Customer Reviews

Northern Nights (Leisure historical romance)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

True or False: love is the great equalizer? Can it really change a person's expectations and perspective? Or does it just open their eyes to a whole new world?

The Pacific Northwest in 1854 was hard, uncivilized territory. Cities were just sprouting, businesses were struggling to survive and cultures were clashing left and right. Native Americans were beginning to learn that working for the colonist was the only way to make a living. Sometimes it was fruitful and others times it was deadly.

An unexpected and untimely murder of a Native American worker begins this story that introduces us to Elizabeth Powell, a kind-hearted and well mannered young woman who lives her life according to the dictates of her etiquette books. In an attempt to bring the murderer to justice the local tribes send a cavalry of young warriors to capture and punish the culprit and his family.

Unfortunately for them, they took the wrong woman. Issac Thompson, the warrior leader, learns firsthand what a strong, rebellious, stubborn and lovely woman Elizabeth is and becomes her protector during their arduous journey to the Indian village. Elizabeth is drawn to Issac Thompson and relies on his strength and loyalty to keep her safe. Their time together becomes more and more personal and intimate until they are separated by tragic circumstances and differences of culture and beliefs.

This is such a heartbreaking and heartwarming story. It shows that no matter what the atrocities or circumstances, true love can carry a person through even the most grave of experiences. The love for an individual can open your mind and heart allowing you to accept what you never dared imagine.

Theresa Scott has written such wonderful romantic and suspenseful stories. This is the type of story that you will open and not put down until you have finished. The love, fear, passion and commitment between Issac and Elizabeth are what real romance is all about. What a great book! Don't miss it.

Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

One of the things I always expect from Ms Scott's novels is well-done research. This book lived up to my expectations. Whenever I can learn about another time or another culture while enjoying a good story at the same time, I turn the last page with a sigh of satisfaction.

While I thought the heroine was a little naive, the hero more than made up for it. He's courageous, honorable, and an all around hunk. I'm looking forward to Ms Scott's next release.

Theresa Scott's "Northern Nights" is a fascinating look at the driving forces within the human soul. When we first meet the heroine, Elizabeth,she looks for answers to life's questions in a book of etiquette written by Emily Cowperth. A young lady, on the cusp of womanhood, Elizabeth has not yet had life experiences that test her strength or her resilience. That changes when she meets the hero, a Haida warrior, Isaac. Believing that she is the wife of a man guilty of killing an important chief from the village of Isaac's mother, he kidnaps her as part of a plan for vengeance his uncle has hatched up. Isaac has lived his life under the cloud of slavery and is determined never to allow himself, or his family to face that degradation again. He agrees to help his uncle in exchange for stature in his uncle's tribe. Something at this point, only his uncle is capable of giving him.

Elizabeth and Isaac's adventures lead to love.... Elizabeth must learn to face life in all its aspects, rely on her own strength to go forward and grow into true womanhood. Isaac once again battles the moniker of slave and it is not until he can banish that mark from his life that he will be free to love or care for Elizabeth.

This is a story of honor and courage, one you that will bring out the reader's emotions. This book is a sterling example of the themes of mercy and compassion that run through Theresa Scott's work.

Miss Elizabeth Powell sets off to find her missing father. She never expects that as a graduate of Miss Cowperth's School for Young Ladies in San Francisco that she will wind up a captive in the backwoods of the Washington Territory. Young ladies will definitely not be carted off in a canoe, and definitely not attracted to the broad shoulders of her captor (Isaac).

The further that Elizabeth and her captors travel the more things seem to go wrong. But, will the best thing of all happen, in the end will Elizabeth find out what happened to her father and get the man she loves? Or will she fail to survive the adventure?

Northern Nights is a fast paced saga that will take you from false kidnapping, battles, and romance and finally into blossoming love before you are through. I feel that Northern Nights is a well written look at the Pacific Northwest as it was being settled. You will see prejudices not only with the white and red man but among the Native American tribes as well. Through it all you will see Elizabeth and Isaac learn the true meaning of love. I thoroughly enjoyed Northern Nights and think you will also.

Tanya
For Joyfully Reviewed

I really enjoy reading Theresa Scotts books and couldn't wait for her new one to arrive in the stores. I went right out and bought this book the moment it hit the shelves, however, this one disappointed me. Elizabeth was too naive, she kept quoting from etiquette books and when mentioning the white gloves you just want to strangle her. She falls in love and loses her virginity way too quick. She also gives up too quick and when she thought he was dead Elizabeth doesn't waste too much time before she marries. As soon as her husband died from a tragic accident, the same day of his buriel, she is already insisting that they marry. She hardly mourned a full day! That just seemed extremely selfish.

The most frustrating part of the book was that she kept telling him "now we can get married" and this is after his 10th time of saying "I want you but can't marry you". Than she accompanies him to his village thinking he changed his mind and now wants to marry her, but he only thought she needed to get away for awhile. Yet she still insists that they will marry. The girl even pays of one of his people (without his knowledge) to adopt her so he can marry her and he still says "It's nice you now have a new mother, but I still will not marry you". She spends most of this book trying to get him to marry her. Now really, she should have just walked away from him after the first no he said on the subject and told him to get his act together and than come look for her. Very frustrating to see a woman beg a man to marry her especially if she is supposed to be so good and so beautiful. Not at all want I would have hoped for. But I will still look out for any new books Theresa Scott puts out, after all the ones I did read weren't all that bad.

I am really disappointed with this book. Being American Indian I do not appreciate the "ignorant savage" allure that is portrayed through out the book. It is the story of a know it all civilized white girl that falls in love with a warrior whom she talks to as if he is a child. His name is Isaac (what a Native name during 1855).All the Indians in this book are portrayed as ignorant, dumb, naive, or just pure mean.
One part that set my blood on fire is about a young maiden that is a prostitute to the whites at the fort; she is so ignorant she doesn't even know she is selling her body, she believes she is married to each of the men she sleeps with. Her family is also so naive they plan to send the girl's younger sister to the fort and "become a wife." First of all most Indian women were chaste and their families were very protective of young daughters. Yes, there were Indian prostitutes like you see on those old westerns but most of them were captives, stolen by white soldiers, and forced to be beggars and you know the other word! Of course in this novel it is the know it all white girl that sets her straight.
Other then the racism in this book I found it unbelievable, boring, and not romantic.

I just finished reading this pretty thick book in just under 2 days and nights. That more or less means that I enjoyed it, because while I am a swift reader, this particular plot did keep moving very quickly and kept me interested.

I did read the background of the author and did feel though, that while she created a very believable character in Issac, I felt that the behaviours of Elizabeth were not keeping with a prim and proper lady of the late 1800's- and possibly the author could have portrayed her just a bit more realistically. She seemed more a free spirit who would have been better suited to the 1960's with the quick abandoment of her virtues and beliefs.

But overall I did enjoy this book- it produce that much wanted tugging at my heart strings at the appropriate climaxs of the book.

Thank you Ms. Scott for a wonderful read.

this book was so boring! I enjoy Ms Scott's writing but with this one I had to skim from the middle to the end in order to finish. The heroine was not a likable character. She thought she was better then him and she didn't seem to respect his feelings. I didn't understand why the hero loved her. The aunt got on my nerves with her nastiness. I would have liked to know what happened in her marriage to change her mind. There were so many lines to a much deeper plot that the author could have used and didn't. I expected more from this book.