What do you think?
Rate this book
Montgomery-Kellogg #1
Into the Wilderness
Wounded by Love and War
He survived a battlefield massacre and, before that, his fiancé's betrayal. Cavalry officer Caleb Montgomery is unable to trust in anything now, especially himself. But then he's stationed in Fort Larned, Kansas, where Lily Kellogg, the lovely army surgeon's daughter, begins to rekindle his faith and his hope.
Caleb is the kind of gallant, surprisingly sensitive man Lily never expected to find on the Western frontier. Since childhood, she has longed for the stability and culture only the big city can offer, and her most cherished wish is suddenly within reach. Still, putting both their dreams to the test is the one way she and Caleb can find their road home to each other.
He survived a battlefield massacre and, before that, his fiancé's betrayal. Cavalry officer Caleb Montgomery is unable to trust in anything now, especially himself. But then he's stationed in Fort Larned, Kansas, where Lily Kellogg, the lovely army surgeon's daughter, begins to rekindle his faith and his hope.
Caleb is the kind of gallant, surprisingly sensitive man Lily never expected to find on the Western frontier. Since childhood, she has longed for the stability and culture only the big city can offer, and her most cherished wish is suddenly within reach. Still, putting both their dreams to the test is the one way she and Caleb can find their road home to each other.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
11 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Laura Abbot
35 books25 followersLaura Abbot was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Her very arrival on the planet is a romantic plot device. Her parents, married five years, had been unable to have children. Her dad was working two jobs and under a great deal of stress. A wise doctor suggested that they needed a prolonged vacation away from home where they would feel free to — er — do the deed. Often. Day or night. However, this was during the Depression and romantic getaways were hard to come by. To the rescue came a West Virginia cousin who owned a primitive cabin in the mountain wilds, which he put at their disposal. So they went. And voilà! Laura arrived nine months later.
Laura was blessed with an idyllic childhood. Make-believe was a favorite pastime; Laura was especially good as either a racehorse or a G.I. In those days, kids were free to roam the neighborhood, and they did — using vacant lots and open spaces as enchanted lands. Perhaps because her grandmother and another elderly friend lived in their household, expectations for Laura were pretty high. She was supposed to be a lady, a scholar, and an example to her two younger brothers. A born tomboy, the first was hard to achieve, but she did an adequate job in the other two categories.
Then in eighth grade, Laura discovered boys. At the time she felt reasonably certain that her mother was about the most old-fashioned, intrusive female she'd ever encountered. Looking back now from the vantage point of being the mother of daughters, she realizes her mother saved her from herself. Laura found college liberating, and still keeps in touch with several of the women who became her friends in those years. By attending summer schools and loading up on the hours she took each semester, she graduated at Kansas State University with a bachelor's degree in English in three years and went "out into the world," a pretty big deal after attending the same grade school and high school all her life!
Laura taught eighth- and ninth-grade English, and from the very first day, knew she'd found the thing she was supposed to be doing. She loved the school environment, the kids, and how the work fulfilled her. From that point on, Laura taught off and on for over 25 years.
After that first year of teaching, Laura married, and she and her husband subsequently had three children. Ten years into the marriage, they were divorced, but Laura is happy to say they've been able to remain amicable through the years. Single, with three children under 10! Talk about scary. Fortunately, Laura's prayers were answered, and she fell in love with her current husband, who never once has been anything but accepting of Laura and her three kids. His daughter and orphaned nephew brought their total to five children. Like most parents, they've had their ups and downs with them, but strong faith, consistent discipline, and a ton of love and forgiveness have made their family bonds very strong. And what joy it is now to have 13 grandchildren! Now Laura and her husband don't have to worry about school conferences, curfews, or questionable friends. All they have to do is love.
