Customer Reviews

Warrior's Heart (Zebra Historical Romance)

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

 

 

There is a lot to like about this book. I like the fact that Emma has a half-breed child from a long ago rape and she keeps her child and lets him know how much he's loved.

I like the fact that Emma doesn't whine about things that need to be done - she just does them.

I like the fact that Rider is an outcast in both his Shoshoni world and in the white world. It gives him a certain edge, I think.

However, there's a lot to not like about this one, too. I would have preferred that Emma not have been raped. Her son could have been written in differently - ie she's raising her sister' son, she thought she loved the man who fathered the boy, etc. Being the child of a rape has got to be hard on a child.Yet, the son says nothing or does nothing about why his skin tone was so much more different than his parents.

I disliked the fact that while she was sleeping with Rider, she tried to get the Lt. from the army outpost to propose to her.

I disliked the cavalier way Rider went about securing Emma as his bed partner on the wagon trail.

I also disliked that absolute flatness of every other character on the wagon trail. As a reader, you didn't care one iota if any of them lived, died, or made it to Oregon or not.

This wasn't a bad book and yet, it could have been done so much better. My recommendation? Buy it used or borrow it from a friend.

Emma Trent desperately wants to join the wagon train heading for Oregon so she can start a new life. She put all of her money into a wagon and supplies so she needs to go. The other members of the wagon train don't want to let her go because she has a big black mark against her - she has a half-breed child as a result of rape from a Cheyenne Indian.

Rider is a half-breed with a Shoshoni mother and white father. He is a gunslinger wanted for murder by both the whites and his Shoshoni tribe. On the run from bounty hunters, he rides through town as Emma and the wagon train are getting read to head out. When the wagon train leader dies unexpectedly, Rider decides to lead them himself to hide from the bounty hunters and pursue Emma, who he wants as soon as he sees her. Rider makes the wagon train take Emma with them but he does this with the intention of sleeping with her rather than helping her out.

Out on the trail, the misfits who make up the wagon train are nothing but trouble. Most of the families were rejected from other trains because they are running from the law or not prepared for the hardships on the trip. Emma Trent is constantly surprising Rider with her courage and determination. When he sees her half-breed child, he sees this as confirmation that she will easily fall in bed with him since she obviously had lain with another Indian. Rider has a few surprises in store when Emma rejects him as she is terrified of men after being raped.

The more time Rider spends with Emma, the more he becomes a decent person. The hard, cold gunslinger finds himself caring about Emma and her son Josh. Emma and Rider start to care more for each other as they battle each other, the other people in the wagon train and watch out for Indians. Emma starts to think Rider might be a decent man and they give into the passion between them to share some hot nights along the trail. But when the train reaches Oregon will he ride on or will he stay with her?

This book is a very good adventure historical romance that takes the reader along with travelers on the Oregon trail. Emma is a heroine to root for, she survives hard times and rape but still remains a caring and giving person. She wants to go to Oregon to have a better life for her son with less prejudice against his Indian blood. Rider starts out as the type of bad boy that you can see his potential to be a better person but life has hardened him into a selfish, cynical man. It takes the love and caring of the couragous Emma to make him into a better man. I enjoyed the passion Rider and Emma had for each other, it was nice seeing two lonely souls find someone to love.

I enjoyed this book because it was believable. It is the story of a young woman named Emma and her son (whom she conceived through a violent rape by a Indian warrior). It is about time an author writes history as it really was. Yes, there were many many children from rape all through history. What is so beautiful is she loves her son and bares no resentment. She is moving to Oregon in hopes that the settlement will accept her child of mixed blood. The author shows many examples of how cruel racist whites were to half breeds, another issue I am glad she brought to the table.
Emma falls in love with Rider, a Shoshone, who is her wagon master. He is rough and raw and the author writes him vividly as a true man. He has flaws, a huge sexual appetite, and somewhat selfish. He is a believable character which makes the story seemed real.
I admire Emma and how she did not hate all Indians for just what one did. I also like the fact that there is finally a romance about a woman who is not a virgin full of silly ideas.

