White Dawn

White #1

by Susan Edwards

Finding herself in the care of a rugged trapper after her lover abandons her, Emily Ambrose, vowing never to love again, soon finds herself powerfully attracted to the sexy mountain man who has pledged his devotion and protection to her, helping her to once again open her heart to the possibilities of love and passion. Original.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Westerns

Paperback

First published March 28, 1996

About the author

I love animals. I have 5 cats, ages 12, 12, 11, 2,& 2. I also have 2 adorable Chiweenie pups named JJ and Abbey.

The 4 youngsters in the pet department make me smile, laugh and sometimes groan each and every day. Recently, I got temporary (ha!) custody of my daughter’s 3 year old, Great Pyrenese named Shasta. We've bonded, especially her to me, so what do you think that means.... Seriously, she's a special needs dog and very sweet.

Each spring, we have a nest of swallows in our entry way and I love to watch the babies leave the nest and take flight.

I enjoy crafts of all sorts including quilting, sewing, cross stitch and knitting. Knitting and crochet are my current passions.

I also enjoy gardening. Through my love of all things Native American, I designed a 26 foot Medicine Wheel Garden. It is a big project but one that I enjoys, except when the weeds threaten. Right now its uncertain who is winning this war.

Camping, fishing, biking and hiking (when not hot) are other outdoor pursuits I enjoy with my husband of 35 years.

I am, of course, an avid reader. I hate cooking and housework and love to listen to a wide variety of music, including Neil Diamond, Celtic, Native American, Classical, and mood music (bagpipes and howling wolves drive my family nuts). My current favorites are Blackmore's Night and David Lantz

I love to hear from my readers and I try to answer all my mail but sometimes it takes a while. Be patient. And check back here for the latest news of my books.

Bio

Native American/Western romance writer Susan Edwards is the author of the popular “White” Series. She was nomination for Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Western Historical and Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award.

She is very pleased to be able to offer to her readers her White series in Digital Format. Her SpiritWalker series is also becoming available in digital format starting Summer 2013. Susan is also working on a new White book, a reunion of characters that she hopes will be available December 2013.

Contact Susan at:
http://susanedwards.com or email her at: susan@susanedwards.com

Follow Susan at her various social media outlets.

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/susanedwardsauth
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/susan_edwards
Blog: http://susanedwards.wordpress.com/

Reviews

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Territory of Michigan, 1810
Late spring

“Satan’s spawn!”

The harsh bellow shattered the early-afternoon peace, startling Emily Ambrose. Her hands froze in midwring as her gaze flew from the pile of laundry to her father, a tall, rail-thin man with a wild mane of ash-brown hair. The tails of his overcoat flapped angrily behind him as he marched down the bank with a Bible in one hand and a whip-thin switch tucked beneath his arm. He stopped less than a foot away from where she knelt in the shallow water.

Emily Ambrose lived in fear of her Christian missionary father’s wrath and no matter what she did, she just couldn’t please him. It had never taken much to set him off, but when she was nearly raped by a Jesuit priest, and then blamed for tempting the “man of God,” beyond endurance, her father, mother and Emily left the mission that had been their home, disgraced. As far as Timothy was concerned, Emily was a nothing more than a sinner and he would allow no more shame to fall on the family because of her. He’d had all he could take, so he did the unthinkable – he left Emily, ‘satan’s spawn, the devil’s daughter,’ alone in the wilderness, for God to deal with, uncaring of whether she lived or died. Yes, well. I'm happy to say that God wasted no time and 'dealt' with all of them.

Historical Romance novels hold a special place in my heart, be they Medieval, Georgian, Victorian, Regency, Colonial or American West, but believe it or not, I hadn’t yet ventured into the world of Native American historicals. Now, granted, only a small portion of this book was devoted to the Native American theme, but thanks to Susan Edwards, I’ll most definitely be reading more!

