Beyond The Frontier

Parrish can always be counted on to write a tale of rollicking good adventure! It was easy to keep turning pages, and of course I devoured the whole thing in one afternoon. It's told in first person—my first of Parrish's in that POV—and the story is perfectly told from Adele's viewpoint.

It's always patent that Parrish knows his history. The story has a feel of authenticity that cannot be achieved without such research, and it reads as though Adele is recording her adventures for the benefit of some child or grandchild. To be a young woman going in the midst of men to a frontier outpost is no easy thing, but she is plucky and resourceful.

It probably would have gotten five stars except for a disappointing development near the end which soured it for me a bit. She is doing anything she can to keep her forced marriage from being consummated. She loved the hero before the wedding was forced on her, and he will die if he stays in the fort. Her resources to keep the villain she is married to at bay are running low. And she makes the decision to run away with her lover. Of course, things turn out okay, and her honor is not compromised, but still the action was done. Granted, the poor girl is between a rock and a hard place, and I do not presume to say that I would have acted as a saint in her position. But I did not like her deciding to become a man's mistress and excusing it because of her love for him.

Content: a few French swears.