About the Book:
A widow with scars from her past. A declared bachelor with his own troubled heart. Will their journey together lead to love or loathing?
To escape her grievous past and avoid her bleak future, twenty-eight-year-old widow Victoria Clarke joins her friend, Isabella Bird, on a once-in-a-lifetime journey from England to America in 1854. But Harrison Wright, the man acting as escort to the women on their journey, is cold and gruff, and his mannerisms conjure up the pains of Victoria’s past, especially her former husband’s mistreatment. Victoria doubles the defenses of her already fragile heart, but will it be enough to endure what she now feels is an ill-fated expedition?
Twenty-nine-year-old New York lawyer, Harrison Wright, has made a promise to his friend, Isabella Bird, to escort her around his home country. And unlike his father, Harrison keeps his promises. Since Harrison has sworn off women due to his own troubled past, he is not pleased Victoria will be joining the trip. But as a declared bachelor, he’s built an impenetrable safeguard around his own heart that should withstand a few weeks in this other woman’s company.
As the trio explores Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Niagara Falls, and New York City, surviving fires, disreputable innkeepers, sickness, and storms, Victoria and Harrison are loathe to find that they cannot avoid each other’s company. But in such close proximity, will Victoria and Harrison’s initial flared tempers lead to even stronger and more unavoidable feelings about each other? Feelings that have them questioning whether their journey will have the most unlikely of love and healing—and happily ever after—with each other?
| Goodreads |
My Review:
The Wayfaring Widow by Casey Cline
Rating: 5/5
Pages: 270
Published: September 30, 2025
Series: Bird’s-Eye View
Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
It feels like forever since I last posted a review here, sorry about that! I know part of it was due to me beta reading so many books at the time. (The last half of August, and the first half of September were dedicated to reading beta reads.) This was one of the first I read after that, and it was such a fun surprise! The author is LDS (Mormon), so I don’t consider this a Christian fiction, but it is a clean fiction read. It’s a fun historical fiction that delves into some early US history, and has an interesting premise that you’ll have to read to story to really understand, but basically it was inspired by the authors findings on Isabella Bird and her travels. Okay, on to my actual review:
This books grabbed me from the start, and kept me reading long into the night! I loved the characters, and from the moment Victoria and Harrison meet, I knew I was in for an amusing story. They didn’t disappoint! I loved watching them learn and grow along the way, and enjoyed following along for their sight-seeing adventures around the upper eastern United States.
Isabella Bird was another fun character, and I loved learning that she was based on a real woman who lived around that time. The adventures added an interesting challenge to the story, and seeing how they would handle and face each new obstacle never failed to add to the story. I also loved seeing their own more personal struggles and challenges as they the story progresses. It was interesting to see how those issues meshed with the more physical trials they faces in their travels, each revealing a deeper glimpse at what makes these characters so special.
I also couldn’t conclude this review without making mention of the delightful Georgina! She might have stolen the show (single-handedly, no less!) if Victoria and Harrison weren’t already so enjoyable to begin with. Between the three, and Isabella’s witty remarks along the way, this was a wonderful story, and a truly remarkable debut!
Other books in the series:
(Below is a list of the other books I’ve read & reviewed for this series)
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October 30, 2025 at 9:25 am
Thank you so much for your review! Georgina’s story (19 years later in the Hawaiian Islands) comes out 9/8/26 and I’m editing it now. 🙂
Had to chuckle when I re-read this line: “Georgina nearly scoffed but caught herself just in time. Harrison exaggerated. Yes, there were times when she hadn’t made it easy for him and Victoria, but such were the antics of all children, right? The goose in the house when she was seven had not been her fault in the slightest, and any twelve-year-old would have made the same mistake about how quickly rabbits propagated. Arguing such specifics now, however, wouldn’t work in her favor. Especially after last month’s ant infestation.”