A Distance Too Grand by Regina Scott is the historical fiction story of young Meg Pero who in the early 1870's sets out on a survey of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for the Army as the photographer taking over the job from her deceased father. She longs to show the world her stunning photographic skills, but becomes deflated when she learns that the man in charge of the expedition is the one she used to love and walked away from many years prior. Still Meg and Captain Ben Coleridge manage to work together despite their differences. But Ben has an ulterior motive for the trip that he doesn't tell his other crew members. When Meg and Ben get lost in the canyon wilderness after a suspicious fire at the camp, will they learn to put aside their past and make a new future?
I was drawn to this book because I love historical fiction and this time period is not familiar to me. I loved the grand scenery described throughout the book as the Army made it's way across the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The apparent love gone wrong between the two main characters, Meg and Ben, captured me at first, but as the story went on I felt the interaction between the two to be stiff and did not lead me to believe in their romance. Also, the book had a mysterious element that was not the main plot, but was supposed to carry the story along. But in the end, it didn't seem to be wrapped up so that I could understand it. Honestly, I almost stopped reading this book because it seemed redundant, but the ending was satisfying and it did contain many interesting references to instruments and photographic equipment used in that time period.
*I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Reads. All opinions are my own.*
