Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
Kindle Price: $2.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.46

Save: $9.97 (57%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Lynne Basham Tagawa
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Shenandoah Road: A Novel of the Great Awakening (The Russells Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Lynne Tagawa (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 711 ratings
See all formats and editions
An injured Indian. A dangerous ruffian. But her greatest foe is her own heart.
2019 Selah Awards Finalist

John Russell's heart aches from the loss of his wife, but the Shenandoah Valley frontiersman needs to marry again for his daughter's sake. At first he believes he has found the right young woman, but his faith falters when time reveals she isn't quite what she seemed. Can he truly love her?

Unlike her disgraced sister, Abigail Williams obeys the Commandments. At least, she thinks herself a Christian until a buckskin-clad newcomer courts her. He treats her kindly but also introduces her to a sermon by the controversial preacher, George Whitefield.
Her self-righteousness is shattered, and she wonders about their relationship. If she confesses her lack of faith, will John continue to love her?

"Lynne Tagawa transports readers into the faith and hope, and sorrows and fears of 18th century colonial America. While other books feature the raw grit of frontier colonial life, this book goes deeper and reveals the heart." - Douglas Bond

"Raw, realistic, and historically packed, this story will make you think. If you enjoy stories with deep theological themes, you will enjoy this." - Amber Schamel
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Russells
  2. Print length
    316 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 11, 2018
  6. File size
    5653 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
All 3 for you in this series See full series
See included books
Total Price: $11.97
By clicking on above button, you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use
More like The Shenandoah Road: A Novel of the Great Awakening (The Russells Book 1)
Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  4. The Russells    3 book series
Next page
Loading...

From the Publisher

From the book

May 1744

“She was a good wife,” Sarah murmured behind him. “And she willna mind you marrying again.”

“I know.” John turned to look at his sister. She meant well, though words couldn’t lessen the ache. Still, death was a constant in the wilderness. Fever, accident, Indians. He had thought them relatively safe from Indian attack in this place, but he had been wrong.

He corralled his thoughts. God was in control of all things and would bring good out of evil. The truths he found in his worn Bible had kept him sane in the dark places.

John’s mouth slid into a wry smile. His sister was right. His daughter did need a mother.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lynne Tagawa transports readers into the faith and hope, and sorrows and fears of 18th century colonial America. While other books feature the raw grit of frontier life, this book goes deeper and reveals the heart." - Douglas Bond, author of numerous books, including War in the Wasteland and Hostage Lands.

"Raw, realistic, and historically packed, this book will make you think. If you enjoy stories with deep theological themes, you will enjoy this." - Amber Schamel, author of Solve by Christmas, winner of the 2018 Christian Indie award.

"The Shenandoah Road is an authentic and engaging journey back to the challenges of settling in the Shenandoah Valley." - Laura Hilton, author of Firestorm, (Whitaker House, 2018)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07FK5ZQ5Z
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blue Rock Press (July 11, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 11, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5653 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 711 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Lynne Basham Tagawa

Lynne Basham Tagawa

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Lynne B. Tagawa is married and the mother of four sons. She attended the University of Hawaii where she met her husband and obtained a degree in secondary education. The Tagawas live in Texas where she teaches part-time.

