A Transcontinental Affair: A Novel

by Jodi Daynard

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 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.

• ISBN10: 1542004098
• ISBN13: 9781542004091
• Publish Date: 1 November 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Imprint: Lake Union Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 348
• Language: English

Reviews

[lindsey]

I always struggle with writing reviews for books I didn't enjoy, and I typically try to avoid it, but I made a personal goal to review every book I read in 2020 and I don't want to fail this early in the year. That being said, I will do my best to review this book fairly, as someone may enjoy it even if I didn't.

Judging by the Goodreads blurb, I was expecting a "sweeping tale of adventure and danger", but I don't feel like the book ever reached that. It never seemed to hit its stride and as much as I hate to say it, I felt bored the entire time.

I ended up having to skim after I reached the 34% mark, which is something I never do, but it felt better to skim than to give up entirely. Maybe I missed something, but I never picked up on any adventure. There were a couple moments of "danger," but the story moved so quickly at that point that I had to go back and reread a couple of pages to make sure I hadn't missed anything.

The pacing was typically far too slow for my taste and the plot felt like it was all over the place, but never with any satisfying conclusion. The characters were a bit flat, and the romance that was hinted at was a bit of a letdown. I liked the idea of it and was hoping for more, but it wasn't executed well, and I feel like the romance could have been so much better.

On the plus side, the historical setting and description of the train were interesting, and while I found the way it happened a little odd, I was happy with the way it ended for two of the characters.

I always say that just because I didn't enjoy a book doesn't mean that someone else won't like it, so I am in no way saying that someone shouldn't give it a try if it sounds interesting to them. Set in the 1800s, it was well-researched and I did enjoy the descriptions of train travel, and it held my interest enough to be able to at least skim through so I could find out what happened at the end.

If you're a fan of well-researched historical fiction about traveling by train in the 1800s, this may be one that would interest you, but if you're looking for a "sweeping adventure" with f/f romance, you may want to try something else instead.

[Jeff Sexton]

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.