Kidnapped by her husband’s killers, this pioneering woman is forced to marry one of her abductors. Can love blossom between two avowed enemies? Maria Holloway is a captive.Abducted by Lakota, and forced to live with the people who killed her husband, the pioneering woman refuses to give up hope that one day she’ll be saved.Far from civilization, and everyone she knows and loves, she’s given in … she knows and loves, she’s given in marriage to a Lakota warrior. Full of bitterness and despair, she turns to God for help, wondering if even He has abandoned her. She tries to escape, but is returned her enemy over and over again.
Bodaway is angry and alone. His wife died and left him to raise three young children on his own. With no plans to remarry, he prefers to lead a solitary life, keeping to himself. That is, until Maria Holloway is thrust into village life.
Suddenly, he finds himself saddled with a new wife, one he never wanted. He doesn’t know what to do with her, or how to act. And feels like a stranger in his own home. But when tragedy strikes, and he thinks she is lost to him forever, his true feelings come flooding to the surface.
Can love blossom between two avowed enemies?
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Forsaking All Others
One imagines the horrors suffered by settlers attacked by wild, rampaging Indians (alternatively, peaceful tribesmen defending their homesteads against evil, greedy, white-skinned devils who denuded the landscape, destroyed the environment, and wiped out the local flora and fauna with abandon while slaughtering the innocent prior inhabitants of the land). Okay, that just slipped out, but rather presents the extremes of thought extant both then and now regarding the (largely European) takeover of the Americas. (And don’t get your shorts in a twist over that name! He was a well-respected cartographer.)
And yet that does set the stage for the horror Maria felt as she watched her husband and others in the wagon train headed for Cutter’s Creek attacked and slaughtered before she was taken captive and brought to an Indian village. What is beautifully brought out in this story is not just that captives were NOT universally mistreated but were often integrated into the tribe to the extent they allowed. Language and lifestyle differences notwithstanding, if you think of the life of a plainswoman, hauling water and wood, scrubbing clothes in the creek, manually gardening (no rototillers!), cleaning, living a hardscrabble existance, and then compare and contrast with what a women in a native tribe would have been doing–gee, it is more compare than contrast, isn’t it? Yes, the wealthier townies back East might have had indoor water (but chamberpots and outdoor privies would still have been the norm) and servants handling the more arduous chores, but I suspect for most women the physical requirements would have been about the same.
With all this as background, I commend author Vivi Holt for her obviously meticulous attention to detail and attempt to present fairly the existing conditions which form the setting for this love story. As narrated by Paul Curtis, one is swept into the mind and thoughts of our heroine as she fights to preserve her sense of self in the midst of the bewildering and drastic changes in her life.
This story is part of the Cutter’s Creek Series. This is a sweet Historical Romance. Maria is a really strong character. Bodaway is strong and protective. I like how they learn to know each other. The little ones are so cute! The storyline is filled with twists and turns. The ending is beautiful. Paul Curtis did a good job with the narration.
Maria Holloway and her husband, Fred, are travelling by wagon train to Cutter’s Creek. Before they can reach their destination, a Lakota raiding party attacks, killing Fred and taking Maria captive.
Maria is a fighter and instead of giving up, she quickly learns to adapt to her situation. All she wants to do is go home, but where exactly is home? Her husband is dead, nothing is waiting for her in Cutter’s Creek and her parents are still in England.
When the Chief’s son, Bodaway, claims her as his wife, she doesn’t know what to expect. Is she to be his slave or just someone to take care of his three young children? Maria starts to have feelings for Boda, but she should hate him for the murder of her husband. Bodaway is still grieving for his wife and has no desire to fall for another woman, especially a white captive. Will they be able to give in to their feelings or will their differences keep them from the love they both want?
Ms. Holt writes wonderfully romantic stories, full of faith, turmoil, romance, and emotion. The characters are well written, the story is fast paced, and there is enough humor to add to the enjoyment of the book.
The narrator does a great job and adds a lot to the listening enjoyment of the book. All of the Cutter’s Creek books are standalone, but are tied together through the characters. If you love historical romance with a HEA ending, give this one a chance. You won’t be disappointed!
4 stars
I purchased the novella Cutter’s Creek Book 18:Captivated by Vivi Holt and this review was given freely.
The story of Maria Holloway’s capture by the Lakota tribe and second chance at love with warrior and single father Bodaway is a poignant one. This complex story expresses both the kind and killer/reactive sides of the Native tribes, Maria’s integration into the tribe, the consequences of a interracial baby, and the difficulty trying to re-assimilate into the “White” world.