(From Goodreads) When a spunky photographer wrangles her way onto an 1871 survey crew of the Grand Canyon she thinks nothing can stand in her way. But her mind changes when she finds out she’ll be working alongside the one man she doesn’t want to fall in love with.

I’ll start with the characters because in this case, they are absolutely at the heart of this story. I instantly adored Meg Pero with her passion for photography, her fierce determination, and her adventurous spirit. While her drive can get her into some challenging situations, it also gives her the strength and courage to fight through them as well. As the other main character, Captain Ben Coleridge is the perfect dashing hero as he balances the goals of his expedition, the safety of the team, his past with Meg, and a somewhat-secret mission. The cast is wonderfully rounded out with the eclectic members of the expedition team, each of which added to the story.

As I’ve only seen the Grand Canyon in photos and not in person, I really enjoyed getting to see it through the eyes of Ben and Meg as they explored and captured its beauty in photographs. The descriptions throughout Scott’s novel were just enough to paint a beautiful picture of the scenery in this incredible landmark at a unique point in its history. I also liked getting to read a story that involved this exploration of the Canyon, based around actual expeditions.

With all of that, my favorite element was the relationship between Ben and Meg, and all of their interactions. The fact that they knew each other from before was an unusual take from many of these types of novels, and it was fun to watch them learn to work with each other again while also learning to come to a better understanding of each other. The romance was sweet and compelling, and along with the others in the expedition team, it was easy to root for them to admit their feelings for each other.

There was really very little I didn’t like about A Distance Too Grand. A few things that might have made my experience of this book even better: a slightly less abrupt ending, a little more time to resolve things with Ben’s family, and maybe just a little more from the other expedition members. As some other reviewers have pointed out, some of the actions by our main characters at the end felt just slightly out of the ordinary for them and the setting, if not entirely out of character—but this did not ruin the experience for me at all.

• Historical-fiction romance
• Stubbornly adventurous characters
• Stories about natural wonders

I received this book as part of the Revell Reads program in order to write a review. The statements of the review are entirely my own, honest opinion of the book.