In The Women of Bandit Bend by C. C. Harrison, readers are introduced to two sisters, Tally and Ivy Tisdale, as they fight to hold on to their father’s homestead on the Colorado frontier. Both have secrets that could threaten the life they’re building for themselves. Tally, the older, is determined and practical by nature. They arrive at the land claimed by their father, only to find him gone, and they decide to keep his land going during his absence. Tally shoulders most of the work and is hoping her father will come back soon. Her sister, though hardworking, has begun to grow tired of this hardship and wishes to find a suitor whom her sister will approve of. Surrounding them is a cast of characters, each with their own stories to tell, like the quiet and capable Wren, loyal Hath, and tenacious Mimi. As violence, kidnappings, and land swindles surface, Tally must untangle who is behind the schemes while keeping her family and neighbors safe, never knowing who she can fully trust. Will their father return in time?

The Women of Bandit Bend by C. C. Harrison is historical fiction, which is a genre I really enjoy. It pulled me in from the start, combining mystery with the themes of family and stubborn hope. I admired Tally from the beginning. She seemed real to me with her quiet courage and strong sense of responsibility, qualities I could definitely relate to. The writing was smooth and grounded with enough detail to make the setting vivid without being too much. The story moves between the Tisdale land and the nearby town of Sutton Creek, where legal papers, railroads, and backroom deals all create a mix of danger and storms. I especially appreciated how the clothing was described. I could see the outfits as if they were clothes I had in my own closet. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this tale that blends frontier life, strong women, and a twisting plot. It’s the kind of book that made me want to stay in its world a little longer, and I’d absolutely love to read any sequel that might follow.

The Women of Bandit Bend by C.C. Harrison is set in the 1863 Colorado Territory, where Tallulah “Tally” Tisdale and her younger sister Ivy arrive at a homestead near Sutton Creek to join their father Hank, only to find him gone and his claim under threat. Tally refuses to abandon the land and sets out to learn why Hank disappeared, while Ivy keeps the place running, exposed to dangers that go beyond the weather and wildlife. The sisters discover that Hank was confronted by men carrying altered paperwork and chased out through violence meant to look accidental. As hired workers come and go, town records change, pressure increases, and the land itself becomes leverage. What begins as an effort to wait for Hank’s return turns into a fight to keep the claim and survive long enough to learn who wants them gone.

The Women of Bandit Bend by C.C. Harrison is a brilliant piece of historical fiction and unique in how the author specifically leans into the plight of women in a Western, which tends to be a domain reserved for male protagonists. The landscapes are rugged and gorgeous, and almost cinematically described, from wind-cut mesas dropping into a juniper ravine to a homestead yard ringed by raw pasture and prayer rocks. The period details ring true, immersing us in small but significant ways: Founder’s Day notices tacked to the Shouting Post, dress fabric chosen at a mercantile, and maps pulled from the Land Office. Still, the story's finest quality is the women, who are fully fleshed out in their own right. Tally straps on a pistol and studies tracks, while Ivy splits wood and is forced to keep her wits when the unthinkable happens. Even ancillary characters, like Jenny Calloway shielding her child under fire and Mimi risking her life to secure records, are amazing. Overall, this is a novel worth the time investment and is very highly recommended.

Having just read The Women of Bandit Bend, it is no wonder that C. C. Harrison is a renowned author. Sisters Tally and Ivy flee Denver to find the father they have not heard from in two years. They move into the homestead he had registered, determined to make a new life. The daily battles are hard, and so much is against them. They battle against storms, wild animals, hostile Indians, insects, floods, disease, and death. To add to their challenges, local oligarchs want to acquire land in the surrounding area for the future development of the railroad. Every day is a struggle to keep the farm, and the sisters are forced to take on extra hands. Can they help against the deliberate slaughter of livestock and sabotage of buildings and fences? This is a story of the resilience of the human spirit.

Bandit Bend is the spot where the stagecoaches from Denver were forced to slow down, and thus an excellent place for highwaymen. Colorado in 1863 was a wild and dangerous place, and C. C. Harrison took me vividly back in time in The Women of Bandit Bend. This is a tribute to those women who braved the perils and hardships in the early days in North America. I could smell the air, commiserate with each disaster, applaud the successes, and I connected strongly with Tally, Ivy, and Mimi, their friend, all strong women. You cannot help admiring their tenacity and their courage. Harrison says that in writing this book, she wanted to highlight the early women settlers, up to fourteen percent of them who, for one reason or another, set up homesteads in the American wilderness. This is a story of reliance and fortitude in an exciting, page-turning, and amazing read. A testament to women worldwide.

The Women of Bandit Bend by C.C. Harrison is a heart-warming and powerful story of two young women, alone in the wilds of Colorado in 1863, determined to make a future as homesteaders. Tally Tisdale and her sixteen-year-old sister Ivy travelled to Sutton Creek, Colorado, to discover what had happened to their father. He had taken advantage of the new Homesteading Act, which allowed people to acquire land in the territories and gave them five years to improve the land for farming. If they achieved this, they were granted the land permanently. The girls had received regular letters from their father detailing his progress until suddenly the letters stopped. What they discovered when they arrived was a half-completed cabin, a falling-down barn, no sign of any animals or crops, and no sign of their father. The girls decide to bring the homestead up to requirements and hope for their father's return. But this particular piece of land was important to some nefarious characters for different reasons. The girls are forced to defend their inheritance with their lives.

The Women of Bandit Bend is an excellent exposition of the power of the female spirit, especially when women were typecast into gender-specific roles. C.C. Harrison excels in stories with strong, courageous, and wise female leads. Apart from the intricate story arcs and subplots, I loved the character building and the contrast between the sisters’ different personalities. Tally was more practical, down-to-earth, and proper, and yet even she had secrets that she kept from everyone, even her beloved sister. Ivy was flighty and a tad rebellious, but was equally as strong and courageous as her older sister. I appreciated the two main plots to the story running side by side, with the homestead standing in the way of a proposed major development, as well as what had happened at Bandit Bend in the past. For lovers of Westerns, this work is a breath of fresh air. Tally and Ivy are strong, independent women in their own right and are prepared to fight for what is theirs. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book.