Ms. Edwards' beautifully detailed descriptions of the cultures and landscapes, hardships and joys of life in the wilderness, captured both my heart and my imagination. I couldn’t help but admire Swift Foot, Emily and John as they found so much happiness in the smallest things, and through that happiness found the strength to not only survive, but to trust, to love, and to do the right thing, regardless of the cost to their hearts. They were hardworking, honorable and devoted, and I couldn’t help but love them.

The bottom line – While White Dawn wasn’t without its flaws, I really enjoyed this tenderly poignant, romantic and passionate story, and will definitely be reading the next book in the series!

Note: Originally published in paperback in 2002 as the seventh book in Ms. Edwards’ White series, White Dawn is actually, chronologically speaking, the first book series, and I would strongly encourage anyone considering these books to read it as such. I was happy to learn that this entire series is being re-released in ebook format by Carina Press, with the first four books – White Dawn, White Dusk, White Shadows and White Wind becoming available November 21, 2011.

This ebook was provided by netgalley.com in behalf of Carina Press.

3.5/5 stars

[Jacqueline J · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this better. The story idea was interesting but the writing was very flat and repetitive. The characters spent pages and pages and pages in introspection going over and over the same things especially towards the end. The sex scenes dragged on and were pages too long. There were too many of them also. They really added nothing to the story. They weren't integral to the plot. On the whole the writing felt as if the author was trying too hard.

In addition to the pedestrian writing the plot was barely there and wandered aimlessly around and what there was did not at all feel true to the social mores of the times. I really couldn't tell the book was taking place in 1810. The heroine spent a lot of time sleeping with a couple of guys at the drop of a hat. Then when she got knocked up she didn't want to marry the guy that asked her. Granted she had a reason but it would have been more realistic at the time to be petrified of being an unwed mother to a half breed baby. Women knew that they could not survive alone very well if at all without a man especially at that time and on the frontier. She would more likely have married the man without question and dealt with whatever situation resulted within the marriage. I think many people tend to forget just how recently that attitude has changed. And how recently it's been realistically viable that an unmarried woman could make it on her own especially an unwed mother. When I read historical fiction it isn't enough to say he's a mountain man and that she's handsewing a dress to make it realistically historical.

Then there was the whole bit of the plot with the hero's cousin who was such a loser and wanted everything handed to him on a silver platter and was determined to have the heroine. This was a BIG deal for a large portion of the book. The hero and heroine came up with this convoluted plot to sneak away from him and the bad guy set out in hot pursuit and was never seen from again. WTF?

Sorry but final advice is to skip it.

[Midalah Ballinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit that I have a soft spot for historical romances, particularly those set during the more “Wild West” times of American history. This is book one of a series of twelve all together, but this book stands well on its own.

You are immediately drawn into the struggle of Emily facing a missionary father who seems to have a grudge against women. Your heart aches for the things he says to her and you feel as if you are there with her as her journey begins, bringing her into John’s life. From there, you are entranced as a friendship grows between them and soon blossoms into love. One particular plot point was easily predictable from the get go, but it didn’t detract from the overall story. The love scenes in the book are very well written and give you just enough of a visual to feel the characters’ emotions without being too much at the same time.

If you are interested in a nice, leisurely read, I highly recommend “White Dawn”. I’m looking forward to reading the next three in the first set of four books in the series.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too Dark a Dawn for Me
She is sixteen and alone in a wilderness she can't survive. Her parents are dead, cut down right in front of her. It's 1810, and Emily Ambrose is terrified, grief-stricken, and broken. And then she is found by a young Indian, one who guides her, protects her, provides for her, makes love to her. But never speaks to her. Until he too, leaves her.

Emily doesn't know why. Or what she did that made him leave. She knows she loves him and is devastated by his loss, even if she never knew his name. She knows her hope and confidence, and any meager joy she had found since watching her parents slaughtered, is gone. Not even the gentle kindness of the trapper John Cartier, the man who finds her after even her Indian left her, is enough to convince Emily she has any worth at all, or any hope for a future too bleak to survive.

