My Rating: 4.5 StarsDescription: Abducted by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family’s New York frontier homestead after many years building a life with the People. At the boundary of her father’s property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying in her path. Feeling obliged to nurse his injuries, the two quickly find much has changed during her twelve-year absence—her childhood home is in disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the horrors of war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.
When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world, the cultural divide blurs Willa’s vision. Can she follow Tames-His-Horse back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky? And what about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into in her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm? In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against “savages” abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa’s safety unsure.
Willa is a woman caught between two worlds. As tensions rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must find a new courage--the courage to again risk embracing the blessings the Almighty wants to bestow. Is she brave enough to love again.
My Thoughts: I absolutely love books with Indians, so you can imagine how excited I was to see this book up for review. And completely met my expectations. Willa is a woman who spent twelve years with the Mohawks and during that time, she learned the good and the bad of both the reds and whites. Neil is a man who has suffered at the hands of the Indians, but still finds it in him to forgive. And Joseph...he won me over in the beginning just by being full blooded Indian and a possible love interest. I am shocked by how rarely that happens.
This book was beautifully depicted and immediately captivating. If not for school and work, I probably would have finished it in only a couple of days. You could feel the seasons and the dirt on Willa's skin. You felt her pain and the men's frustration. Lovely is the only way that I can describe it.
Toward the end I felt that it took a little too long to get to the resolution, but I loved it enough to continue on. Hopefully, Lori will have another book like coming soon.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher.
Hmm, this one sounds interesting! :D
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