Heart of the Sandhills (Dakota Moons Series #3) [Paperback]

Stephanie Grace Whitson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2002

Please God, she prayed, let the people see who we are. Make them see past our skins and into our hearts. All I want is a place to be. Just a place to be. Is it too much to ask?

For Genevieve LaCroix, daughter of a Dakota Sioux and a French aristocrat, and Daniel Two Stars, a Dakota warrior, that just may be too much to ask. The two are finally man and wife, but things aren't all "happily ever after" in the Sandhills of Minnesota. Even with the 1862 Dakota Sioux uprising behind them, tensions between the Sioux and the white settlers continue to hinder total reconciliation.

Jeb Grant, the landowner on whose farm Daniel and Gen (and another Sioux family) live, is beginning to cave in to protests from neighbors against "those murdering savages" working on his place. Daniel, who has tried his best to become a model farmer, is discontent and restless. In spite of Gen's protests, he accepts another stint as an army scout, causing the two to be separated. When Daniel disappears on a scouting foray, Gen convinces Captain Willits to help her look for her husband, setting in motion a series of events that will untimately threaten Daniel and Gen's happy marriage. Will the two ever have a simple, quiet life together?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Themes of faith, love and racial reconciliation wind through this third installment in the Dakota Moons series, a well-written tale of mid-19th-century life in the sand hills of Minnesota. The beautiful half-Sioux heroine, Genevieve LaCroix Dane, returns from New York to find married love with the Dakota Indian Daniel Two Stars. "I didn't come back to Minnesota expecting life to be easy," Gen tells Daniel, but life may prove more difficult than she has anticipated. Her stepdaughter, Meg Dane, has contracted a debilitating case of the measles, while her stepson, Aaron, is enamored of the spoiled and wealthy debutante Amanda Whitrock, who may divert him from his calling to be a soldier. When Gen and Daniel are driven off their land by an Indian-hating neighbor, Daniel is forced to take a job as an army scout. A skirmish with hostile Sioux leaves Daniel with appalling injuries that threaten both his strong faith and his future with Gen. But as one character tells Daniel, "In the end, the awful thing that happens isn't what life is about. Life is about what we do with the awful thing that happens." Whitson, who was nominated for a Christy Award for the first book in the series, Valley of the Shadow, tends to let her characters sermonize, which can slow the story. The novel is also diluted by an unsatisfactory epilogue. However, these are minor stumbling blocks for fans of the series, who will enjoy seeing their favorite characters' lives unfold.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785268243
• ISBN-13: 978-0785268246
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writing is something I've always done. . . not something I ever expected to do as a job. Back in the early 1990's when I was home schooling my four children and we began our state history unit, I became fascinated with the lives of the pioneer women who settled the west. Fascination led to research and "playing with imaginary friends." I sent off my first query letter largely as an exercise in anticipated rejection. Much to my amazement, instead of being rejected I was given a three book contract. In hind-sight, I believe God was providing a career for the day when my husband of 28 years would die (of cancer in 2001). I once worried about whether or not I would run out of ideas. Now I am more concerned about picking WHICH stories I should spend my time developing. I'm not going to live forever and I don't want to waste a moment on things that are less than the BEST pursuits.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved It, March 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Heart of the Sandhills (Dakota Moons Series #3) (Paperback)

As a fan of Stephanie Grace Whitson I was not let down. Her final book in the Dakota Moons series was far better than the previous one. I really enjoy how she keeps the romance alive within the marrage of her characters and her style of writing the workings of it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent conclusion!, February 7, 2005

By 

Mrs Debarr (Maine USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart of the Sandhills (Dakota Moons Series #3) (Paperback)

I also found this third book to be a very satisfying conclusion to the series. I disagree with the professional review that found the characters "sermonizing"and that it bogged it down. My ideal Christian fiction is that which challenges me in my own walk. One thing I particularly liked about this series was the richness of the secondary characters. I also found the epilogue to be just the right closure to the book. The reason I give it a 4 instead of 5 is that I found the main character Jen a little

bland.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Third book in Dakota Moons Series, March 7, 2002

By 

Bonnie McKinzie (Garden Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart of the Sandhills (Dakota Moons Series #3) (Paperback)

Whitson's third book is hard to read due to lack of continuity. I love the characters and the historical part of the entire series, so I was interested enough to keep plugging away in spite of difficulty with the flow.

Genevieve Blue Eyes is married to Daniel Two Stars and they find themselves in a tiny little rental on land that used to be theirs. Neighbors do not want "those wild Indians" living near them and make life miserable, culminating in a very, very intense encounter for Genevieve.

As a war breaks out, Daniel serves as guide for the Army and little Aaron whom we met as a small boy in earlier books, has enlisted as a "junior" recruit. It is during this war that Daniel Two Stars faces one of the biggest challenges of his life and his marriage. The ending does somewhat make up for the hit and miss writing of the book, and since I am such a fan of Stephanie Grace Whitson, I would definitely buy the next book if there is to be one.