GRR Reviews A Lifetime to Share (Oregon Trail Dreami by Kathleen Ball

A Lifetime To Share by Kathleen Ball tries to ratchet up the tension on a wagon train heading for Oregon, but the tension was not written correctly, a lot of the threats made no sense, and the way it was explained off at the end barely made any sense.

Eli Todd is had made several trips to Oregon, but this is his first time as wagon train captain. He had lost plenty of people, and he knew he'll lose many on the trip. So he wouldn't let anyone in. Amelia Cruthers is a young girl with a limp suffered in an accident from way back when. She is a hard worker, but her family never approved of her. She thought she just needed to work harder, until her family tried to leave her behind at a river crossing. Eli was outraged and took Amelia with him. When Eli was bucked from his horse, Amelia cared for him in his wagon, but somehow, her reputation was besmirched for doing the right thing, but Eli offered up a solution... marry him. Amelia never expected to be married, not just because she's a cripple, but she can never bear children (so her parents said) When rumors spread among the train that Eli was sleeping around, will Amelia's heart breaks again and again? Or will Eli stand by his vows?

The author tried to create a tortured soul for both characters, but neither really worked for me. The threats didn't 'scale' up by the end of the story, it didn't get worse and worse, just one thing after another. She should have realized her "parents" are out to kill her, yet somehow their words still managed to hurt her. She's just TOO trusting and naive, and that's just not believable. She seems to have no self-preservation instincts. It made really no sense.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: Wagon train captain rescued a young girl from her abusive family; why does her family hate her so much?

Tropes: hurt/comfort, fated mates, evil enemies, evil parents, hot for boss

Overall Rating:  2/5