Defiant Heart (Westward Hearts Series #1) [Paperback]

Tracey Bateman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 2007

Trying to escape a life of indentured servitude, a woman and her two young siblings narrowly slip out of town secretly joining a wagon train heading west. Will Fannie be able to keep her family safe and find a new life on the frontier?

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A wonderful story of adventure and love on the westward trail....a pleasure to read.” (Tracie Peterson, award-winning and best-selling author of the Alaskan Quest series )

“Award-winning author Bateman captivates with her latest novel...filled with action, drama and endearing characters....” (Romantic Times BOOKclub )

From the Back Cover

In Book One of the Westward Hearts series, orphan Fannie Caldwell and her two young siblings have spent the last three years as indentured servants under a cruel master. Desperately wanting a better life for her brother and sister, Fannie devises a plan to secretly join a wagon train heading west. Her plan immediately runs into trouble when the handsome yet bullheaded wagon master Blake Tanner refuses to allow an unmarried woman on the train. But Fannie’s determined; she’ll escape and go west with or without help. As life on the trail tests everyone’s endurance and faith, Fannie soon realizes the perils of being a single woman on the frontier. Witnessing Fannie fending off one scare after another, Blake slowly recognizes how much he cares for this alluring young woman. Will Blake sacrifice his own dreams and guide Fannie to safety? Or will Fannie’s stubborn independence keep her from finding true love?

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1ST edition (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061246336
• ISBN-13: 978-0061246333
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #685,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful western romance, May 23, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Defiant Heart (Westward Hearts Series #1) (Paperback)

In 1847 their stepfather sold Fannie Caldwell and her preadolescent siblings Katie and Kip to Tom as indentured servants. Over the next three years raging drunken Tom treats them horribly, abusing them although Fannie as a lioness protecting her cubs absorbs most of his wrath. However, she is concerned by the way Tom stares and leers at twelve years old Katie; she vows they will escape before he assaults her younger sister.

Fannie befriends Toni the town's fallen woman. They agree to flee together with the former's siblings at the first opportunity. When wagon master Blake Tanner arrives in town, the two females book passage on his trip west although he objects to single women with no man to protect them. As Fannie and Blake, and Toni with the wagon master's best friend Two Feathers fall in love, danger seems everywhere besides the normal perilous journey as someone wants either one or both women dead although no reason seems apparent except perhaps Tom seeking revenge for the Caldwells running away.

The first Westward Hearts tale is a wonderful western romance starring fully developed characters bringing to life the decade before the Civil War on the Great Plains. The story line is driven by the cast who face all sorts of peril as they seek a new hopefully better life. Readers will admire the intrepid Fannie who is fierce when it comes to keeping Katie and Kip safe, but also loving and vulnerable. Toni will receive much empathy from the audience for her trials and tribulations. Tracy Bateman shows why she is an award winning author with this suburb Americana romance.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely read!, August 5, 2007

By 

Rel Mollet "RelzReviewz" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defiant Heart (Westward Hearts Series #1) (Paperback)

Fannie Caldwell has been trapped in a life of servitude to an abusive master and for three years she has plotted to escape with her younger brother and sister. Blake Tanner's wagon train is Fannie's chance but convincing Blake to allow an unmarried women on the train proves to be an impossible task. Refusing to give in Fannie takes an incredible risk to protect her siblings but her past life threatens to endanger them all.

Tracey Bateman's first Westward Heart novel, kicking of the new Avon Inspire range is a lovely read. Fannie is down to earth and her desperate struggle to convince the most mule-headed man she has ever met, that she has a place in the wagon train is amusing and inspiring. Faith, hope and love meet together in this engaging story.

Readers of historical novels will enjoy Defiant Heart and Fannie and Blake's journey and look forward to the sequel ~ a story of the emotionally scarred Toni and Sam Two Feathers, secretly devoted to a woman beyond his reach.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Page-turning Prairie Romance, June 1, 2007

By 

Cara Putman (Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Defiant Heart (Westward Hearts Series #1) (Paperback)

I have to agree with Michelle. This was a quick, very enjoyable read!

The book is filled with twists and turns that kept me turning the pages. Tracey fills the pages with conflict and placed the story in a setting that presents plenty of challenges for Fannie and her family. Defiant Heart was an easy read, and I enjoyed the cast of characters. Fannie's twin siblings were a study in contrasts, but also a tight knit family that's used to standing alone against the world. The subplot focuses on Toni, a former prostitute, and Sam, the lead scout. Their story will be the focus of book two, and I look forward to reading it.