Ever since I was little, I’ve been fascinated by stories involving Native American characters. Unfortunately, good choices were few and far between. Rarely did any author feature American Indians as point-of-view characters. In today’s Book Pick, I want to introduce you to two of my favorite authors, Lori Benton and Rebecca DeMarino, who both featured Native American story lines this year. I don’t know if two books makes for a trend, but I certainly hope so!
Lori Benton‘s debut novel, Burning Sky, made a huge sensation in Christian fiction by winning THREE Christy awards in 2014: Best Historical, Best First Novel, and Book of the Year. She followed it with a second beautiful novel, The Pursuit of Tamsen LittleJohn. This year’s release of The Wood’s Edge was much anticipated and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Lori Benton’s writing is stunning, drawing you in from the first moment and not letting you go until the story is complete. The Wood’s Edge has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. By the conclusion, you’re so entrenched in everyone’s lives that you ache for each character in turn. It’s not a sweet, easy read–it’s a storyline that will make you dig deep. My favorite kind.
Here’s the back cover copy, courtesy of Lori Benton’s website:
At the wood’s edge cultures collide. Can two families survive the impact?
The 1757 New York frontier is home to the Oneida tribe and to British colonists, yet their feet rarely walk the same paths.
On the day Fort William Henry falls, Major Reginald Aubrey is beside himself with grief. His son, born that day, has died in the arms of his sleeping wife. When Reginald comes across an Oneida mother with newborn twins, one white, one brown, he makes a choice that will haunt the lives of all involved. He steals the white baby and leaves his own child behind. Reginald’s wife and foundling daughter, Anna, never suspect the truth about the boy they call William, but Reginald is wracked by regret that only intensifies with time, as his secret spreads its devastating ripples.
When the long buried truth comes to light, can an unlikely friendship forged at the wood’s edge provide a way forward? For a father tormented by fear of judgment, another by lust for vengeance. For a mother still grieving her lost child. For a brother who feels his twin’s absence, another unaware of his twin’s existence. And for Anna, who loves them both–Two Hawks, the mysterious Oneida boy she meets in secret, and William, her brother. As paths long divided collide, how will God direct the feet of those who follow Him?
Rebecca DeMarino‘s novels are set nearly 100 years earlier. The Southold Chronicles follow the lives of the Horton family as they struggle to find their place in this new land. Book 1, A Place In His Heart, tells about Barnabas Horton and Mary Langton as they travel an uncertain road together–a marriage of convenience, a trip to a new world, and reconciling their different faiths. Through all this turmoil, can they hope to find love?
In Rebecca’s newest release, To Capture Her Heart, we meet Heather Flower–the daughter of a Montaukett leader–who loses both her husband and her freedom on their wedding day. Rescued by Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren, will Heather Flower give her heart to him, or to her childhood friend Benjamin Horton (son of Barnabas and Mary Horton).
What delights me about Rebecca DeMarino’s writing is interacting with the day-to-day life of her characters. She creates a large cast of characters and by the end of the book you feel like you’re a part of this community. With the fascinating details about their daily lives, and their devotion to each other and to God, I found myself wanting to BE a Horton. I enjoyed learning more about this time period as the Dutch, English, and Indians struggled to share Long Island.
Here’s the back cover copy, courtesy of Rebecca DeMarino‘s website:
In an uncertain time, she faces a choice that will change her life forever.
It is 1653 and Heather Flower, the princess of the Montaukett tribe, is celebrating her wedding feast when a rival tribe attacks, killing the groom and kidnapping her. Though her ransom is paid by an Englishman, she is bound by her captors and left to die—until she finds herself rescued by handsome Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren.Still tender from her loss, Heather Flower begins to heal in the home of the Hortons, English friends of her people. Torn between her affection for Dirk and her longtime friendship with Ben Horton, Heather Flower must make a difficult choice—stay true to her friend or follow her heart.
So here are two great reading choices for you this summer! I enjoyed both stories, but I’d also issue one tiny warning, these are not typical feel-good romance novels. Both stories have some unusual aspects to their romance threads that made me lift an eyebrow in surprise. Nothing bad, just not what you might expect. So I’d recommend reading them for the history and the great stories. If predictable romance is your thing, you might want to look elsewhere.
Happy Reading!
And don’t forget…
I’ve got a special giveaway going on for a hardcover edition of Beyond the Ashes. Click here to find the entry form!