She writes fiction, educational materials, and Christian devotionals; she is especially inspired by the lives of great men and women of faith.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
711 global ratings
A Spiritual Awakening for John and Abigail
4 Stars
A Spiritual Awakening for John and Abigail
Lynne Basham Tagawa's book, The Shenandoah Road, is an impressive story about what life was like in America during the mid-1700s.The Shenandoah Road is about traveling through the pristine woods in order to get back home, and about encountering dangers, real life situations, and how they were resolved. Lynne Basham Tagawa does have an eye for story continuity and adding pertinent content to tie the history neatly with the fiction. This is also about a Scottish frontiersman, John Russell, who needs to marry again, and about a woman, Abigail Williams, who finds out her faith is not all she thinks it is.  Abigail is talented  in using natural herbs to heal people.  She reads books about botany and herbals, and makes quite a useful collection of them to keep nearby when she needs to use them.  This was an interesting detail about Abigail, and I would have liked to learn more about herbal medicines used back in that time.John is a kenspeckle (Hi, Lynne!) Scotsman,a responsible family man, and a good provider.  He has a daughter from a previous marriage, since his wife had been killed.  A faithful Christian, he consistently does his best to do what the Lord expects from him.This book was more of a spiritual great awakening of Abigail, and in some aspects, John. Many thought-provoking bible verses and insights.   John's duty-bound devotion to Abigail, after he married her, and before he fell in love with her,  was refreshing, and something I think needs to be emphasized more to people today. I enjoyed each time John shared the bible with Abigail, and how the sermon from George Whitefield brought up very important questions in her mind. The way Mrs. Tagawa ends the book is genuinely sound and sensible!  All of it comes together nicely, and in a way that makes you glad you read her book.  I'm looking forward to reading more from her.Product detailsPrint Length: 314 pagesPublisher: Blue Rock Press (July 11, 2018)Publication Date: July 11, 2018Language: EnglishASIN: B07FK5ZQ5Z
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Grandmother of 19
5.0 out of 5 stars loved It
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
Looking for more!!! She is a wonderful author who satisfies all that a great story needs. H and h are both folks you could sit down to dinner with and be at peace. Clean romance in an awesome place and time. Accurate trials for the day and place in History. Strong character development and holds your interest right to the end.. you know it is a good story when you are sad it is over…on to volume 2…can’t wait!!! worth your time, educational and especially spiritual !!!
Helpful
 Report
JW reviewer
4.0 out of 5 stars The Shenandoah Road
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
Well researched and I did enjoy the excerpts before each chapter. The widowed John Russell is in need of finding a wife and a mother for his daughter. Abigail struggles with her faith upon meeting John.

This book has a Christian elements woven in it. Interesting insight into life in 1744. I did however feel the book ended a little abruptly and would have enjoyed a little bit longer novel.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Jammy
5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Story
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
I liked the way this author developed the characters and made them real. The experiences they went through were well written and the conversations showed very well how each character worked through issues along with their Christian principles.
I’ll definitely read her next book.
Helpful
 Report
Glynn Young
5.0 out of 5 stars Good historical fiction about the Great Awakening
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2021
Verified Purchase
Historical fiction takes considerable work. Good historical fiction is similar to writing two books simultaneously – the story being told and the period of history the is set within. The finished story has to pass muster with people familiar with the era. And it has to tell a good story.

“The Shenandoah Road” by Lynne Tagawa is good historical fiction.

The year is 1744. John Russell has a farm in the Virginia colony’s Shenandoah Valley. John’s wife has died during an attack by Indians (pioneers would not have used the term “native Americans), accidentally hit when another target was intended. He’s now rearing his young daughter alone, and he knows she needs a mother. But he is still grieving his deeply loved wife.

It’s the time of the Great Awakening in the colonies. Preachers like George Whitefield are crisscrossing the land, preaching repentance and revival. John has a profound Christian faith, and the sermons of the revival resonate with his heart.

With his cousin Roy, John travels to Philadelphia for supplies and, he hopes, to find a wife. The roundtrip journey will last several months, and friends and neighbors in the valley have given him a list of needed supplies.

Abigail Williams is the daughter of a Philadelphia merchant. She’s in her early 20s and is fascinated with herbs, plants, and what uses they can be put to. The merchant’s bookkeeper tells them about John Russell, and soon introductions are made. And now a young woman who has only known city life is getting married and setting off to live on the frontier, with all its implied dangers and opportunities. The Russells depart Philadelphia the same day they are married.

Much of the story is about the trip. But it’s also a story of faith, and how a young woman learns she is not the believing Christian she thought she was. She worries about her faith, or lack of it, and what she faces as the wife of a frontiersman. John worries about her faith as well, and whether he can overcome the loss of his first wife.

Tagawa tells fascinating story, one filled with historical detail and figures worked well into the narrative, so well, that it doesn’t seem like fiction at all. With the Russells, the reader experiences scoundrels, storms, the importance of folk medicine, the making of soap, religious conflicts, and colonial travel.

A biology teacher by career, Tagawa has also published “The Heart of Courage” (another historical novel), the novel “A Twisted Strand,” and “Sam Houston’s Republic,” a Texas history curriculum. She lives in south Texas.

“The Shenandoah Road “brings colonial history and the Great Awakening alive by telling the story of ordinary people living in tumultuous times.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Lynn paff
5.0 out of 5 stars Filled with homely details of frontier life in the 1700’s
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book tells of the adventures of settlers coming west to make their homes in the Shenandoah Valley. John, a westerner, marries Abigail; a Bostonian who knows nothing of frontier life. Both of them grow in their Christian faith as life’s challenges test them.

What I most enjoyed about the story were the details of everyday life, both in “civilized” Boston and Philadelphia, and in the frontier land where John and Abigail established their new home. The author displayed her exhaustive knowledge in a very entertaining way.
Helpful
 Report
CatLover
3.0 out of 5 stars More liturgical than historical
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
If you are looking for extensive biblical discourse set in the 18th century this is a good choice. Looking for interesting historical fiction set in the same period? Look elsewhere
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Janice
4.0 out of 5 stars Well Researched
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2024
Verified Purchase
I have given this a 4 out of 5 because it moved a bit slow. I think the author is laying a detailed foundation and backdrop for the coming books in the series. I found her information on medicinal herbs fascinating. The author's character development is strong. I read her second book in this series last night... into the early morning, and could not put it down. If not for the background and backdrop of this book (book #1), I would not have had the same appreciation for the storyline or the characters.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Ann Thiede
5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Story of Faith and Life in the 1700s
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024
Verified Purchase
Reading this book was a very good accident. I had never read any books by Lynne Tagawa and thought I’d chosen a book by another author. Any book that strengthens my faith is a blessing as this one did. She did a fine job weaving rugged life in the 1700s blended with the main characters finding love and their own faith struggles. Beautifully written. I would gladly read other books this author may have written.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Laura Davis
4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely faith-filled story
Reviewed in Canada on August 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
I have never read a book by Lynne Basham Tagawa before, and I know it won't be the last time I will buy one of her books. I thoroughly enjoyed this faith-filled Historical Romance.

John Russell has lost his wife to an Indian attack, and now after grieving her loss, he realizes that he needs a wife to care for his young daughter. He has only one requirement - that she shares his faith in Christ. So he sets out to Philadelphia, where his father introduces him to Abigail Williams. Abigail knows her catechism, and John quizzes her on it to determine if they would be a good fit. She passes the test and marries John. But John soon realizes Abigail knows about God but does not know Him - a big difference. As the journey to his home becomes filled with perils, Abigail begins a faith journey that she never expected.

I loved watching Abigail grow in her faith. The author has brilliantly presented the Gospel so that anyone reading this story will have no doubt if they have a heart relationship with God or just head knowledge. John is a patient teacher, and yet, when Abigail's life is threatened, he realizes how flawed and sinful a man he truly is.

While the romance part of this book was somewhat lacking, the author did show that Abigail and John grew to love each other. It also has a vast cast of characters which, at times, I found difficult to follow.

That said, this book was a delight to read. It is well-researched and very descriptive. I had no trouble picturing everything as the events unfolded. I highly recommend it.
Report
norma
4.0 out of 5 stars A road to be on
Reviewed in Australia on May 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book is all you could wish for doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian or not giving an insight into life in the days of early settlement of the west of America. The story flows so that life and religion was part of the journey the author has taken us on. Great place to find yourself in these days of plenty.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report