Valley of Dreams (Wild West Wind) [Paperback]

Lauraine Snelling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2011 | Series: Wild West Wind (Book 1)

Exciting New Series by Beloved Author Lauraine Snelling

Addy Lockwood's mother died when she was little, so Addy traveled with her father's Wild West Show and became an amazingly skillful trick rider, likened by some to the famous Annie Oakley. When her father died, she continued to work with the show, having nowhere else to go.

Now Addy has discovered that "Uncle" Jason, the show's manager, has driven the show into debt, and he's absconded with what little money was left. Devastated, Addy decides to try to find the hidden valley where here father had dreamed of putting down roots. She has only one clue. She needs to find three huge stones that look like fingers raised in a giant hand. With Chief, a Sioux Indian who's been with the show for twenty years, and Micah, the head wrangler, she leaves both the show and a bundle of heartache behind and begins a wild and daring adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The feeling was stronger that afternoon, an almost palpable miasma. Something was wrong--but what?

Wearing her red-fringed skirt and white shirt, Cassie Lockwood studied the performers of the Lockwood and Talbot Wild West Show as they lined up for the opening parade around the wide open arena. The United States flag snapped in the breeze above the uniformed riders waiting for the big wooden gates to swing open. She glanced down at the scruffy dog sitting placidly by Wind Dancer's right knee. If Othello wasn't picking up on it, then surely the feeling was only in her head. He scented trouble faster than he did birds.

Ignore it, her mind commanded. Concentrate on the parade and getting through this performance. She went through this ritual before every act--butterflies vaulting in her middle, her mouth as dry as a desert. At least she'd progressed to the point that her hands no longer shook. Her father had said he always thought of his valley, and that calmed him down. But she'd never been there. All those years he'd promised they would go to the valley in the Black Hills of South Dakota. But he died before he was able to keep the promise. So she'd promised him she'd go there herself. Were deathbed promises breakable? The thought clenched her throat. Think on something else. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

WILD WEST WIND--EXCITING New Series from Bestselling Author Lauraine Snelling

When Cassie Lockwood's mother died, Cassie began travelling with her father's Wild West Show. Along the way, she became an amazingly skillful trick rider and sharpshooter, likened by some to the famous Annie Oakley. When her father passed away, she continued to work with the show, having nowhere else to go.

Now Cassie has discovered that "Uncle" Jason, the show's manager, has driven the show into debt, and he's absconded with what little money was left. Devastated, Cassie decides to try to find the hidden valley in the Black Hills of South Dakota where her father had dreamed of setting down roots. She has only one clue. She needs to find three huge stones that look like fingers on a giant hand. With Chief, a Sioux Indian who's been with the act for twenty years, and Micah, the head wrangler, she leaves the show and a bundle of heartache behind and begins a wild and daring adventure.

Will they find the valley before winter closes in on them?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764204157
• ISBN-13: 978-0764204159
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lauraine Snelling, an award-winning author of fifty-plus books with sales of over 2 million copies, also writes for a wide range of magazines and teaches at writers' conferences across the country. She and her husband make their home in Tehachapi, California.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#91 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#91 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ... contination series May 6, 2012

By Susan K. Edwards

Format:Paperback

This book was a hard one for me to rate ... I waivered between a 3 & a 4 .. still am not 100% sure which I should have given it .. however, as I really want to read the next book in the series and I felt it really started getting good toward the end .. it would not have been fair to give it a 3 .. therefore by 4 star rating.

It starts out with Cassie realizing her whole life is being turned upside down as her late father's partner has let the Wild West Show that she has been traveling and performing with most of her life go into ruins (without her realizing it). So, there she is with this gypsy style wagon, her trick horse and trick dog, a buffalo that is now too old for much of anything and a a few longhorns that decide to tag along. With her motely crew ... 2 of her friends decide to join her ... one being an old Indian Chief, and another. Along the way they pick up a seriously injured Indian woman, nurse her back to health and they all head out without much money, or experience. Cassie knows that her father had a dream of owning land in a valley somewhere and is delighted when she comes across the deed to that land to ... can she manage to find it and make his dream come true?

Then there is Ransom, his younger brother, Lucas, Gretchen is his sister and his mother Mavis ... they are struggling to keep their ranch afloat after his father has passed away. Ransom is a hard worker, Lucas seems like more a dreamer, Gretchen seems fairly grown up for her age, and Marvis a warm and loving strong woman.

As this story goes along you might wonder where, how and certainly when will these two seemingly two stories come together. I have to admit ... I figured out part of it fairly early on .. then there was that fateful twist that I surprised me at the end .. so now, I can hardly wait until August when the next book in the series comes out so I can read what happens next.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Characters July 20, 2012

By K. Bucholtz

Format:Paperback

When I read the back cover copy for Valley of Dreams, I was intrigued. A story about a young girl in a Wild West Show who is a trick rider and sharpshooter? That's my kind of story! But the publisher didn't word the back cover very well - the Wild West Show part is only in the first couple of chapters. Then it's a book about a girl, Cassie, who knows nothing outside of life in the show who has to hit the road and find the valley her father bought long before Cassie was born.

Once I got over my disappointment that there was going to be no trick riding in the rest of the book, I became interested in the "road trip" aspect of the story. Cassie and her little band of travelers are a quirky bunch, from a buffalo named George to an Indian woman who is confused about why Cassie asks what her dog's name is - it's Dog. It was interesting to see how Cassie reacted to one new experience after another, growing up even more on this trip. Then there is the other story woven in, another family that you get to know and root for. I spent the last third of the book wondering what would happen when the stories collided.

While I don't usually like endings that don't wrap things up but are prompts to get you to read the next book, this ending did indeed make me wonder what will happen next. (This is the first book in the Wild West Wind series.) If you like Lauraine's other historical fiction, you'll probably like Valley of Dreams.

(Note: I was given a copy of the book in return for an honest review.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great descriptions December 26, 2011

By Faye

Format:Paperback

Once the star of a Wild West show, Cassie Lockwood is determined to carry on to her father's Valley of Dreams, after the disbandment of the show. So with the help of an elderly Native American and her friend Micah they make theri way through North Dakota and into the Black Hills of South Dakota, to the Valley of Dreams.

This book was more of a character development and backstory book, introducing us to the characters that we will see later on it the series. It was slow moving at times and there just didn't seem to be enough story for the whole book. I needed more of a story to draw me in.

The characters' were likable and well developed. Though, I really wanted more of a story. I think the next book will have more going on, because there's definitely some foreshadowing going on!

Overall, this was not my favorite by this author and it was hard to get into. But the imagery was good, and the characters were well done, though I would have loved to see more emotional depth from them. I really was hoping for more depth, but in the end this book serves as a sturdy set up to the books to come.

Final Rating: 3.3 out of 5

I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review, which I have done my best to express here :) Thank you.