DAKOTA DREAMS

Author: Madeline Baker ISBN: 0451216865 1/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: NAL/Signet Eclipse
Time Period: late 1800's, early 1900's

Wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, Nathan Chasing Elk has never lost hope of avenging her death and reclaiming his lost daughter. His only chance is to break free from prison—but with his escape comes a grave injury that threatens his life. Catharine Lyons is struggling to maintain the family ranch in the wake of her parents' untimely death. When Nathan shows up on her property, badly wounded and close to death, Catharine provides him with sanctuary. As they grow closer, Catharine offers Nathan more than the healing of his body and mind: She agrees to join him on his journey into Lakota territory to avenge his wife's death. But as they trek through the dangerous West, they discover a passion just as untamed—one that will change their destinies forever.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I really enjoyed reading Madeline Baker's newest western, DAKOTA DREAMS. I couldn't put it down! Her characters are warm and passionate, and at the peak of the story their love is what gets them through their most trying times. DAKOTA DREAMS is a wonderful combination of a beautiful love story with a backdrop of life in the Wild West, and also of life on an Indian reservation.

I was immediately drawn to the hero, Nathan Chasing Elk. We are introduced to him while he is wrongfully imprisoned for killing his wife. All Chasing Elk wants is to break free from prison and find his daughter, and then go to his mother's Indian tribe, a task that proves almost too hard for him to achieve. After being brutally whipped and then beaten, Chasing Elk manages to steal a guard's horse and finally escape. Now, if he can only survive long enough to let his wounds heal, he'll be able to find his daughter and his mother and possibly clear his name.

Catharine Lyons was uprooted from her Boston home by her father and placed at a ranch in the Arizona territory. Soon after their arrival, her mother died in childbirth, her father drank himself to death, and her brother just left her to go to the nearest town. As if that isn't bad enough, the chief of one of the Indian Tribes, Marteen, is determined to make Catharine his wife! She decides to leave the ranch and buy a ticket back to Boston. Without a horse, she has to walk the 12 miles to the nearest town.

It's during her walk to town that she meets a hurt and bleeding Chasing Elk, after which neither of their lives will ever be the same.

The only thing that bothered me about DAKOTA DREAMS was that the physical relationship between Chasing Elk and Catharine happened so quickly. I don't think I would let a bloodied ex-convict kiss me within about three days of meeting him, and I doubt I'd be yearning for that type of man, either. (However, if the man looked like Gerard Butler, I may just change my mind and let him ravish me!) However, they did wait to consummate their relationship, and it was really a passionate moment in the story.

Whether or not you're a fan of westerns, I would definitely recommend reading DAKOTA DREAMS. It has just the right amount of romance and adventure that kept me enthralled while reading the story!

Julie Kornhausl