A good story spoilt by factual inaccuracies

I love stories based around historical facts especially when they depict strong women and do not mind at all if the reimagined part is updated for modern tastes. I am sure there were women who passed as men amongst the pioneers who settled the American West. However, when a story is based, as this is, around well known historic, geographic, agricultural and scientific facts, it pays to get them right. When these are ignored, the departure from reality spreads doubt over the validity of the whole tale and subsequently spoilt my enjoyment of it.

In book 3 of this trilogy, the author's failure to stick to known facts is a real shame. It seems that she simply did not spend sufficient time on research to convincingly depict animal behaviour, animal welfare needs, historic farming and ranching practices, and pioneering in C19th Oregon. This lack of attention to factual detail is compounded by some hasty, clumsy writing, that relies on cliches at times, which in addition to loose ends and holes in plot compounded my inability to believe in this story. The narrator, however, is good at reading the text.

K' Anne Meinel's epic trilogy could and should be an American, lesbian classic. It is a sad testament to lack of attention to detail that it falls short of this ideal. It is, nevertheless, an enjoyable listen, just don't believe every fact you hear.

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