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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I can see why it's called 'Savage'..., October 15, 2006
This was one of the first romance novels I've ever read. To be honest I was positively stunned by the brutality presented in the book, but then again it's quite a change from the stereotypical 'boy meets girl, love will conquer all' theme of romance novels.
I couldn't help but feel sorry for Alisha several times. When Gray Eagle was captured by her fort she was the only one who treated him like a human being. And what was her reward? She wasn't brutally murdered like her friends or forced into prostitution like the other women. But she had to bear witness to it and deal with the literal bi-polar nature of Gray Eagle. My God, he was only really nice to her a few times and that somehow constitutes true love? It really puzzles me.
And Gray Eagle...he was just annoying to me after a while, especially with all his regrets. He regrets raping her, he regrets burning a photo of her dead father, he regrets forcing his best friend to try and rape her, he regrets whipping her. I kept thinking "Why the hell do you DO these things if you're just going to regret it?!" I felt so sorry for his buddy, who genuinely loved Alisha and treated her right. I was almost rooting for him to just take her and leave!! I haven't read the other books in this series so I hope he found some happiness.
But despite these flaws, this is one of the most realistic romance novels I've ever read. Living on the frontier wasn't all fine and dandy and such brutality shown in this book did happen, and then some. I also liked how Janelle Taylor showed that neither white nor Native American were wholly good; when Alisha ran away the first time and was almost raped by a white man when she begged for help that really set it for me. I can't imagine what life must've been like for women in Alisha's shoes, but I'm sure it was just as frustrating as Janelle presented.
This is certainly an interesting book, but I don't recommend it to first-time readers of romance novels unless you're prepared for a lot of violence and not a lot of love.
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18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Can't relate..., July 27, 2008
Oh, wow... Where do I begin in the roller-coaster of absurdity that was this story...
If you want to learn about the Oglala tribe, then you will learn a bit of their history, there's no doubt about that. This is the only good thing I can say about the book, but truthfully, you'd be better off finding a history book.
If you want to read about a dysfunctional couple, continue on and you will be amazed by a woman with a strong case of Stockholm Syndrome and an abusive lead man that has an excuse for every wrong he commits against the woman he loves. I mean really, we know things like this probably happened in the past, but unless you have such a low self-opinion of yourself, it will be hard to find anything in common with the "heroine" (and I use that term loosely) and if you find anything in common with Grey Eagle--please see a shrink! You need help!-- Come to think about it, you'd need to find professional help if you have anything in common with either character.
Why did I continue to read this book? Well, have you ever caught yourself watching a Jerry Springer show going "Why???? Why don't I change the channel??? Why?!?!" Yeah, it's about the same reason. This is the stuff that trash is made of and won't disappoint with characters that just keep amazing you with their inability to decide what they really feel and their ability to just keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again.
This author may have her "history" researched, but the "romance" in the book is pure stupidity involving repeated rape, beatings, torture, demoralizing and repeated guilt for all of the above.
Crazily, I'm going to read the next one so I can have another good snort and chuckle and see if it's just as bad. It's like a car wreck that you just can't help but stare at as you drive by...
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly Weird!!, February 23, 2009
I wasn't too sure which way to run with this book. The first few pages of this book were pretty good. Once Alisha was captured the book went for a loop. The worse Gray Eagle treated her the more she loved him. He forced himself on her--she loved him, her uncle and friends were killed by his tribe--she loved him, he smacked her around a few times--she loved him. What was wrong her. I started to find her pathetic. Gray Eagle never listened to any advice because he had to maintain his reputation as a future chief. I could find Gray Eagle's actions acceptable because I could almost visualize an Indian chief acting the way he did but Alisha was a whole other story. Even towards the end of the book when she was at the fort she still pined for him. I think she had mental problems. Also, it seemed like every guy that met her wanted her for one reason or another. I've never read a book with such a weak heroine!!
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