Sundancer's Woman [Paperback]

What wonderful characters in this exciting novel by Judith French. Actually this is my first book I've read by Judith and was amazed. Elizabeth Fleming and Hunt Campbell are two very different and intriguing characters. They both come from two different worlds, but they share a very common ground. They both were kidnapped by Indians and had experienced the feeling, what's it like to be separated from loved ones, even if only temporary. The story unfolds as Elizabeth is attending a party celebration when she and her family were attached by Indians. Elizabeth was taken at fourteen year's old to be a slave. She endures unwarranted relations with the captor and becomes with child twice... Eliz. had two children; a boy and a girl. Needlesstosay, Her father, a wealthy businessman, hires Hunt Campbell to find his daughter and bring her back to the white world. During the mission, Hunt falls for Elizabeth and Elizabeth falls in love with Hunt, but they don't know it or want to admit it. They both go through trying times to save her children from their Indian Father. What great events that take place. It will keep you on edge. You won't want to put the book down.

From the back cover:

A Mother's Sacrifice...

Pride, courage and a steadfast devotion to her two small children have kept Elizabeth Fleming strong throughout her years of captivity. And now a handsome stranger had appeared to free the stunning, copper-haired beauty from the ruthless Seneca warrior who holds her prisoner. But her beloved daughter and son must remain behind.

A Woman's Ecstasy...

More Indian than white, Hunt Campbell is a virile vision out of her dreams--a bold adventurer caught between two warring worlds. Hungering for the magnificent fontiersman, Elizabeth surrenders to her awakening passions--savoring a brief ecstasy she must soon abandon in order to rescue her captive young ones. But Hunt knows his heart is unalterably linked to the courageous lady's. And it is his destiny to risk life and honor for her perilous mission...and her incomparable love.

And my review:

This was just an average Native American romance. I adore this genre, so I've read a lot of this kind of book. I find that most Native American romances deal with the Comanche, the Cheyenne or the Apache. I had never read a book that was about the Seneca, a lesser-known Iroquois tribe, so I found this quite interesting.

This book was well-researched, and had plenty of action, but I felt that the romance aspect of it was really lacking. I didn't feel that there was any chemistry between the characters, and then the author just throws them in bed together as a way of creating heat in the book. I really hate it when writers take the easy way out and just use sex to hold their characters together, rather than real, deep feelings of love.

Also, this book was plagued with the problem that neither of them would admit their true feelings until the very end of the book. I find this so annoying in a romance novel. Be 3/4 of the way through the story, I was sighing and muttering, "Enough already! Just admit you love each other! Stop being so stupid about it!" Another complaint I had was that I felt that Elizabeth didn't have a valid reason for keeping some of the secrets that she did.

I also felt that the reasons that they couldn't be together were pretty weak. Not invalid, but not so big that they couldn't have worked them out earlier with a little rational adult discussion. But of course, it seems that lovers in a romance novel can never communicate properly, can they? Nope. All they do is just jump each other's bones every chance they get, but never take the risk of saying "I love you." Annoying.

Despite these complaints, this book was written in a style that was easy to read and entertaining, as well as informative. I've read Native American romance for years, and many of the things in this book were new to me, though some were familiar. The author also did a good job of weaving in the historical detail in such a way that it painted a clear picture without distracting from the story. That's hard to do, and I applaud the effort.

I didn't have to push myself to finish this book, but it's not a keeper to re-read. So far, I've liked this author's novellas more than I've liked her full-length novels. If you're a hard-core fan of this writer, then go ahead and buy this. But if you're not, I wouldn't bother.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars