Book Review: The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn

Last June I signed up for Blogging For Books with much enthusiasm at the prospect of receiving new books to read in exchange for reviews. Unfortunately as sometimes happens, busy life got in the way of me reviewing books on the regular and I've only reviewed one book so far. But I've recently "hit the books" with a renewed passion, so here is my second Blogging For Books reciew on The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benson.

The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn had everything that I look for in romantic historical fiction – the setting and time-period were described so well, the dialogue was genuine and rang true to the characters and setting and the romance was near perfect.
I loved Tamsen and Jesse, and especially had a soft spot for Cade, the man that adopted Jesse after his family was killed in during a raid on their farm. There were many layers to the story that added to its depth. Constant was the fear of being caught by Tamsen’s stepfather and her almost-betrothed, and the mystery of Jesse Bird’s heritage and at times, Tamsen’s, provided a puzzle that begged for solving. Top off this high risk situation with some romantic tension, and you've got one exquisite story.

I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of nature and settings throughout the book; the imagery was particularly engaging. Learning what the author explains after the novel to be historically accurate details about both colonial Americans and Native Americans of that time period was truly fascinating as well. I did not previously know much about that time period as well. 

Another thing that I greatly appreciated about Benson's writing style is that although romance is clearly a main focus of this story the descriptions in this novel are not graphic or racy in any way. A parent could allow teen daughters to read this without concern.

All in all I gave this book 4 stars because although I have read better novels, it is seldom that I find a novel of this quality from a relatively new author. It's worth a read for anyone who likes these genres, and I would read more books by this author.