Laura Abott's writing career, which began in 1995, later than most, has been absolute icing on the cake! What fun it is to follow a long-held, somewhat secret desire — to write publishable fiction. Remember the scene in Little Women of Jo scribbling away in the attic? She was Laura's role model. And to think it's all come true. Sounds like a storybook ending, right? It is!
Laura was blessed with an idyllic childhood. Make-believe was a favorite pastime; Laura was especially good as either a racehorse or a G.I. In those days, kids were free to roam the neighborhood, and they did — using vacant lots and open spaces as enchanted lands. Perhaps because her grandmother and another elderly friend lived in their household, expectations for Laura were pretty high. She was supposed to be a lady, a scholar, and an example to her two younger brothers. A born tomboy, the first was hard to achieve, but she did an adequate job in the other two categories.
Then in eighth grade, Laura discovered boys. At the time she felt reasonably certain that her mother was about the most old-fashioned, intrusive female she'd ever encountered. Looking back now from the vantage point of being the mother of daughters, she realizes her mother saved her from herself. Laura found college liberating, and still keeps in touch with several of the women who became her friends in those years. By attending summer schools and loading up on the hours she took each semester, she graduated at Kansas State University with a bachelor's degree in English in three years and went "out into the world," a pretty big deal after attending the same grade school and high school all her life!
Laura taught eighth- and ninth-grade English, and from the very first day, knew she'd found the thing she was supposed to be doing. She loved the school environment, the kids, and how the work fulfilled her. From that point on, Laura taught off and on for over 25 years.
After that first year of teaching, Laura married, and she and her husband subsequently had three children. Ten years into the marriage, they were divorced, but Laura is happy to say they've been able to remain amicable through the years. Single, with three children under 10! Talk about scary. Fortunately, Laura's prayers were answered, and she fell in love with her current husband, who never once has been anything but accepting of Laura and her three kids. His daughter and orphaned nephew brought their total to five children. Like most parents, they've had their ups and downs with them, but strong faith, consistent discipline, and a ton of love and forgiveness have made their family bonds very strong. And what joy it is now to have 13 grandchildren! Now Laura and her husband don't have to worry about school conferences, curfews, or questionable friends. All they have to do is love.
Laura Abott's writing career, which began in 1995, later than most, has been absolute icing on the cake! What fun it is to follow a long-held, somewhat secret desire — to write publishable fiction. Remember the scene in Little Women of Jo scribbling away in the attic? She was Laura's role model. And to think it's all come true. Sounds like a storybook ending, right? It is!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 18, 2013
This novel is basically about an army captain and an army doctor's daughter. Caleb and Lily. Caleb is plagued with nightmares from Washita and other battles and is nearing his retirement and the time he can join his family's ranch back in Kansas. Lily is a girl who, while knowing her medicine and literature is not so adept in knowing her own mind and heart.
Caleb gets 5 stars. Lily, on the other hand..OMGoodness...I haven't read about a heroine that I so wanted to smack aside the head in a loooong time. Personally, I think Caleb should have forgotten about Lily and courted her sister Rose instead. (you know, the pudgy red head that not even two hundred soldiers care to look at?~ I know. Impossible. Rose is everything Lily is not. She's sweet, loving and knows her own mind. She's a gem). Lily is a wee bit on the selfish side. That took a star off it for me. I would have taken more stars off but I held back...now, now, no need to bomb a book cos you don't like a character..lol
The story itself is good. And the writing is good. I just think Caleb deserved better.
Note to author: Do I see a sequel in the making? Maybe between Seth and Rose?????
There is no sex or cussing in this book. There is some descriptions of battles. Nothing too descriptive.I would feel comfortable letting my daughter read this book.
Caleb gets 5 stars. Lily, on the other hand..OMGoodness...I haven't read about a heroine that I so wanted to smack aside the head in a loooong time. Personally, I think Caleb should have forgotten about Lily and courted her sister Rose instead. (you know, the pudgy red head that not even two hundred soldiers care to look at?~ I know. Impossible. Rose is everything Lily is not. She's sweet, loving and knows her own mind. She's a gem). Lily is a wee bit on the selfish side. That took a star off it for me. I would have taken more stars off but I held back...now, now, no need to bomb a book cos you don't like a character..lol
The story itself is good. And the writing is good. I just think Caleb deserved better.
