Description: The daughter of a Mohawk mother and French father in 1759 Montreal, Catherine Duval finds it is easier to remain neutral in a world that is tearing itself apart. Content to trade with both the French and the British, Catherine is pulled into the fray against her wishes when her British ex-fiance, Samuel Crane, is taken prisoner by her father. Samuel asks her to help him escape, claiming he has information that could help end the war.
Peace appeals to Catherine, but helping the man who broke her heart does not. She delays . . . until attempts on Samuel's life convince her he's in mortal danger. Against her better judgment she helps him flee by river, using knowledge of the landscape to creep ever closer to freedom. Their time together rekindles feelings she thought long buried, and danger seems to hound their every mile. She's risked becoming a traitor by choosing a side, but will the decision cost her even more than she anticipated?
My Thoughts: Something I learned while reading this is that, as the author has stated before, she is not a romance writer, but a historical author whose works may include romance. And for people reading this book, I believe that is an important distinction, unlike with her last two novels.
Jocelyn Green is a fantastic historical author. Her works are well written, well researched and always from a perspective which I had yet to see from these time periods. Growing up in Michigan, I had of course learned about this war in school, though never from a French/Mohawk stand point. It was interesting to learn more about what happened during this conflict than what I had in school.
My one dislike from the book was Samuel's character. Though I understood that the decisions he made were what he believed to be the right choice, I still felt strongly that they hadn't been. Particularly his actions which occurred in the actual story. And since his actions had a direct impact on Catherine's life and well being, I couldn't help but feel angry whenever the narrative drifted back to discussing his motivations.
In that regard, I found that I sympathized quite a bit with Catherine's siblings. I felt they behaved toward Samuel in the exact manner as I would have given the situation. And I loved the entire sibling plot line and how it delved into how they are all united as a family despite having values and identities separate from each other. I enjoyed this read and look forward to Green's next book.
I have provided an honest review after having received a copy of the book from the publisher.
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