SWIFT HORSE

Author: Cassie Edwards ISBN: 045121711X 12/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: NAL/Signet
Time Period: 1850 Kentucky

After witnessing the murder of her parents at the hands of a one-eyed Indian warrior, Marsha Eveland swears she will never forgive his people. Her brother is about to complicate this simple hatred, however. While Marsha is living with him at his trading post, he announces plans to marry Soft Wind, beautiful sister of the Creek chieftain Swift Horse. Now, even if she can accept her brother's betrayal, can Marsha come to terms with a new feeling she cannot deny-one that drives her into the arms of that same chieftain? Though romance draws the two families ever closer, the past cannot so easily be left behind. On the fateful day of a tribal council meeting, fear rather than love sends Marsha frantically running to Swift Horse, for she has just had an encounter with his best friend, who bears an eerie resemblance to her parents' killer. It is then that Marsha must realize her life itself is at stake in the decision to let the noble chieftain into her heart....

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Attention, Cassie Edwards fans! SWIFT HORSE is the next novel in her Indian romance series. If you enjoyed all her other previous novels, you'll be bound to enjoy this one, too!

SWIFT HORSE tells the story of the chief of the Wind Clan Creek tribe, Swift Horse, his love for the white woman, Marsha, and the inevitable truth of his best friend, One Eye. There is also the secondary storyline involving Marsha's brother, Edward James, and Swift Horse's sister, Soft Wind. Not to mention there's a runaway slave named Abraham and a villianous cowkeeper named Alan Burton. Mix all those characters together and you have a fast paced read that's full of Indian lore, adventure, and romance.

It didn't take me long to read SWIFT HORSE. The story was quick paced and it never seemed to stall out. The only problem I really had with the book was that the whole storyline was spread out right before you from the start, and it was never a mystery who the bad guy was and how he was going to be brought to justice.

Other than that, I did enjoy how much detail Cassie Edwards put into SWIFT HORSE. Her love for Indian legend and folklore is evident in her writing. If only for that reason alone, I would recommend reading SWIFT HORSE by Cassie Edwards.

Julie Kornhausl