Customer Reviews

Wind Dancer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So quite by accident, I've just finished my first `christian historical romance.' Faith-based novels are not my thing, but I was intrigued to see a romance set during the American Revolution. I confess, I had visions of a buckskin clad Daniel Day-Lewis from "The Last of the Mohicans" charging through the forest, and this book is surprisingly close to what I had in mind.

For my fellow romance fans who share my ignorance about christian fiction, I need to state up front that this book is `clean,' meaning there is no hot and heavy action. It reminds me of a well-written Jane Austen novel, with a heavy dose of spirituality mixed in.

I had a hard time believing that anyone like Isabelle existed during this time and place. It's not that I didn't appreciate her wild child ways, but she seemed almost unbalanced in her reasoning for someone born in such dangerous times. Would a frontier mother really let her virginal 19 year-old daughter take a month-long journey with an unknown Indian guide and her younger brother? The atrocities that befall them are hardly surprising, and frankly, it's amazing to me that Isabelle gets out of this unscathed.

I think my only criticism is with the one-sided portrayal of the Native Indians as the villains. The story lacked balance because all of the settlers were good-hearted people, and the Indians were murdering fiends. Good and evil exists in all peoples, and I wish we'd seen more to represent that balance on both sides.

Wind Dancer by Jamie Carie is a sexy, but faithful historical romance. Isabelle Renoir was raised unusually in Colonial America. She knows how to fire a rifle, loves the outdoors, and refuses to conform to society's expectations of her. On a trek through the wilderness on a mission from her priest with her brother and an Indian guide, she encounters American spy Samuel Holt who uses Isabelle as cover for his reconnaissance. Sparks quickly fly between the two as they travel together, but their lives are turned upside down when they are captured by Shawnee Indians who adopt them into their tribe. Both Isabelle and Samuel's skills and their love for each other are put to the test. Carie takes all of the standard ingredients in a historical romance: fiery heroine, mysterious hero, extreme circumstances and makes them stand above the rest of the genre. Isabelle has an amazing, wild kind of faith in God that makes even the Shawnee stand up and take notice. Isabelle is a wonderful heroine; she's assertive without being aggressive, her faith is beautiful, and her strong will makes her a true woman of God. Carie left a few loose ends at the end of this book; I hope she writes a sequel with more about little Belle and Isabelle's mother Hope.

That You Cannot Imagine - Isabelle Renoir! I have never read such a passionately written novel! Wind Dancer is a book with characters that leap from the pages and reach into the deepest recesses of your heart and mind! Isabelle Renoir is such a wild and rugged worshipper before her God that my own faith longed to dance before the Lord in the moonlight! I held my breath with Samuel Holt as he crept through the forest stalking his prey! Truly, Jamie Carie has created a novel with such strong, vibrant characters that you will feel their every joy, their crushing pain, their glorious praise!

Set amid the rugged American frontier, Wind Dancer was my introduction to Jamie Carie's work. I am still reeling from the pure satisfaction of this novel! She brought pre-Revolutionary War America and its vast frontiers to life vividly and completely. I was transported in every sense! Jamie took my heart and mind from the fierce patriotism of the new Americans to the wild savagery of the Shawnee with seamless ease! I still shudder to recall the attack in the frontier home and the running of the gauntlet!

The truest joy to me was this wonderful, vibrant true-faith of the characters - especially Hope and Isabelle - so gloriously and naturally interwoven throughout the story. Truly, God is I AM for all of us today just as He was in the hearts of those who forges our nation so many years ago! And the romance!! Dear Reader, there are scenes in this book that will leave you breathless! Wind Dancer encapsulates the best of everything a book should be!

Jamie Carie, Wind Dancer is a jewel in your crown! I will eagerly await your stories and highly recommend them as long as God gives you words to write! Wind Dancer reflects the deep love you have for the Giver of all stories, and reflects that love with wild abandon! Truly, this is a story not to be missed - to be savored and shared! What a terrific way to begin a new year of reading!!

I am becoming more of a fan with every book of Jamie Carie's that I read. This one is even better than her last story! I was enthralled.

Wind Dancer is a pulse-pounding, heart-engaging novel that is hard to put down. In fact, I read it in less than two days. As the reader, you are in the world the author created, and you are part of the characters' lives. You are attacked when they are attacked. You are captive and feel helpless when they are bound with seemingly no way out.

The most powerful scene is when Isabella's brother is tortured and the heroine, Isabella, has to watch. I cannot understand the intense emotions she went through, but the author did a great job at helping you see how someone could almost become crazy with grief. And forgiveness? I can't imagine a time when it would be more difficult to do.

The author sets up an incredible stage for showing the struggle this creates for someone who loves God and longs to serve him, yet comes face to face with indescribable evil and the need to survive. Wind Dancer was full of passion, just like all of Jamie Carie's novels are. I've come to expect this with her stories and thusfar I've been pleased with everything she writes. I particularly enjoyed the "pretend marriage" scenario the hero put them in and how that all played out. What fun!

Few female authors are able to describe the horrors of living in that time period as well as Carie does and it's an incredible experience to read it. You will not be able to put this book down, and the story will stick with you after you close the book. I SO love stories that make me care. And unlike many "strong heroines," Isabella was more likeable than most. The author did a great job with her characterization. I highly recommend this book.

Wind Dancer is a romance novel set during the American Revolution and is a gripping tale of unusual circumstances that join two strangers.

