*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Triggers warnings for this book include: cannibalism, starvation, physical abuse, emotional abuse, homophobia, attempted abortion, miscarriage, trichotillomania, death by starvation, death by black plague, mental illness, racial slurs, and murder

Ellis has been given the chance of a lifetime to join Master Henry Collins and his wife on their journey to James Fort. There, she will work as an indentured servant-- cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, and serving-- with the hopes of one day owning her own part of the New World. However, as winter draws closer, even her newfound love for Jane Eddowes (a much beloved daughter of a local family) cannot keep the realities of her new life from settling in around her. Dwindling food supplies, the cruelty of Master Collins, the atrocities her fellow settlers have committed against the Country Men (Native Americans), as well as her own sins concerning her budding sexuality, all give Ellis a deep sense that she'll be lucky to survive her first year in James Fort.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. It's heartbreaking and visceral and haunting. Ellis, uneducated and poor with no prospects besides trying to find her Papa in the New World, takes a chance and the readers have to watch fate's cruelty to her and those she loves. This book, even in the moments of pure joy and love, has such a gripping tension and pervasive sense of foreboding. Ellis’ narration is simple and straightforward, which lends itself well to her character and how she would perceive the world. Bruzas did a wonderful job of humanizing one of America's dark moments, and revealing some of the real horrors that occurred during the Starving Time.