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A review by veggiestrawenjoyer13
Backwards to Oregon by Jae
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I have never finished a book in two days before. This book effectively dragged me out of my reading slump. I didn’t think I would be so hooked, as the first few chapters had me skeptical and a little confused.
However, once the story picked up I couldn’t put the book down. The conflicts had me so on edge, and of course I needed to know how Luke and Nora’s relationship progressed. I feel like their individual struggles were really well-written along with the progression of their relationship. I’ve never been one for reading stories about kids or pregnancy, but I wasn’t revolted by it this time. The found family trope goes so hard, and I adored that the romance wasn’t the only kind of relationship explored here. I also felt great empathy for and interest in the side characters, despite them not being the focus. Also, as a lesbian with a complicated gender identity, Luke’s experience with her gender was a nice addition.
As much as I enjoyed reading this book, there were some things that caused it not to be a five-star rating. I will say, the writing could be a bit repetitive. This is absolutely not a dealbreaker for me, and I could look past it to enjoy the story. It may bother other people though, which I can understand. Additionally, I can see aspects of how the prostitutes and Native Americans were described as problematic. I believe that wasn’t the intent of the author, and it’s obvious (at least to me) that Jae wanted to minimize those things despite the old-fashioned views of the characters.
All in all, I would recommend this to anyone who’s into historical queer romance. It’s not the best piece of literature I’ve ever read, but it was so entertaining and I struggled to stop reading it for two days straight.
However, once the story picked up I couldn’t put the book down. The conflicts had me so on edge, and of course I needed to know how Luke and Nora’s relationship progressed. I feel like their individual struggles were really well-written along with the progression of their relationship. I’ve never been one for reading stories about kids or pregnancy, but I wasn’t revolted by it this time. The found family trope goes so hard, and I adored that the romance wasn’t the only kind of relationship explored here. I also felt great empathy for and interest in the side characters, despite them not being the focus. Also, as a lesbian with a complicated gender identity, Luke’s experience with her gender was a nice addition.
As much as I enjoyed reading this book, there were some things that caused it not to be a five-star rating. I will say, the writing could be a bit repetitive. This is absolutely not a dealbreaker for me, and I could look past it to enjoy the story. It may bother other people though, which I can understand. Additionally, I can see aspects of how the prostitutes and Native Americans were described as problematic. I believe that wasn’t the intent of the author, and it’s obvious (at least to me) that Jae wanted to minimize those things despite the old-fashioned views of the characters.
All in all, I would recommend this to anyone who’s into historical queer romance. It’s not the best piece of literature I’ve ever read, but it was so entertaining and I struggled to stop reading it for two days straight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, War, and Injury/Injury detail