I am aghast.
I have no words, only spluttering.
I was prepared to give this 4 stars. I was willing to overlook some faults (hang on, tell you in a sec). But then....THEN.
I'm still struggling to articulate because it's almost too ridiculous to believe!
Let me set this up for you (and yes there will be spoilers):
This story is two parallel stories over 100 years apart, both with British girls coming to Montana and falling for cowboys under remarkably similar circumstances; the modern one reading the experience of the pioneer one and then living her version of it.
Right away I noticed some period details that seemed a little off, but I saw that this author had written a non-fic about London in the 1700's so I figured she was probably pretty fanatical about staying historically accurate. And hey, what do I know, right? I mean, I've read a lotta lotta books about England and the western frontier in the 1800's, written many papers, in fact, but sometimes popular culture's interpretation of history isn't always correct, so whatever, I'll let these idiosyncrasies slide.
Except they start to contradict themselves, not just my historical understanding. Like, Emily is absolutely rigid about modesty and decency and decorum, because that's all she's been taught. She has no clue about marriage relations, or what prostitution is, or where babies come from, or what her period is (hasn't even started yet), nor has she really been physically near a male body in her life, not to mention the governess or whoever saying men are filthy animals, etc. And yet, one of the first things that happens after she gets rescued is her letting him soap her up in the washtub, wearing his pants, and not being utterly creeped out by this Pontapee who's basically kidnapped her.
There are several similar incidents, but let me move on to the next issue, namely, STOCKHOLM SYNDROME. I don't think I need to elaborate.
But hey, it's the 1860's and I'm a big fan of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (maybe you caught my earlier reference?), so ok, I'll let it go.
Meanwhile I was trying to get over how the two British narrators on the audio version were pronouncing words with the British inflection in a hokey, supposedly Montanan accent. A cowboy would not say 'ruh-COON' (raccoon) nor would he pronounce it 'PAA-stuh' (pasta) though apparently that's how you say it in a British accent. Also, I discovered, the British say 'legg-ens' (leggings). Who knew.
Yet as I said, I was really liking the book most of the way through. But things started to get a little worrisome right after Hope and Cal finally kiss. Apparently it's her first, because she's barely 16. He's 19, and then feels like he better tell her that, oh yeah, my last girlfriend and I went off to spend the night together but got caught and her dad the Sheriff thought I forced her, and because she's scared of her dad she let him believe it was rape but wouldn't let him press charges, not like it really matters, though, because that's what everyone thinks anyway and now it's on my record. Justsoyouknow.
So Hope is all, ok, cool, I still wanna jump your bones, and she goes from first kiss to undressed really, really fast.
And I'm thinking, "Wait, what?" because whoa, dude, even if that thing with the girlfriend wasn't true, didn't someone tell you about statutory rape? Cause THIS girl is 16 and you are over 18 and it is definitely a crime if you sleep with her, even if it is consensual. And maybe some of that occurs to him, but more importantly, he doesn't have a condom, so he does, for a second, hold back.
But then he doesn't. And then he's making some comment about "Hey, don't worry, nothing's going to happen, and even if it does, I'll make an honest woman of you."
ALARMS!! DANGER!! WARNING!!
Not to mention, I'm sorry, but that is all sorts of irresponsible on sooo many levels.
Just then, the helicopter comes to rescue them, which scares a bear towards them, so Cal goes to shoot the bear but then the sheriff shoots Cal first.
Then Hope attacks the sheriff for being, like, a murderer and all, and he goes and wallops her across the cheek!
Cause apparently this is modern America! Like we're still living in the Wild West!
And then! THEN, the e.m.t's who are trying to get Cal to wake up and missing the hole in his chest, jump up between them and are like, "Come on, now, break it up. I think you're even now."
EXCUSE ME?!?
So off they ride to the hospital, with Cal bleeding out beside them. When they get there, everyone's like, "Whoa, Hope, where'd you get that shiner?" And she try's to play it off like it's from their car accident the day or two before. And the doctors and nurses and policemen don't believe her at all, and think Cal kidnapped, beat, and raped her, because he has a 'history'. And the sheriff shot Cal because he was going to shoot Hope for trying to run away.
Because of these suspicions, they try to nonchalantly get Hope to submit to a more 'complete' examination and, oh, btw, we need your clothes for evidence.
And because she doesn't want him to go to jail (because he totally would) she refuses the exam and gets rid of the clothes.
Hahahaha, this just gets better and better, right?
Nevertheless, the police come and cuff the comatose Cal to his hospital bed. And her mom, who is the world's wimpiest feminist, drags Hope out of the hospital to the airport, saying that Cal's bad news, and they don't want to be involved in this mess and the police think it's best if they leave town and hey, the sheriff got us on the next flight out of here, isn't that nice?
Never mind that they're very much involved in the whole debacle, or that this is a potential criminal investigation and you can't just leave the country, or that it would be so necessary as to do it without anything but your passports, RIGHT THIS MINUTE, but Hope doesn't want to go (whiney voice)!
Oh, but she must, and the police are physically hauling her through the airport, the sheriff there to personally oversee her deportation.
Are you freaking kidding me, Lucy Inglis? It's like your only exposure to American law is John Wayne. Even COPS shows better justice than you're giving us credit for.
Good GOLLY, woman!
Ok, I'm going to spare you the rest of the nonsense that wraps up the story, because he does live, the sheriff does lose his job, Hope goes back to England and is NOT pregnant, and 5 years later they're finally back together for good, blah, blah, blah.
But what stood out the most to me, was how much Hope kept obsessing about the diary for all those years. Early on, before they hook up, Cal kind of rebuffs her saying that the story in the diary doesn't mean they're in a relationship, too. But really, that's basically what happens. In the space of a few days, she reads this epic account with him, and it probably feels like they've lived through that whole long experience as well. And with so many similarities, and then finding out it's his relatives, and thinking the universe is trying to right the wrongs of the past by putting them together...well, it's a recipe for the world's most epic 'projected' relationship. She's not in love with Cal, she's in love with Nate. No, she's in love with the STORY of Nate and Emily. Cal is a convenient placeholder. Poor schmuck.
Meh, whatever, he's a rapist anyway.
So messed up.