Jamie Carie created characters that make for entertaining reading and a story that keeps you turning pages. Isabelle can match the ability of most men and is more at home in the timber hunting than in the kitchen cooking the kill. Just as Isabelle is not the typical woman, Julian, her younger brother, is not the typical young man. He enjoys writing poetry over hunting and music over physical labor. Then there is Samuel; strong, unbridled and who most Indians would love to scalp.

Isabelle and Julian are asked to travel to another town for their pastor. They set off, unaware that this trip will forever alter their lives. Along the path Isabelle and Julian meet an American spy, Samuel Holt. The three travel together and their lives remain intertwined forevermore. Their journey turns dangerous, even deadly when they encounter Indians who hold them captive.

Through the dangers, uncertainty and hopelessness of the situation, Isabelle also faces spiritual battles that eventually strengthen her and bring her peace. All the while she clings to the hope of a relationship with Samuel Holt. I enjoyed the spiritual element in Isabelle's life. As a result of the trials and major life changing situations throughout the book, she developed a deeper relationship with her Lord and found her identity in Him.

Two nitpicks for Wind Dancer: the graphic violence in a few scenes and a couple of far-fetched dreams. First, I was taken aback by the detailed battle scenes. I was caught up in the developing love story and caught off guard when I got to violent scenes. The overall story would not be compromised with a more general, non-descript approach to the battles and aftermath.

Second, Samuel has dreams of the future and what America will be like once a free country. What Carie describes in one dream is a country full of big cities with sky scrapers. In another dream you can only assume Samuel is envisioning the Statue of Liberty. It seems unlikely a person in that era could imagine such a time as this and such a gift as Lady Liberty. These passages came across as cheesy.

Wind Dancer is a good read. For those who enjoy romance with flare, read Wind Dancer for the love story. For those who like war stories from another era, read Wind Dancer for the history. For those who desire lots of action, Wind Dancer is a page turner.

Isabelle Renoir's heart and soul have always beaten to a different drum, setting her apart from the other young women in the British held frontier town of Vincennes.

Passionate, charismatic and impetuous, Isabelle handles a long rifle with ease and prefers to spend her time in the nearby forest, singing and dancing her praises to God. With the flamboyancy of her French father and the grounding of her British mother's devotion and faith, Isabelle hopes she can find God's plan for her life.

Named the Glorious One by the Indian tribes, as much for his stealth and formidable fighting skills as his long blonde hair, American spy Samuel Holt's restless spirit thrives on the risks he takes for his people.

The chance meeting of these two unconventional souls brings about a deep connection that will be tested to its limits as they are seized and held captive by the Shawnee, and Sunukkuhkaua, a man intent on making Isabelle his bride.

Jamie Carie claims Wind Dancer is her most intense novel to date and she is spot on! Set against the backdrop of the impending birth of a nation and filled with fascinating historical events, Jamie showcases her talent with the written word and her innate ability to craft potent and magnetic characters that immerse the reader in their lives. Isabelle's boldness, free spirited behaviour and her ability to worship God with abandon is both confronting and joyous to read. Samuel is a true hero of the times but battles his own demons and choices from his past. Wind Dancer will sweep you away from the mundane, engage your heart, mind and spirit and leave you sighing with delight. Jamie Carie is now no longer simply an author to watch, she has proven herself as one to follow.

Wind Dancer is a dramatic, pulse-pounding tale woven on the frontier of the American Revolution. I didn't have time to read this book, but it absolutely pulled me in. I couldn't wait to return and read more. Isabelle Renoir and her brother travel across the frontier on a mission to collect books for a priest. What should be a relatively "simple" trip turns into much more. Isabelle meets the a scout who can match her spark for spark.

This book is beautifully written with a plot that twists and turns. It has a romance that seems star-crossed yet had me absolutely rooting for the characters even when it looked like there was absolutely no way we could the pair would get together. And the spiritual thread is directed at the reader's heart in a way that is far from preachy because it is so intricately woven into the plot.

If you like historical romance and want one that is set in a fresh time period and place by an author who can take you there, this is one to buy and read over and over.

I love Jamie Carie's books. Just love them. She goes into such great detail with the historical facts and that really sets a book off.
Isabelle REnoir was a strong woman, no mistake, but she loved to worship the Lord.
I loved the historical aspects of this book because I am a history buff.
It's wonderful to see all the different emotions that go through her characters' minds and how they submit in the end to God's will.
I have corresponded by e mail with this author and she is just a darling woman.
I can't wait for the next one.

I was amazed this author took some of the same scenes from the popular movie and put them in her book. I'm sure some real customs were the same, but, geez, be a little original.

And poor George Rogers Clark. He was a real person and heroic during the Revolution, to be sure, but his later life was anything but. He suffered greatly.

I agree with another reviewer about fight scenes. They were too gruesome and there were too many deaths to make this an enjoyable book.

And it was like reading a history book rather than a novel. I love American History but there was WAY too much history instead of a story.

Samuel and Isabelle were great, he was pretty sexy and she was just adorable, but they weren't enough to save this story.

Wind Dancer is a captivating book that held my attention from beginning to end. I liked the historical tie in that brought the story to real life. As a Christian novelist Jamie did an excellent job of bringing in spiritual applications to Isabelle's struggles. While entertaining there were still times the story brought conviction as well.