A sweeping tale of adventure and danger, innovation and corruption, and two women whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways on America’s first transcontinental train trip.May 1870. Crowds throng the Boston station, mesmerized by the mechanical wonder huffing on the rails: the Pullman Hotel Express, the first train to travel from coast to coast. Boarding the train are congressmen, railroad … congressmen, railroad presidents, and even George Pullman himself. For two young women, strangers until this fateful day, it’s the beginning of a journey that will change their lives.
Sensitive Louisa dreads the trip, but with limited prospects, she’s reluctantly joined the excursion as a governess to a wealthy family. Hattie is traveling to San Francisco to meet her fiancé, yet she’s far more interested in the workings of the locomotive than she is in the man awaiting her arrival. As the celebrated train moves westward, the women move toward one another, pulled by an unexpected attraction.
But there is danger in this closeness, just as there is in the wilds of the frontier and in the lengths the railroad men will go to protect their investments. Before their journey is over, Louisa and Hattie will find themselves very far from where they intended to go.
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As the Pullman Express rolls across the Transcontinental Railroad, an extraordinary world, part lost, part timeless, unfurls. With exquisite descriptions and a cast of intriguing characters, at heart, this is the story of two remarkable women. Daynard handles Hattie and Louisa’s burgeoning feelings with depth and sensitivity, but just as the untamed landscapes of the United States seem to open up possibilities of untold freedom for them, the constraints that await at the journey’s end begin to close in. With dramatic twists and turns, I am certain that readers will love this story as much as I did.
Sit back and enjoy this long train tour in 1870. The first of its kind!
This is a new journey from The Northeast and ended in California.
The characters here all had their own motives for being in the seats of this exquisite train.
It had everything from gourmet meals, a smoking car, and a bar car. It was truly spectacular and the descriptions by Jodi Daynard gave me the feeling of traveling along.
This is a detailed and at times intense voyage.
What comes- is friendship, a unique and new love and many, many other things.
Definitely an enjoyable trip!
Climb aboard the Pullman Hotel Express! Let Jodi Daynard reward you with characters you care about, details you cannot forget, and a romance that you will find unconventional indeed. It’s a beautifully drawn depiction of America at the dawn of the modern age… modern and surprising in so many ways.
/ 5
A Transcontinental Affair is my first time reading a novel by Jodi Daynard but it definitely won’t be my last. This was such a great historical fiction novel, and one that I will remember for a long time to come.
A Transcontinental Affair focuses on the Pullman Hotel Express, which is the first train to travel cross-country from Massachusetts to California. Before reading this book I knew absolutely nothing about this train or even when the first train traveled from coast to coast (1870). There was such a plethora of information in this book and I really enjoyed learning about this piece of our history that I knew nothing about.
I really loved the main three young women that the book mostly focuses on which are Hattie, Louisa, and Julia. Hattie is traveling to San Francisco to marry a fiancé she has never met, Louisa is the daughter of a Reverend sent aboard to work for a wealthy family as a governess, and Julia is on board with her father who also ends up being Hattie’s chaperone so to speak. Hattie was such a strong character and she was so knowledgeable and inquisitive about so many things that I loved reading from her viewpoint. It took me longer to warm up to Louisa, but in the end she was completely endearing.
A Transcontinental Affair is only the second book I have read with a LGBT theme, and it definitely wasn’t too strong in this novel which might be why I didn’t even know it was there until I read it. There is also some violence towards both animals and people which could end up being a trigger warning for some. This book is set in the days when Native Americans were still called ‘Injuns’ if that tells you anything.
Even though there was violence, there were also so many things that made me laugh and usually it was because of Hattie. Basically the only reason that I didn’t give this book a 5 is because it tended to get a little confusing, especially when there were a lot of things going on. Other than that I absolutely loved the gem that is A Transcontinental Affair.
Final Thought: I think most historical fictions lovers will be a fan of this book, and if you love setting details you will definitely find them in A Transcontinental Affair. I actually felt like I was on the train while reading which was something I personally really enjoyed. I also really loved the ending and was so satisfied with what happened. I can’t wait to read more books by Daynard!
Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
This lovely novel takes readers on a journey that features the most advanced train travel of the day, and also on an exploration of the human spirit, courage, and heart. Daynard not only creates great characters, she paints them with vivid colors and light. Each one is unique, and you will yearn to know the fates all along the way.
Daynard has done impeccable research, and I felt I was taking the journey along with the characters. The love story in this novel surprised me and yet unrolled naturally and believably. I found it quite moving. I also didn’t see many of the plot twists coming.
I highly recommend this unique work of historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.
A Transcontinental Affair tells the story of two young women travelling on one of the first trains across America with great characterization and historical authenticity. However, it is the glimpse into a Lost America that stays with me with the author’s portraits of Native American tribes, flora and fauna, and vistas the likes of which white people had never seen before and which they were, unbeknownst to anyone, about to annihilate.
Set in 1870, this novel is about a train journey across the country. It was the first transcontinental train trip from coast to coast that started in Boston. I found the story delightful! I enjoyed the characters and the humor throughout. There are affluent, important people riding on the train. But we get to know three young women the most. There’s Hattie, a congressman’s daughter, who is traveling to California to meet her unseen fiancé for the first time. And there’s Louisa, a governess for a difficult couple. And there is Julia, the daughter of an important nature scholar. Late in the story, the tone turns a different direction after the passengers witness something that will forever change their lives.
This is a novel had interesting characters, highly descriptive settings, and focused on an interesting part of history that I am only vaguely familiar with. I enjoyed the characters, their interactions, and how the relationships developed. The relationship between Hattie and Louisa was handled with finesse and, I feel, was not remotely offensive.
That said, I am a little unsure about the author’s writing style. At times it was a little too verbose for me, reminding me of a novel that was written in the past, possibly about the same era as this novel took place. For me, it did detract a bit from my enjoyment, and I felt some of the events were either rushed or dragged out a little too long.
Overall, this was a solid read. Lovers of historical fiction will enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
#ATranscontinentalAffair #JodiDaynard #LakeUnionPublishing
One of the More Intriguing Historical Fiction Novels I’ve Ever Read. The title says it all. In this story of a legendary train ride from coast to coast – just a year after doing so was even possible – Daynard manages to put some aspects into this tale that were very much unexpected, but does so in a way that is at least possible. Indeed, for much of the back half of the book the reader constantly expects something to happen – whether or not it does is up to you to read and find out. 😉 Very much recommended.
Entertaining and well written. Who doesn’t like the mystery and romance of an old time train ride? Characters are well drawn. I can’t remember if there is a sequel, but I’m going to check right now. While the ending was satisfying, I’d like to see where a couple of these characters go next, and how they find a life that will fit them.
I was so happy to see an LGBTQ title among my Kindle First Read offers this month – a free ebook for Amazon Prime members. I promptly snagged it, and I wanted so much to love it. I want to encourage Amazon to offer this sort of title just as often as possible!
Alas, I wasn’t madly impressed with the book itself, though. It started slowly, with far too much historical scene-setting detail layered in. There was head-hopping to the point of dizziness, especially in those first chapters. Along the way, I started to get more involved. Possibly, as with the travellers on this train, the author’s focus narrowed usefully once their homes and extra characters had been left behind. I did become very engaged with the two main characters, and with another young woman character, and I wanted them all to find their happy endings by the end of the book. However, once we belatedly get into the action-adventure plot towards the end of the book, the focus is lost again. And I was left rather unsatisfied and unconvinced by several elements of the plot which didn’t seem properly developed. I don’t mean it felt messy in a “real life” way, which I like, but it was messy in a “needs another serious editing pass” way.
I may be being too churlish and expecting too much. I don’t enjoy reading with my editing hat on, but sometimes it’s inevitable. The thing is that if Amazon are doing the right thing in pushing distribution of LGBTQ titles to their Kindle audience, then it had better be titles that are good enough to capture the interest of a wide range of readers. And this wasn’t, unfortunately, as good as it might have been.
Damn. And sorry. But please keep writing / reading / editing / distributing / trying!
Historical fiction with developing friendships.
I’ve always wanted to take the Canada Coast to Coast train trip, and this was also a cross-country trip that took me on an enjoyable armchair travel adventure. This historical fiction takes place in May 1870 and follows the transcontinental trip aboard the Pullman Hotel Express from Boston to San Francisco. The description of the train was realistic enough to be transporting. Stylishly designed and equipped with sleeping accommodations, lavishly served meals, and the part that made me happy to be an armchair traveler were the not-so-pleasant odors within the confined quarters of the ten-day journey. I enjoyed following Hattie and Louisa on their 35-mile per hour scenic adventure, stoping in various cities along the way, with a short segment through Canada in route to Chicago, and even hopping an occasional ferry. The story was good but the escapism made this an enjoyable literary journey.
Thank you #NetGalley and #LakeUnion for the ARC of this book. This is my own thoughts on the book.
It started out very slow and I kept putting it down. I would go back and try again only to put it back down again. Somewhere along the line it did pick up speed, so to speak. It would have been a great book if not for the slow parts that keep you dragging. Or at least it did me.
The author did a good job eventually with the characters. The trip across the country with all it’s ups and downs and the scenery was well written. The fact that it was history in the making was great. I liked that it was a subject that most never read in this era. Gay people did not just appear in our century but you never read about it back in the 1800’s. Or I haven’t anyway. I think it would have been a great book if only it would have started out strong and stayed that way. The cover up, Indians, and many other things that happened were interesting but that beginning almost made this one I didn’t finish.
I’m giving it a 3.5 star rating and will recommend it but with a slow start warning.
I will definitely choose to not buy anything else by this author.
Okay read. Not really a page turner.