGS!

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  2. thank you for your thoughts. I look forward to reading another one of her books.

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  3. Thank you for sharing your review of Wagons West, I love the premise and setting for this story and I am looking forward to reading it myself

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  4. Oh, now I want to find out if Bea's marriage is a love match or one of convenience.

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