From the moment John stumbles upon Emily in the woods, she's like sunshine to him, a bright source of warmth and joy. He can tell she's deeply wounded, emotionally drained. Fortunately, John's a patient and caring man, and he sees Emily as just another wild, traumatized soul who needs help similar to that he's always given the creatures of the forest. He yearns for her, but he knows, beyond doubt, that unless she's given space, time, and gentle handling, the bright light that shines in her will go dark forever. And that's just not acceptable to John.

He wants a chance at a future with Emily. She is forever to him. He just needs to convince her.

~*~

Originally published in 2002, White Dawn has been re-released along with the other eleven books in Edwards' popular White series. Western Romance novels aren't my favorite type of historical, but I was curious about this one and wanted to see where the series began. I wish I'd liked it more.

My issues had nothing to do with how the book was written. It's certainly authentic for the time and the story is told with solid technical skill. There were some minor issues with a bit of repetition in some of the plot points, but that complaint was minor. The characters were nicely fleshed out, Emily's backstory intensely sympathetic, and John's past well-defined.

Unfortunately, I thought the first quarter of the book too harsh and depressing to be entertaining and I got very frustrated with Emily's character when she was mired in her depression. It was realistic, I suppose, and even understandable. There is such a thing as too realistic for me, though, and this is a good example of it.

Plus, I couldn't help but be a little squigged out by her relationships with both her Indian (because of the result) and John, who at ten years her senior seemed to have achieved an aura of adulthood that Emily had not. It wasn't the age difference - that' wasn't my problem. I just never felt Emily was all that grown up at any point. And that bothered me. I know that a sixteen-year-old was considered an adult back then. I do. But there wasn't enough maturity in Emily's character for me to forget or forgive the instinctive ick-factor of a young girl in her position.

I really liked John. Truly. He was a gentle giant and I loved how he related to the animals and to Emily. He was my favorite character in the book, hands down. His friends and his grandfather also made great secondary characters. I even liked Emily later in the book, when she'd warmed up to John and stopped being so depressed. There just wasn't enough of that for me to really appreciate her character in total.

The storyline was a little weird for me too. I know it's the first book in a well-developed series, but reading just this book on its own caused some problems for me. Swift Foot's backstory and his influence in Emily's life was not only depressing, his storyline cut off with no resolution and a sort of emotional downer. Maybe he's featured in other books, maybe he and his tribe play a part in later books, but it leaves a hole in this one. So did John's cousin. Not a good guy, obviously, but his storyline just sort of cut off suddenly with no resolution.

There were aspects of the book that I did enjoy. Plot points and characters that I found entertaining. Too few of them, though, for me to truly embrace the read or give me any interest in continuing the series to see if any of those threads that were left dangling get woven into subsequent books. This one's not for me.

Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Carina Press via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

[Kinship Press · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted on These Pretty Words.

I went in to this story very intrigued and excited. When it comes to picking books, I’m a relatively easy catch. Pretty cover? *tosses in the cart* Fun summary? *starts flipping through the pages* When Kristin first e-mailed me about this story, I jumped all over it. I’d recently caught the period romance bug and this sounded like just the right brand of medicine. Coming out of the last chapter…I have very mixed feelings. I actually paused once in the middle and quit reading for about a week because it just wasn’t keeping my attention. Usually when that happens, I never go back. With White Dawn, there was just enough there to draw me back in. I will say that the latter half was much more to my liking.

In White Dawn, we find ourselves in Michigan in the early 1800’s with a young girl named Emily Ambrose. Our introduction to Emily is not a pretty one as she is senselessly beaten by her religiously zealous father. Unjustly accused of tempting a holy man (when in fact said “holy man” tried to rape her), Emily’s father attempts to abandon her in the middle of the back woods. He and Emily’s mother are attacked and killed by savages only minutes later, successfully leaving Emily alone with practically nothing.

