Miranda and the Warrior

by Elaine Barbieri

Just as the Avon name means adult romance, so the name Avon True Romance will mean captivating love stories for the younger set. Written with teen readers in mind, our books will tap into the young adult market while maintaining the high level of passionate writing that the adult Avon romances possess.

It's 1852. Defiant 17-year-old Miranda leaves her South Dakota fort in spite of her father's warnings of the presence of Cheyenne war tribes. Before she knows what has happened, she's nabbed by a celebrated warrior who is just as stubborn as Miranda.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical, Native American, Fiction

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

AKA Elaine Rome

Elaine Barbieri wrote over thirty historical novels that have been published worldwide. She was certain young adult readers would enjoy the excitement of historical romance if given a chance, and she welcomed the opportunity to write Miranda and the Warrior for this new audience. Elaine lived in northern New Jersey with her husband and family, and with Harrison, a demanding male who she is sure would be the ultimate hero -- if he weren't a cat.

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miranda, a painfully proud young woman (who happens to be the daughter of the commanding officer of the local fort) finds herself in a sticky situation: she has been captured by the local Cheyenne, and given as a gift to Rattling Blanket, an old woman who has trouble caring for herself. Her pride refuses to let Miranda do anything except sit and pout, and demand to be taken back to the fort. However, the girl has eyes and slowly falls for Shadow Walker, the young warrior who captured her in the first place and who takes it on himself to show her the Cheyenne way.

Honestly, this book was not that great. It was fun, but not at all believable. Apparently all it takes for Miranda and her captor to fall in love is a week-long trip in which Shadow Walker swings between trying to show tough love (for which Miranda resents him), and showing outright compassion (which just plain confuses the girl). Stockholm syndrome much?

Teens - especially young teens - may like this book; anyone with a little more sense than hormones will find it to be, again, unbelievable. It had potential if it were a full-length romance novel, but as it is, it falls far short of the mark. I can only hope the rest of the line makes up for what this offering lacks.

[kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Miranda Thurstan, daughter of a US Cavalry major, is captured by Shadow Walker, a Cheyenne warrior. They """""fall in love""""".

HEY GUESS WHAT? THIS ISN'T A ROMANCE: IT'S COLONIALIST PROPAGANDA AND IT'S GROSS.

AN EXCERPT FROM THE AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The Cheyenne customs and way of life are authentic, however, as are the flavor, spirit, and excitement of the times.

The conquest of the American West was difficult. We continue to learn from mistakes made on both sides of the conflict, but it was also a romantic time in American history that is uniquely our own. (Emphasis my own.)

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT THE FFFFF-----

I GUESS SHE'S KIND OF RIGHT SINCE THE AMERICAN WEST WAS A SPECIAL COMBO OF RACISM, COLONIALISM, AND GENOCIDE THAT IS UNIQUELY OUR OWN, BUT THE REST OF IT IS NONSENSE AND WHITE SUPREMACIST BULLSHIT AND EVERYONE WHO PUBLISHED THIS SHOULD FEEL BAD.

[Lady Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.4 / 5

I don't think this was meant to be anything monumental, just an average little story in the Native American romance genre.

And...that's all it is.

But at the same time, I expected it to be more like Savage Spirit, as, just as on the cover of that book, the hero and heroine here looked like they'd be really young, and so it's more of an adolescent romance than an adult one.

And at first, it seems like it is that way, as the immaturity of 17-year-old Miranda is at the forefront of the story, a la the usual rebellion of running away for a quick horse ride because "she's a free spirit". Miranda is then captured by Shadow Walker (who is older than the cover page would have you assume), and a good portion of the story is the battle of wills between these two leads.

All in all, it's a tame story in which there's not much depth, admittedly, and the romance takes until after the halfway point to really get going. I think I decided to opt for 3 stars instead of 4 because I wasn't entirely sure why Miranda and Shadow Walker even fell in love, as the chemistry between them is just so-so.

Thus, there's nothing wrong with this, so it gets an okay rating, but that's about all that I can say for it.