Note to author: Do I see a sequel in the making? Maybe between Seth and Rose?????
There is no sex or cussing in this book. There is some descriptions of battles. Nothing too descriptive.I would feel comfortable letting my daughter read this book.
December 31, 2023
2.5 stars. This type of literature is not my kind of literature, but my grandma gave it to me and I felt I owed her to at least read it. While I do find that the author has a great vocabulary and some good writing style, I still couldn’t quite get over the cheesy romantic language and the very abrupt parts of the plot. Many of the transitions in the novel seem to come out of nowhere and made the characters seem someone at two dimensional or in the case of Lily, someone who really probably shouldn’t have been trusted.
February 26, 2021
This is a wonderful book. I loved the characters. The drama of military life in the west and life in the big city. I couldn’t put it down.
May 2, 2016
This was such a great story! I enjoyed reading as Lilly and Caleb walked through their wilderness of their life. Lilly, who thought the wilderness surrounded her wanted nothing more than to go live in St. Louis with her aunt and experience all that the better side of life had to offer. Caleb wanted to live the army where he saw more than his share of killing, and join his siblings and their father on their ranch. As Caleb and Lilly spent time together, they fell in love. But Lillly didn't think she would be happy in yet another wilderness.
Both traveled on a journey to find what love was really about.
I loved this book. I like how the author allowed Lilly to go on her journey. So many times its "Okay, I decided I'd rather have you" without truly seeing what that decision entailed. In this story, the author allowed Lilly to experience before making her choice. I think that made all the difference in the world...
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but this was truly a very good - and realistic - book.
Both traveled on a journey to find what love was really about.
I loved this book. I like how the author allowed Lilly to go on her journey. So many times its "Okay, I decided I'd rather have you" without truly seeing what that decision entailed. In this story, the author allowed Lilly to experience before making her choice. I think that made all the difference in the world...
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but this was truly a very good - and realistic - book.
September 10, 2016
This is a novel of discovery and courage depicted in a unique way. Yes, Lily and Caleb meet in the wilderness of Kansas and find a love that may last all the days of their lives. This could have been the end of the story. However, Lily is not ready to give up on her girlhood dream and has the courage to explore that dream before making a life commitment to another person. Here is a second journey into the wilderness that will determine love's outcome. It's a rare romance that presents what seems to be the perfect couple and then makes you watch and wait as one turns away, not because of conflict between them, but because of a drive to find what God most desires for them both. Satisfying, well-written, I read this book twice in quick succession, then added it to my Keepers shelf.
August 8, 2013
Very interesting insight into a soldier who had part of removing the Native Americans from their lands and some of the massacres that occurred and on the flip side, see what the people far removed from the situation thought of the whole deal. This was a good story about Lily who lived at a fort with her father and sister and the life that she yearned for in the big city. But once she gets there she realizes its not all its cracked up to be. Captain Caleb patiently waits for her to have her experience and come back to him.
March 8, 2015
A thoroughly enjoyable faith inspired historical romance. The pace was perfect and the characters were likable. For me that's very important as a reader. This was a great read for me. I would read this author again.
September 3, 2016
I cannot wait for the next one. This was such an amazing story that reminded me of my favorite Austen novel, Persuasion. The deep connection between Lily and Caleb is almost inexplicable, it's that solid. Really, this is one of the best LI Historicals of 2013 :)
Read
December 29, 2014"This story realistically portrays the hardship of life at a frontier fort." RT Book Reviews
January 21, 2017
Sweet book. It's hard to choose what is best in your life, but Lily and Caleb show that trusting in God for answers will always lead you in the right direction.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews