E-Reading: Book Review of #1 Gray Hawk's Lady by Karen Kay

Name of Book: Gray Hawk's Lady

Author: Karen Kay

ISBN: 978-1-60928-974-4

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Part of a Series: White Eagle's Touch, Night Thunder's Pride.

Type of book: interracial romance White female/Native American Male relationship,1832, American west,St. Louis, wilderness

Year it was published: 1997

Summary:

When Lady Genevieve Rohan joins her father in the farthest reaches of the American West, she expects to bring a bit of genteel English charm to his dry, academic existence. Instead, she finds her father desperately ill, and it's up to her to finish his study of the Indian and publish his work- or face the wrath of his creditors.

Her troubles mount when the men hired to capture a member of the Blackfoot tribe dont' bring her a docile maid to study. They present her with a magnificent warrior- proud, outrageously handsome and simmering with fury at the loss of his freedom.

The white woman is beautiful beyond compare, but Gray Hawk can't think past his plan to exact revenge against this meddling foreigner. It's ridiculously easy to escape, then turn the tables and take her captive. When anger turns to passion, then to love, he embarks on a new quest. To claim the stubborn, red-headed vixen as his own.

Yet as their hearts strain toward each other, pride conspires to pull them apart...unless they can each find a way for their hearts to become one.

Characters:

Genevieve can both be described as modern yet at the same time historical. She is also conflicted about a lot of things and often ends up a victim. She is loyal and warmhearted towards her family and Gray Hawk however, often sacrificing herself. Gray Hawk himself sounds an interesting character because at first he couldn't stand Genevieve nor the sight of her, often calling her "woman with no honor," and so forth. Yet there is a crucial point where his feelings changed and transformed into love. Genevieve, although in love at the end, there wasn't hatred or much change for her.

Theme:

It is possible to be of both worlds.

Plot:

Although there are aspects where the plot didn't seem plausible, that still didn't take enjoyment away from the book. I felt that the ending is an open ending because one doesn't know the fates of the characters. While the American Indians were treated politely and were given a chance to speak, the author doesn't explore much of why the whites think the way they do. I also think there is a slight bias.

Author Information:

 Author of seventeen American Indian Historical Romances Karen Kay aka Gen Bailey, has been praised by reviewers and fans alike for bringing the Wild West alive for her readers. Karen Kay, whose great-great grandmother was a Choctaw Indian, is honored to be able to write about something so dear to her heart, the American Indian culture. "With the power of romance, I hope to bring about an awareness of the American Indian's concept of honor, and what it meant to live as free men and free women. There are some things that should never be forgotten." Find Karen Kay online at www.novels-by-karenkay.com

Opinion:

I honestly enjoyed reading the novel and learning a lot about the Blackfoot tribe culture and rituals. I felt that this novel is slanted towards the Native American point of view. The ending is, well, unbelievable and kind of caused me to go "all this drama for nothing?!" The white side is barely explored in the story. (Nothing against it by the way.) I wish that the epilogue could be an update of sorts, of what happened to Genevieve and Gray Hawk. Compared to Madeline Baker's novel that I read, as well as my attempt on Janelle Taylor and Cassie Edwards at one point, this is a fascinating and lively read that I would enjoy delving into it a lot.

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)