The Strong Amongst Us
by J.A. Boulet
GENRE: Historical Romance
BLURB:
An epic 1875 immigration saga. A love story. An epidemic.
Would you survive?
On a fateful day in October 1875, Nathan Olason steps foot onto the soil of a new foreign country called Canada. With natural sand beaches and breathtaking sunsets, it has been nicknamed paradise. Except it proves to be anything but.
With storm surges, emerging governments, racism and dwindling food supplies, Nathan and his family struggle to stay alive in this foreign wilderness. With the help of a beautiful Cree woman named Anwa, they learn to fish and hunt, surviving against all the odds.
Then just when they think they have prevailed, tragedy strikes an ominous blow, a smallpox epidemic that decimates villages, quarantines the town of Gimli, but most of all threatens to claim what he holds dear the most.
Would you survive?
Be one of the last men standing. Follow Nath on a heroic journey of immigration, manhood, immense love, resilience and perseverance beyond anything we know.
EXCERPT:
He stared at the beautiful sun, peering over the horizon of gentle waves. The coldness stung, but he embraced it. The lake was much calmer today. He loved it actually; luck was on his side. They would most likely be able to send the funds request of the remaining five-thousand-dollar loan to the Dominion today by boat.
A movement caught his eye. Someone was pulling in a larger boat. He stood and used his hand to shelter from the sun. He squinted into the bright rays. It was just one person, pulling in the boat. He strapped his boots on and scurried over to the dock.
“Hey, do you need a hand?” Nathanael shouted as he approached.
A woman’s voice lilted into the air, gentle but full of strength. “No, I am okay.”
“No, I must! Let me help you,” Nathan insisted.
She looked at him stubbornly, shook her head and relented. “If you must.”
Nath grabbed the rope and helped pull in the boat, anchoring it along the sand. “Is this the boat that will be taking the letter to the Dominion for us today?”
“It is, yes,” she replied. “Sorry for my English. I am still learning.”
“You are native to this land?” Nath asked. “How long have you lived here?”
“Forever,” she laughed. “Ma and Pa were born here, so was I.”
“Interesting,” Nath said. “It is a beautiful land. And a beautiful lake.”
“Yes, Nath, it is,” she replied.
“You remembered my name?”
My Review:
The Strong Amongst Us follows Nathan Olason and his family as they cross the Atlantic Ocean from Iceland to Canada in 1875. Once they made it to the new land they wanted to make a claim to a piece of the land that they could call their own and make a life for themselves.
Nath met a young Cree woman named Anwa who taught them how to fish, hunt and live off the land. Nath and Cree fell in love almost immediately. The Strong Amongst Us is their story. It follows them on their journey of falling in love and trying to make a life for their selves in a world that thought they didn’t belong together because they were different from each other.
But Nath and Cree did not let that stop them as their love for each other was so much stronger than that. Nath could no longer live without Cree than she could him.
But then smallpox hits their camp and hard. Everyone fights to stay alive as they are placed in quarantine for the duration of the epidemic. Lives are lost and it hits hard and close to home for many.
The Strong Amongst Us is a beautifully written story filled with love, loss, and heartache. The Strong Amongst Us is so well written that you feel as if you are one of the characters and you can feel whatever they are feeling at the moment. You feel as if you are a part of their world.
I am so very glad that I had the chance to read The Strong Amongst Us and learn about Nath and his family coming to a new land to make a home and life for themselves. I enjoyed getting to know another part of history and how a part of it may have come about.
The Strong Amongst Us has piqued my interest more now ever leading me to have to investigate further on the Icelandic settlers that crossed the Atlantic in 1875.
I was drawn in from the first page and the pages never stopped turning until the last page made its appearance known. I am anxiously awaiting the next book in The Olason Chronicles to see where their journey takes them next.
And now I would like to recommend The Strong Amongst Us to all those historical romance readers out there. One-click your copy of this brilliantly written novel, The Strong Amongst Us to begin an epic journey with Nathan Olason and his family today!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
J. A. Boulet is the passionate author of The Olason Chronicles, a historical saga of war, courage, love and strength. The Strong Within Us Book 2 was released on Amazon November 11, 2020. J. A. Boulet was born and raised in Western Canada as a first generation Canadian from European descent. Her father was enlisted with the Hungarian military and fought bravely during the Hungarian Revolution, changing sides to stand up for what he believed in. He was granted asylum in Canada and built his family here.
J. A. Boulet was born many years later, raised with strong morals and values, which she stands behind to this day. She started writing poetry at the age of five and progressed to short stories and novels. She has a keen interest in settlers, healing, family bonds and military history. J. A. Boulet writes with a spine-tingling realism like none other, grabbing your emotions and refusing to let go. The Olason Chronicles is the series you’ve been waiting for. Watch for Book 3 being scheduled for a summer 2021 release.
She currently lives in Canada with her two teenaged sons and a crested gecko named Mossio. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit.
Twitter ~ Instagram ~ YouTube ~ Reddit
Buy Links:
Smashwords ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo
11 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you so much for the beautiful review! It brought tears to my eyes and made my morning a lot brighter. Thank you from the bottom of my heart 💓
Thank you for the review. Sounds like a great read.
Sounds like such a good book and I love the cover.
This sounds really good
"An epic 1875 immigration saga."
That's an interesting premise of a book. Thanks for the giveaway!
"On a fateful day in October 1875, Nathan Olason steps foot onto the soil of a new foreign country called Canada."
That would be very exciting. Thanks for the giveaway!
"With natural sand beaches and breathtaking sunsets, it has been nicknamed paradise."
Are we sure this is Canada, lol. Thanks for the giveaway!
"Except it proves to be anything but."
I agree that Canada is anything but, lol. Thanks for the giveaway!
"With storm surges, emerging governments, racism and dwindling food supplies, Nathan and his family struggle to stay alive in this foreign wilderness."
Sounds like the U.S. in the not-to-distant future. Thanks for the giveaway!
"With the help of a beautiful Cree woman named Anwa, they learn to fish and hunt, surviving against all the odds."
It's good to know how to do both. Thanks for the giveaway!
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