And here enters my first major drawback. I’m expecting Emily to be rescued by a handsome trapper (like the story summary tells me will happen) when instead, she is saved from hungry wolves by a handsome savage. The two frolic through the countryside for a few weeks and fall desperately in love even though their language barrier means they never share a single conversation. On top of that, Emily has been raised to be extremely sheltered…yet right off the bat she enters into a very sexual relationship with Swift Foot (the savage) with hardly a thought. It bothered me that her virginity was taken so lightly by the author and protagonist. To me, it didn’t seem fitting of the timing or the character’s background. I digress.

Eventually Swift Foot too abandons Emily, realizing that she’s a test the spirits have given him to see how devoted he is to becoming the next chief of his tribe. He returns to his people, destined to marry one of his own. *insert not-surprised face here*

What is surprising is that our leading lady and handsome rogue don’t even meet until halfway through the fourth chapter. By that point, Emily is confused and (understandably but frustratingly) has major trust issues. John Cartier, a local trapper, finds Emily the same morning she finds herself alone again; a noble act by Swift Foot as he purposefully drops her right into John’s hands. John and Emily’s relationship is very slow to progress. She’s still hung up on her warrior and doesn’t want to get attached to another person, only to have them leave her.

John is a gentle giant. He’s lived a fairly solitary life, removed from society in his early teen years when his parents died and his grandfather decided John and his useless cousin, Willy, needed the lessons that the life of a trapper would teach them. He’s kind to Emily and very sweet, though he’s completely lost as to how to help her. It isn’t until an unfortunate accident with an axe that Emily finally snaps out of her funk and their friendship begins to take form. Gramps and Cousin Willy are off in the city when John finds Emily, giving our lovers just enough time to form a romantic bond before they return and Willy starts trying to steal her away. Willy’s well written in that he’s annoying to the point where you want to rip out pages just to get rid of him. His part of the storyline was actually an interesting conflict and I was disappointed that it wasn’t really resolved in a satisfying manner.

Yet one more seemingly insurmountable conflict later and we finally see John and Emily happy, in love, and ready to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. No spoiler warning needed, right? It’s a romance novel, they’d better end up together. Just saying.

[Regan Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual Prequel to the Indian-White Man Love Stories of the White Series

This was my first by Edwards (and it’s the first in the “White series” if you’re reading according to timeline). Set in 1810, it begins as John Cartier, a 26-year-old fur trapper, is loading furs in his canoe for his grandfather to take down the Missouri River to St Louis. He intends to spend one more year trapping in the wilds before settling down. Meanwhile, in the Michigan Territory, 16-year-old Emily Ambrose is left alone when Indians kill her parents. She is saved from wolves by a Sioux named Swift Foot who becomes her lover.

I just gotta say that it’s a strange romance novel that has the heroine spending whole chapters in an intimate, loving relationship with a man who is not the hero, but that’s what happened here. Emily falls in love with Swift Foot who loves her in return. But he cannot keep her and forces himself to leave her near trapper John Cartier’s shack. That detour had a certain ick factor, along with Emily’s father who seemed to represent a bias against Christians, portrayed as fanatics. Emily was a sweet, though very mixed up young woman (who wouldn’t be with her background), and John was a patient, loving and honorable man, just the kind she needed.

The story held my attention, and for fans of Edwards’ White series, is likely an essential read. However, the ick factor detracted as did several story elements. Except for the repetition in introspection and the villainous half brother being summarily dropped off the story at the end, it was mostly well written.

The whole purpose of the story is to show you the parents of Sarah Carter (the heroine in WHITE WIND who marries Golden Eagle). Here’s the White Series in chronological order should you want to read more:

The prequels to White Wind:

White Dawn
White Dusk
White Shadows

And the rest:

White Wind
White Wolf
White Nights
White Flame
White Dreams
White Dove
White Deception
White Vengeance

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any reader who loves historical, Western Romances the re-release of Susan Edwards White Series will have you dancing. The first three books of her epic 12-volume series has just been released by Carina Press.

