Customer Reviews

T'on Ma

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am very impressed by Magnolia Belle's way with the written word. She weaves a story that is complex. But yet is compelling to the reader in such a simple way. She touches the reader's heart by giving life like characters and a storyline that crosses the line in a time when the wild frontier was new and every day was a struggle to survive.
The story revolves around Lana Cooper, a young girl in the wilds of Texas. Who finds herself smitten by a young Kiowa warrior. You will certainly find yourself enthralled as you follow her struggle to come to terms with her heart. Though her mind tells her to conform to the wishes of her parents, and to marry a solider in the U.S. army.
Once you read this novel. You will want to pick up more of Magnolia's work. I for sure am looking forward to her next installment in this series that is sure to be a hit.
Shawn Weaver - Author, Dragon's Chest

In Ton Ma by Magnolia Belle the reader is taken on a romantic adventure dating back to the 1800's. We meet Lana, a seventeen year old girl, who proves to be brave beyond her years when she stands her ground against a Kiowa brave. The encounter sets the tone of her novel which is between foreigner and the native, between woman and man, between fear and bravery. Magnolia Belle elegantly describes the two separate groups of people with images of the Kiowa in braids of fur and mexican silver and the foreigners from a simple, but hard working background which leaves them exhausted in mind and body.

We learn that Ton Ma means water woman which is where Two Hawks, the Kiowa, first saw Lana. As romance blossoms between the two unlikely strangers, the tensions between the two families intensifies and the differences between two cultures could strain their attraction. Magnolia Belle paints the picture of their love and struggles beautifully with historical details and sincere feeling. Her words evoke passion and while the world is against them, the reader will find him or herself cheering for the two characters.

Beyond the families, Magnolia Belle explores further jealousies and pains felt by some of the Kiowa tribe because of Two Hawks attraction to a foreigner and when Corn Flower gets her chance, she declares with words and fists her detest of Lana. When Lt. O' Connell arrives the threat between the two characters widens and the story twists into a unpredictable moment when the Apache appear. But as Two Hawks rescues the woman he loves, the Lt. O' Connell proves to be a valuable acquaintance. But will the rescue of a foreigner create a chasm between the Kiowa and Apache who were friendly tribes with each other?

Complexities mount when the reality of Native living washes upon Lana's life and she is faced with questions of Two Hawks hunting behavior and her own survival if she marries him. Love and life are often at different ends of the spectrum and if she choses love, will she have life and if she choses life, will she ever have love? Magnolia Belle uses this dilemma intelligently interwoven into the two lives of these two once strangers from different worlds with the biases of Lana's family and the attentions of the Lt. O' Connell while exploring the disparate cultures of the two main characters.

As the climatic ending approaches, the resolution is found through a series of events soaked in truths, sorrows, pains, and poetic clarity which finally leads Lana to finding where her life is meant to take her and who she is meant to love. I enjoyed this original novel about Native Indians and the foreigners they encountered while educating myself in their rich history and the passionate romances.

Reviewed by: Ami R Blackweler
March 4, 2010

It is after the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Set in Texas. It is the love story of Lana Cooper and Two Hawks, a young Kiowa warrior.

What I really like about the book is that the then social custom, cultures are carefully woven within the fabric of the story. The author finds a way to subtly inform the reader about the socio-economic-political sentiments between the different Native American tribes and the early European settlers.

Magnolia Belle also brilliantly portrays and raises our awareness as to how similar and better Kiowa social structure is compared to that of the early European settlers like Lt. Liam O'Connell's family. Lana Cooper mentions "...unlike my mother, Kiowa wives own their own homes and property....that's how the power is balanced out." The author also informs us that "even woman who had been rescued from capture found re-entry into society difficult because of the prejudice of the time." Readers also learn, as Lana rationalizes, that "one sold slaves in Mexico and other in the eastern seaboard. Both did it for commerce." Lana concludes in regards to widows that "at least Kiowa solution showed compassion."

What is even more enjoyable is that the book is so easy to read. The plot twists and turns, therefore will hold the readers attention to the end.

I was given this book to review and I am glad I read it because I am much more informed about the then society and culture.

From the dizzying pace of the music industry in her first book, Lakota Man, to the isolated Texas prairie in her new book, T'on Ma, Magnolia Belle makes the transition in amazing style. The story not only encompasses the social situations found in the early settler years in the west, it opens the door to the traditions and life styles of the Native Americans who also lived in the area. The characters are well defined and story moves with enough twists and turns to keep your interest. I can't decide which I'm looking forward to more, a sequel to her first book or her newest endeavor. The characters are more like friends,neighbors, and family; you are left wondering where their futures take them.

This latest offering in Ms. Belle's repertoire is a highly enjoyable read. You will find yourself easily transported back to the days when families were risking their lives on the prairies of our vast, unclaimed lands to lay claim to it for themselves with promises of a new life. You will easily be swept up into the emotional and physical struggles of these characters. You will feel their heartaches, and trumpet their joys. Ms. Belle has reclaimed the American West for her readers. Bravo!

This is a magnificent story about love and two cultures. T'on Ma takes you on a journey back in history around the time of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) in Texas where two completely different cultures collide. The story allows you to get lost in time and follow the lives of the Native American tribe Kiowa (see [...] for more info on the Kiowa) and the settlers who lived their. T'on Ma means Water Woman. It is the name a Kiowa brave named Two Hawks gave to a white settler he encountered while bathing in a river. Her real name was Lana Cooper and he fell in love with her. This relationship was full of conflict between two families of different cultures and was an enormous strain. A very worthwhile story with great human value.

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This is a historical-fiction love story set in the 1850s, when the pioneers were settling the Texas frontier and the Plains Native American tribes were beginning to resist the white encroachment on their territory. Lana Cooper (T'on Ma), a young, headstrong pioneer woman settling a farm with her family, meets Two Hawks (Yi Centas), a Kiowa warrior. Against their families' wishes, they fall passionately in love, and both are determined that whatever the odds, they will be together. However, fate intervenes in several plot twists and turns, and Lana marries another man, a white soldier stationed at Ft. Worth. Both young lovers grieve tremendously at the loss of their love and attempt to move on with their lives, but they inevitably discover that they cannot forget each other. A final twist at the end brings them together again, and sets the stage for the sequel, Kuy Syan Joshua. There is no great undiscovered territory here, but Belle's story is fast-paced, easy-to-read and very enjoyable.

This was my first book by Magnolia Belle. I couldn't put it down. I loved all the characters in this book. I felt Lana's torment for her love for both men and her family. The decisions she had to make given the circumstances she had to deal with. I was amazed by the historical references in this book. I actually learned a little as well as enjoying a wonderful love story. I can't wait to start the next book.

well written, pioneer coming-of-age story. A little romance, a girl who was ahead of her time in her belief that it should be love that dictates who you marry, as opposed to what social class you fall into. The author provides a fairly realistic feeling of that era, with a unique twist.

I'm not going into detail about the story as others have already outlined what the book is about. All I can say is that Magnolia Belle is an excellent story teller. I loved the Characters, setting and pace of the story. I am reminded of the book "Romona" except with a happy ending.