It was one of those "hard to put down" books. Read it in 2 days.
The only complaint I have is that I wish there had been a little more detail and thus a longer book. Would love to read a follow up on Rider and Emma, and maybe another one on Josh.

I have never agreed with anyone as much as I agree with the reviewer from Arkansas. This author used to be one of my favorites, but this book wouldn't have a chance at being published by an unknown. I have about 50 pages left, but I'm tempted to stop reading. I've gotton to the point where I roll my eyes everytime the same phrase or thought keeps getting repeated. Most of the time, I don't even like Rider and Emma (the hero and heroine of this story), and that makes it VERY hard to get into the story. Apparently, this author has gotten so popular, that her editors no longer even look at her stuff, which is a pity. They could have shaved about 50 pages of repeated junk. Emma tells Rider that she loves him three times within the span of a few pages, and then thinks to herself "She loved this man, she knew it now, though she didn't speak the words, knowing he feared commitment." ?????? It was as if she wrote a few pages at a time, then went back weeks or months later and finished the chapter, not bothering to go back and see what was written. A shame, really, since I know how good her writing can be.

I have to admit that I started reading this book once before and I couldnt get into it,BUT a few months later I thought I should give it another chance. I regret putting the book down the first time I attempted to read it. I truely enjoyed reading of Rider, Emma and Josh. The way Rider was always there when she needed him. She put up a fight at first but her feelings for Rider just got stronger. I pratically did no work at my job, I just couldnt put the book down. I give this book 5 stars. I agree with one of the reviewers, I would love to read up on Josh as a grown man. Him being Cheyenne but raised as Shoshoni. I think it would be interesting.

I love books on wagon trains.Had trouble putting this book down! Read it in two days.I have read other Georgina Gentry books before and was pretty familiar with her writing. I like the characters in this book, and the way the plot played out.If you purchase this book, you won't be wasting your money. I hope she writes a book in the future on Josh. That should be interesting!! Keep up the good work!

The plot is definitely there, but I was not enthralled by the writing style. Too many things were repeated. Phrases, thoughts, cliches, and subplots. I got the feeling that this story was written quickly with very little reworking for clarity. Beyond that, the story was enjoyable, if not predictable. It just requires that you look past all the redundancies.

I have to agree with some of the others, this book was far from Georgina Gentry's better works. Although I liked the heroine, Emma, I could not feel the same way for the hero, Rider. I found him obnoxious and down-right disgusting at times. I never felt like I was reading a real love story. Had this not been by one of my favorite authors, I would have not finished it. The secondary characters were also obnoxious and rude and I could not find anything to like about them. I have read almost all of Ms. Gentry's books and this one is at the bottom of the list. It definitely is NOT a keeper!

I at first liked this book as it went into how Emma and Rider first met but after a few more chapters this book really fell flat where her other books flew. I really did not like how Rider treated Emma as I got further into the book. He's supposed to be falling in love with her but to me it seemed as though all he ever really wanted was sex, I mean thats the only reason why she was allowed on the wagon train to begin with because he was "allowed" by the others on the train to take his pleasure with her. I mean he tries to rape her twice in the book. He is rude, obnoxious and doesn't even take Emma's feelings in to consideration. I also think that Josh's character isn't written deeply enough he could have brought a lot more to the story but Gentry only touches on him breifly using him as a bridge to get Rider and Emma together. He is such an intresting character but is made to be so shallow and unimportant. I hope like many others that their is a book written about him when he is older which will bring more depth and emotion to his character and also show his feelings on what it is like to be a product of rape and maybe him finding out about his Cheynnne roots. All in all I give this story only two stars because it's plot was not well thought out but its characters were somewhat intresting and the love scenes once consentuial were well written. I only hope if a sequel for Josh is written that it will have more depth and its characters will be better behaved and have more morals.