Review: The Journey of Josephine Cain by Nancy Moser (Blog Tour & Giveaway)

October 13, 2013

Title: The Journey of Josephine Cain
Author: Nancy Moser
Publisher: Summerside Press
Pages: 333
ISBN: 978-0-8249-3427-9
Publication Date: September 1st, 2013

Synopsis:
When a socialite from the nation's capital embarks on a journey to the Wild West, her life is changed forever.

A setting populated by hundreds of common laborers, outlaws, and Indians is hardly the place for a wealthy general’s daughter from the nation’s capital. But Josephine Cain is determined to accompany her father as he oversees the day-to-day work involved in the greatest undertaking of post-Civil War America: the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Life with the railroad is far from the proper life Josephine is used to, and she faces deadly gunfights, harsh weather, and vigilante uprisings. She is torn between West and the East; between her privileged upbringing and the dangers of a new frontier; between the pull of the suitable beau her parents chose for her and an attraction to a rough but charming Irish railroad worker. But if Josephine is willing, she just might find a new life, a unique purpose…and the love of her life.
Review:
The Journey of Josephine Cain was an interesting one. It didn't go the way I though that it would go, which isn't a bad thing. Nancy Moser was able to capture in her writing a true insight into a girl, Josephine, who since the Civil War broke out, has felt trapped. When Josephine was supposed to have her coming out celebration, the war broke out and changed everything. Instead of being courted by the young men of DC, she watched them all head to war, with her father in command of most of them.

As the war winds down, Josephine is desperate to socialize and "live" again. However, when Josephine, her mother, and her father, fresh from the war front is back home, they head to a night out at the theater to watch a comedy playing at Ford's Theater. However, the celebration is short lived when Lincoln is shot and killed. That attack starts a year of morning for the Cain household, when they get word that Josephine's brother and cousin had been killed in action. The Cain house is sent into a year of morning, and to Josephine's despair, another year away from her being able to consider getting married.

As the year of morning winds down, Josephine is anxious to put aside her mourning clothes and start looking toward life again, despite the displeasure her mother hurls at her for being disrespectful to the loss of her son. Josephine, desperate to be away from the barrier her mother has put around the house, she seeks out her father, who has been commissioned by the government to lead the works on the Intercontinental Railroad. With her father away so much, he is the logical means for escape. Josephine tries her best to figure out a way for her father to agree. Sadly he doesn't. However, on one of his visits, Josephine's father brings home a guest, Lewis Simmons.

Lewis Simmons, to Josephine's delight, starts to pay her attention and she is quickly sidetracked from her plans to travel west with her father. With Lewis, Josephine has found an escape and is able to rejoin society on his arm, going out to eat, to the theater, and to her surprise, a trip out west to see her father, at a milestone celebration. However, Lewis isn't all that he seems and with Josephine so easily entertained, she can easily over looks his faults, that is until her trip out west and she meets Hudson Maguire, a former Sgt. under her father's command and now working for the railroad. His ideas start Josephine thinking and comparing Lewis to Hudson and to her father.

The Journey of Josephine Cain really captured my attention in that, I could relate to Josephine in a way. She was young and wanted to open herself to new possibilities and expand her ideas and knowledge on what is out there, but with the difficulties around her, she tried to find it and over look the flaws of her own sought out solution. Through out the story, you can watch as Josephine starts to find herself and she is able to see past the shimmers and sparkles of what she hopes to see, to see the tarnish that it is really covering. It was a good story on growing up and relying on your faith in God, then on your own ideas.

Too Read
4 out of 5

About the Author:
NANCY MOSER is the best-selling author of more than twenty novels. She is a winner and two-time nominee of the Christy Award, and her latest novel was named to Booklist's "Top 10 Romance Novels of 2011." Nancy and her husband have three grown children and four grandchildren, and they live in the Midwest.







Giveaway
Welcome to the blog tour for the next American Tapestries book, The Journey of Josephine Cain by Nancy MoserIt follows the adventures of a D.C. socialite as she gets involved with the building of the Transcontinental Railroad right after the Civil War. Be sure to check out Nancy’s fun Pinterest board she put together for the book!
Enter to win 1 of 5 copies of the book!
journeyofcain-rafflecopter

Five winners will receive:
  • The Journey of Josephine Cain by Nancy Moser
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 26th. All winners will be announced October 28th at the Litfuse blog.

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit the Litfuse blog on the 28th to see if you won one of the books!



Thank you to Summerside Press and Litfuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

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