The series weaves through multiple characters, across cultural lines and intertwines history with a passion that will leave readers anxious to read the entire series. Beginning in 1810 Missouri with a young woman abandoned and alone, a man named John, a trapper by trade, rescues her. She has a broken past, and so does he, together they begin to trust again, only to have shadows of their past follow them.

Another man, from a cultural very different then her own enters her life, and takes his own toll o her heart. His path however may not stay joined with hers, and again hearts collide with loyalty to family.

The next two books, White Dusk and White Shadows carry the story line farther and leads the reader into the world of the American West of the early 1800's. As the series progresses, the author sprinkles in elements of Native American lore, dollops of paranormal mysticism and heartwarming passion.

A great read for those who love the American West, Native Americans, and history.

[Susan M (MomBlogger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review:
In White Dawn I was introduced to the story characters that begin the White Series of books. Emily and her Indian, Swift Foot; as well as her trapper, John Cartier set in motion a chain of events that lead us through the adventures, romances, determination and failures of several generations of people. I really enjoyed reading this story and am looking forward to continuing the saga in the next book: White Dusk.


White Series Comments:
I wanted to review all 4 books at the same time in honor of the re-release of the first 4 books in the White Series by Susan Edwards. I had not heard of the series before, but when I saw an email from Netgalley.com stating that they would be available for review, I jumped at the chance to read a new series by an author I had not heard of before. I highly recommend reading them in chronological order (Book 1, Book 2, Book 4 then Book 3) but they can be read individually as well. There are currently a total of 12 books (I believe) in this series. I plan to find the rest of the White Series by Susan Edwards to continue the journey began in White Dawn (book 1)

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd forgotten just how much I like romance novels. This book brought all that back. This is the first of Susan Edwards' White series and it is wonderful. These books are being re-released and I can't wait to read them all. The story begins with a young being abandoned in the New Frontier and rescued by a wonderful man. After a heavenly time, he must leave her and she is saved again by a trapper named John. They both come from pasts that a less than perfect and together they find the love they are both so desperately, albeit unknowingly, seeking. This is a beautiful love story and I enjoyed it so very much.

http://letthemalleatcake.blogspot.com...

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any reader who loves historical, Western Romances the re-release of Susan Edwards White Series will have you dancing. The first three books of her epic 12-volume series has just been released by Carina Press.

The series weaves through multiple characters, across cultural lines and intertwines history with a passion that will leave readers anxious to read the entire series. Beginning in 1810 Missouri with a young woman abandoned and alone, a man named John, a trapper by trade, rescues her. She has a broken past, and so does he, together they begin to trust again, only to have shadows of their past follow them.

Another man, from a cultural very different then her own enters her life, and takes his own toll o her heart. His path however may not stay joined with hers, and again hearts collide with loyalty to family.

The next two books, White Dusk and White Shadows carry the story line farther and leads the reader into the world of the American West of the early 1800's. As the series progresses, the author sprinkles in elements of Native American lore, dollops of paranormal mysticism and heartwarming passion.

A great read for those who love the American West, Native Americans, and history.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if I wanted to give this three stars or four. It lacked adventure honestly action. I really don't prefer books with two loves hovering over ones heart. Not that this book had a difficult choice of which man it was I just don't like the idea of it. Besides that the love between Emily and John was amazing and John was just too perfect. The ending epilogue was good it took place three years later. I was however disappointed in the ending yes it was perfect ending with them in love but what the hell would of been nice to hear she was pregnant with Johns baby. Seriously three years and nothing? Lol. Overall okay book.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

1st book in her White romance 12 book series being republished ebook. Kind of simple - whiney character - don't think I'll read the rest.

[Shh I'm reading! · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book just dragged on.