CROSSWINDS

Author: Cindy Holby ISBN: 0843952792 2/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER
Time Period: Civil War

Ty— He was honor bound to defend the land of his fathers, even if battle took him from the arms of the woman he had pledged himself to protect. Cat— When her husband rode off to fight in Virginia, the feisty beauty swore she would be at his side, even if she had to risk the babe that grew beneath her heart. Cole— A Texas Ranger, he thought the conflict would pass him by until he had the chance to capture the fugitive who'd sold so many innocent girls into prostitution. Jenny—She had vowed she would no longer run from the demons of the past, and if that meant confronting Wade Bishop in a New York prisoner-of-war camp, so be it. No matter how far she must travel from those she held dear, she would draw courage from the legacy of love her parents had begun so long ago.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

There are many things to like about CROSSWINDS. It is a unique story in that it intertwines two themes, Western and Civil War, and does it well. Having not read the first two in the series (and in fact not even realizing it was a part three) I felt a bit bombarded by back-story at first. Many of the characters names are very similar and there are quite a few of them! I think, however, that this could be attributed to my not having read the first two books.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed CROSSWINDS. Cat is a great heroine, the anti-Scarlett if you will. Not content to flit around all day in giant hoop skirts, she wears pants, rides astride, and can't wait to get back to the West. Her loyalty to her husband causes her to remain in the South until he is finished fighting in the war. Seeing southern life through Cat's eyes was something I could relate to. The idea of owning men and women as slaves is an idea that is foreign to her and wrong. I could relate to this myself.

Ty is a hero torn between conscience and duty, fulfilling an obligation to his family to fight for the side he isn't sure he believes in. At times, I felt a bit frustrated by his sense of duty, but I understand the strong bonds of southern families of the those times, and their obligation to one another and the cause.

There are a couple problems I had with the book, the first being the time spent on other characters. Although in the end their involvement in the earlier part of the novel makes sense, it seemed like their parts were thrown in and jarred the reader from Cat and Ty's part of the story. Had I read the earlier books I probably would not have felt reader whiplash, being that I already had a feel for the other characters.

I wouldn't recommend CROSSWINDS as a stand-alone novel. In spite of this, I really enjoyed the story and found myself drawn to the characters. I will be heading to the bookstore to seek out the first two books soon!

Lisa Munoz