[Rebekah Gyger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, short read for younger teens. I'm sure that if I had read it back when I was that age, it would have made it to my list of favorites. Now, I had to laugh because of how easy it made things sound. Pull a struggling woman onto your horse single-handed? No problem. Fall in love in your enemy in a week without even talking to each other? Happens all the time.

[Norl (^ー^) · Rating 1 out of 5]

i wasn't expecting anything great. in fact, i was expecting exactly what i found - a very romanticised idea of the american Frontier in the mid 19th century. however!!!! it was made for teens. or rather even pre-teens. i wish some research was done on the life of the Cheyenne and customs, and though the autor's note says its accurate i don't really believe her..................
it's a fanfiction. take this as a fanfiction and you will sleep better at night, I can guarantee you.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a teenager and so when I accidentally found it on Hoopla, I had to read it again. I’m happy to say that I still love this sweet little romance! Shadow Walker and Miranda are a fiery couple and I love how he takes care of her even as she defies him at every turn. Spotted Bear is still terrifying and I love Rattling Blanket. This quick, fun, and sweet romance still makes me happy and feel nostalgic for my early teen years. I want to add this book to my physical library!

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this old book when going through a box of old paperbacks stashed in my basement - and hey, it counts for my 2017 Romance Reading Challenge ("A Native American Romance")! This was good, and nowhere near as racist as some of the other Native American historical romances I had come across, which is obviously a huge plus.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved reading these books as a teen. So cheesy but brings back good memories.

[Tracy M · Rating 5 out of 5]

My teenage memories demand that I rate this a 5. I remember reading and re-reading it!

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't very detailed. Lacked scenes of importance.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eighteen-year-old Miranda Thurston is the daughter of U.S. Cavalry Major Charles Thurston. Miranda's mother died in childbirth, and as her father's only reminder of his beloved wife, she has been overprotected her whole life. Although she has grown up on the frontier, she doesn't believe the rumors about Cheyenne raiding parties. She sneaks away from Fort Walters to visit a friend's ranch and finds herself captured by Shadow Walker, a Cheyenne warrior. Shadow Walker was orphaned at a young age in a raid by white soldiers. Now the soldiers have captured his uncle, and Shadow Walker wants revenge. He is dismayed to find that his captive is just a young girl, who will be of little use to him. When Miranda rebels at every turn, Shadow Walker takes her on a journey into the wilderness to teach her a lesson. But on that journey, captor and captive discover feelings for each other that they never would have expected.

This wasn't an awful book, but it was probably the weakest in the Avon True Romance series. The ending was too abrupt -- it should have been longer and more developed. The story did keep my interest the whole way through, but ultimately I found the love story to be rather unbelievable. If you want to read the whole Avon True Romance series, this book is an okay way to spend a couple of hours, but if you are just looking for something to read, there are better books out there.

[Cayla rimmell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a heart warmer! I loved this book! It has brought tears of joy to my eyes! It makes me happy and I just love Miranda's stubbornness even though it gets her into quite some trouble. However, she learns from that stubbornness a whole other culture which is the Native Americans life. I recommend this book 100%!

Read the rest of my book review at https://caylasbooktopia.wordpress.com...

[Zehra Rizvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in high school and I remember name disparity between Shadow Walker the male protagonist and villain of sorts Spotted Bear cracked me up. Going from super bad ass name to super 10-year-old at the zoo name made me feel bad for Spotted Bear and oddly made me like the book more... The story over all was pretty good and very enjoyable.

[sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

lol sarah....our...favorites....*wink*

[Nellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It was romantic, exciting, action packed, and clean. Perfect for teens. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Laura's Book Addiction · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok read but not as good as the first two books that I have read from this series.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is totally ridiculous, and there are some racial issues, but it's entertaining nonetheless.

[Mary Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a nice and cute romance book. I read this book a long time ago. I loved the plot and the characters.

[Mary Kidd · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story just cuts off. I ending just left me wanting more but there wasn't any.

[Αἰκατερίνη · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that impressed. It felt like it had awesome potential, and then just ended . . . without even really resolving the conflicts.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a lot of fun.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just okay. Many parts of it frustrated me.