Leafy Rivers

Jessamyn West's spirited novel—set in the Ohio Territory in the early 1880s—is a handsomely paced adventure for lovers of period romance and suspense. Leafy Rivers is a young bride caught up in emotions she does not altogether understand and cannot quite control. As she races against time to save a life and a marriage that may already be lost, a vivid assortment of characters—such as Simon Yanders, a man whose loss has taught him generosity and whose grief has made him alert to joy; Cashie Wade, irresistibly wild and free; and Leafy's husband, Reno, whose love is matched only by his ineptitude—offers challenges that threaten to waylay her at every turn.