Grey Eagle's Bride

The Beaudines #3

by Jessica Wulf

First came Hunter's Bride...then Joseph's Bride...and now, Jessica Wulf offers a sprawling new epic of passion and adventure beneath the Western sky. "Grey Eagle's Bride" is a stirring, sensual tale of a doctor's daughter who adopts the ways of the Cheyenne -- and discovers the love of a bold warrior who will lead her to a her passionate destiny.

Genres: Historical Romance, Native American, Historical, Western Historical Romance

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Jessica Wulf is a native of North Dakota but has spent most of her life in Colorado, where she now lives with her husband, four happy dogs, and Miss Kitty the Cat. She has a B. A. in History and has published six historical fiction novels.

Reviews

[MelissaB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grey Eagle's Bride is a very nice western/Native American historical with a very sweet and enjoyable romance.

Diana Murdoch came to Fort Laramie with her doctor father to help him with his practice. She helps to save a young Cheyenne girl from two trappers then becomes friends with the young girl, who is named Sparrow. Diana is very close to her father and is devasted by his death from a lingering sickness but is comforted by Sparrow until she returns to her Cheyenne family with the help of friends. Sparrow thinks Diana belongs with the Cheyenne because she has a birthmark in the shape of an eagle and is friends with an eagle that she helped heal from a hurt wing. Diana stays behind at the Fort with her unkind uncle until one day she is lured into the wilderness until the guise of helping a friend who is hurt. Once there she is attacked by a soldier and manages to get away when she meets a mysterious Indian warrior in the woods who saves her life.

Grey Eagle Beaudine comes upon Diana and helps save her from her attackers. Grey Eagle recognizes Diana right away as the woman he has dreamed about for years. He was already on his way to the fort to bring Diana back to his camp as a favor to Sparrow and another friend but decides when he sees her that she is coming with him whether she wants to or not. Grey Eagle forces Diana to come with him instead of returning to Fort Laramie despite her objections. After a few days of traveling, Diana decides to willing go to the Cheyenne camp to see Sparrow and her other pregnant friend. There is an instant connection between Diana and Grey Eagle but both are unsure of the other's feelings and tread carefully.

Once in the Cheyenne camp, Grey Eagle and Diana take a little while to realize how much the other one likes them back. With a little help from a friend, they finally start courting Cheyenne style which was really sweet to read about. They have a very powerful connection but take the time to get to know each other and enjoy the courting stage. I enjoyed seeing the romance progress until they were married and finally consummated the relationship because I believed in their love and felt it would really last.

I really enjoyed this book, the writing was very good and full of nice details about Cheyenne life. I could actually imagine the setting of the Cheyenne camp and the fort. Grey Eagle and Diana were two very likable but real characters who respected and loved each other. There is not a lot of drama between the main couple, which made me enjoy the book even more. The romance felt real and believable and was a joy to read. I liked reading about a couple courting and getting married based on mutual love and respect - plus a healthy dose of physical attraction too!

If you enjoy sweet romances and western/Native American romances, check this one out. I liked this author's writing and plan on reading the two other books in the series very soon so I can read about Grey Eagle's half brothers.

[Corrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick light read about a subject that could have (and has before) been done in a much angstier way, but it's a refreshing change. Also, it's book 3 of a series about the Beaudine brothers, which I didn't know, so it can definitely be read alone

Diana Murdoch has settled in Fort Laramie with her physician father, and found a life that contents her, for the most part. Unfortunately, her father is terminally ill, and Diana knows it's just a matter of time before her whole world is turned on its head. When she saves a young Cheyenne girl - Sparrow - from a couple of buffalo trappers, she unknowingly sets off a series of events that ultimately lands her in the arms of Grey Eagle Beaudine, a half-breed Cheyenne warrior who has seen Diana's face in his visions and knows she is destined to be with him.

I recommend this book to any fan of American historicals who just need a break from some of the darker, more emotionally straining reads. It's nice to pick up a sweet, uncomplicated story every once in a while and indulge. This definitely fits the bill. B

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The hero was a big surprise ....Grey Eagle was so sweet and tender to his h/Diana. I loved when she was fixing his wounds from an arrow....and Diana said that she was sorry she hurt him...and he said, "You didn't hurt me the arrow did." AWWWWW
My favorite part was when he courted her with his red wool Indian blanket. What a neat way to date.....

[Mary23nm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book about the half Cheyenne, half white hero raised in both worlds and the white daughter of a doctor. Grey Eagle's Bride had a very promising beginning, but really fizzled out for me after the villain died early in the book. There were two kidnappings of the heroine-the first one is by the hero. The journey to the Cheyenne tribe took up a good portion of the book and was very dry reading. The author clearly did her homework on Cheyenne culture, but that portion was incredibly slow. The hero and heroine both lusted after each other but wouldn't let the other know, even though there had been some kissing. Once in the village, the crazy native villainess is determined to have Grey Eagle and has the heroine kidnapped, even after Grey Eagle has married. The heroine ends up back at the fort, where her nasty mother has arrived(out of the blue) with the intent to take Diana (the h)back to civilization. The hero comes for her with many warriors, war is avoided and one month later, they are dancing at a ball, back in her mother's hometown. 4 stars for the beginning and 2 stars for the rest.

[UnusualChild{beppy} · Rating 4 out of 5]

synopsis:
diana's father has died, and a calvary officer is making trouble for her. anyone who would support her isn't at the fort, so she is left to fend for herself. she is taken to a cabin on a pretext of providing medical care for someone, and then the officer attempts to rape her. when she escapes into the forest, she runs into grey eagle, and thinks that things have gone from bad to worse. when grey eagle hides her, and then goes to deal with the officer, she realizes that he is actually her saviour. once diana finds out that he is the youngest beaudine, she goes with him to his village. diana has the spirit of the eagle, and that has always been grey eagle's guide.

what i liked: diana and grey eagle. they were just so real and complicated. i liked the interactions that they had with each other, and with the surrounding characters. i liked that diana had rescued one of the children before she even met the band. and even though diana may have had some preconceived notions, she didn't let them form her opinions or stop her from learning.

what i didn't like: nothing. this book was so well formed. my only regret is that there aren't follow up stories for the beaudine sisters.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

First romance novel I remember reading, pilfered from my grandma, not as good this time around somehow.

[Chris Linhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book and I love Grey Eagle and Diana and the life she knew and how she loved the Cheyenne and how they fell in love I had a hard time putting the book down