Diana Gabaldon’s praise for Into the Wilderness is printed on the cover.Comparisons beg to be made from page one, and it’s 100% intentional. The similarities between this and the Outlander novels is glaring. The romance often crossed over into gratuity, but given that Into the Wilderness is basically catered to fans of Diana Gabaldon, that was to be expected. The historical aspect of the novel was the big drawing factor for me, since I enjoy North American history. But it was, for the most part, interesting. It gets more than a little drawn out near the end, which makes it the type of book you put on hold and come back to between other books. It wasn’t fabulous, but for cheap thrills it does its job. Okay, so before I start in with the criticisms, I have to admit I enjoyed this book. And we all know how love leads to such standard scenarios as inter-familial feuding, plots to break into jail, and secret meetings involving waterfalls and bearskins. The story follows their exploits, as unpredictable and far-flung as the wilderness itself! (Spoiler: They fall hopelessly in love. This automatically makes him appealing in a dangly-silver-earring, rough-around-the-edges, knows-how-to-scalp-someone sort of way. Nathaniel, despite being Scottish or something (I wasn’t really paying attention), has been raised Mohawk. Her simple role as teacher pf the village children is complicated by her burgeoning feminist leanings, conflicts with slave owners, and increasing “entanglement” with the mysterious Nathaniel Bonner. Into the Wilderness follows the adventures of Elizabeth Middleton as she makes the shift from a spinster’s life in England to life on the American frontier, circa 1792. Then one day I picked up a little 900-page historical romance called I nto the Wilderness, and I quickly realized that history repeats itself. Note: This review contains spoilers of the oft-cited Diana Gabaldon novel Outlander.

Sara donati into the wilderness series