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Natalia
This is a story of secrets and deception. A girl's journey to find the truth about who she really is.
Natalia's head is swathed in a bloody cloth and she struggles to keep her hands on the pommel of the saddle, as she was no longer able to hold the reins. All her faith lies with Jasper the black stallion, her only true friend, she knew he would take her where she needed to go.
In the early hours of the morning a young gypsy boy discovers a beautiful black stallion standing guard over what appears to be a pile of clothing, but soon discovers it is a girl near death. Despite his fear of the horse, he manages to take her to Luludja, the wisest and oldest woman he knows.
With the aid of the woman's healing powers, Natalia slowly recovers, but soon learns that the people of the forest hold a great hatred towards her, something that had not gone unnoticed by Luludja.
With a heavy heart Luludja realises that she must reveal to Natalia a dark secret she has kept to herself for many years, but also, it is no longer safe for the girl to stay amongst the gypsies. Under the cover of darkness, Natalia leaves the gypsy compound with the aid of the young boy who had found her.
Despite their best efforts to remain obscure as they travel to their destination, unbeknownst to either of them, another is travelling the same journey, and he sees Natalia as she washes at a rivers edge. The search the man had been tasked for so many years, to the point he believed he was only on a fool's errand....until he saw her face. He was tired, but now knew he could not rest, as his search had finally come to fruition.
Little does Natalia know that her final destination holds a danger and secrets that she could never imagine.
Will history repeat itself, or can pride and prejudice be put aside, as there is only one person who can save her?
Natalia's head is swathed in a bloody cloth and she struggles to keep her hands on the pommel of the saddle, as she was no longer able to hold the reins. All her faith lies with Jasper the black stallion, her only true friend, she knew he would take her where she needed to go.
In the early hours of the morning a young gypsy boy discovers a beautiful black stallion standing guard over what appears to be a pile of clothing, but soon discovers it is a girl near death. Despite his fear of the horse, he manages to take her to Luludja, the wisest and oldest woman he knows.
With the aid of the woman's healing powers, Natalia slowly recovers, but soon learns that the people of the forest hold a great hatred towards her, something that had not gone unnoticed by Luludja.
With a heavy heart Luludja realises that she must reveal to Natalia a dark secret she has kept to herself for many years, but also, it is no longer safe for the girl to stay amongst the gypsies. Under the cover of darkness, Natalia leaves the gypsy compound with the aid of the young boy who had found her.
Despite their best efforts to remain obscure as they travel to their destination, unbeknownst to either of them, another is travelling the same journey, and he sees Natalia as she washes at a rivers edge. The search the man had been tasked for so many years, to the point he believed he was only on a fool's errand....until he saw her face. He was tired, but now knew he could not rest, as his search had finally come to fruition.
Little does Natalia know that her final destination holds a danger and secrets that she could never imagine.
Will history repeat itself, or can pride and prejudice be put aside, as there is only one person who can save her?
Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
32 people want to read
About the author
Jenni Boyd
10 books28 followersJenni has eight published books, her first being Natalia, a story of mystery, myth and a girl's journey to find the truth.
While traveling the remote areas of Australia, via 4WD, Jenni wrote her second book Missing, a thriller. It was after writing this book that Jenni realised writing thrillers was where her passion lay, using the vast areas of the outback she'd travelled as a setting for her stories.
Jenni's latest release is the Steel Series, which consists of three books: Defiance of Danger, The Riddle, Rusalka. These books are not standalone and need to be read in order to fully understand the story.
When not absorbed in reading the latest gripping page turner, or spending time with her family, Jenni loves sewing, gardening and collecting shells.
While traveling the remote areas of Australia, via 4WD, Jenni wrote her second book Missing, a thriller. It was after writing this book that Jenni realised writing thrillers was where her passion lay, using the vast areas of the outback she'd travelled as a setting for her stories.
Jenni's latest release is the Steel Series, which consists of three books: Defiance of Danger, The Riddle, Rusalka. These books are not standalone and need to be read in order to fully understand the story.
When not absorbed in reading the latest gripping page turner, or spending time with her family, Jenni loves sewing, gardening and collecting shells.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 3, 2015
Set in 19th Century England Natalia had me intrigued from the very beginning. A story of mystery, traditions, myth and romance. It speaks of love, loss and betrayal, fate, destiny and forgiveness. How one person’s actions can affect someone’s life so immensely and also have a rolling affect on a whole community.
Natalia will have you rooting for her throughout the story as she runs from disaster to disaster. As Natalia struggles to find a place she really belongs she never gives up hope of a normal life and love.
A fast paced story with an intricate plot with many twists and turns it will have you captivated from beginning to end.
I loved the bond between Natalia and her horse, Jasper, it was very touching.
I struggled at the beginning with the third person omniscient narration but once I got used to it I thought this story and its setting would make for a wonderful movie.
Natalia will have you rooting for her throughout the story as she runs from disaster to disaster. As Natalia struggles to find a place she really belongs she never gives up hope of a normal life and love.
A fast paced story with an intricate plot with many twists and turns it will have you captivated from beginning to end.
I loved the bond between Natalia and her horse, Jasper, it was very touching.
I struggled at the beginning with the third person omniscient narration but once I got used to it I thought this story and its setting would make for a wonderful movie.
October 24, 2014
NATALIA is a sweet story but don’t be misled by the romance tag, this story has an edge, and poor Natalia has to overcome a heap of hurdles to get to her happy ending. The romance is there, but doesn’t get going until the middle of the story, and then is really a support story until almost the very end when it comes into its own. Despite being kidnapped, abused, burned, beaten, drugged and ravished Natalia manages to retain her niceness and innocence. She is kind-hearted and sweet and maybe a little bit too trusting, she does fight for right though and has great tenacity in achieving her goal. I found myself flicking the pages as I was eager to see how it was all going to turn out. Plenty of twists and turns – and working out who was nice and who was nasty. At least one of the nasty ones took me by surprise as they were outwardly nice, and seemingly trying to do their best by Natalia – but in the end did some bad, bad things. My favourite character was Jasper the black stallion – my only criticism to the whole story is that I didn’t find out what happened to Jasper after the stableman took him off to save his life – did he get saved – or not? I cried anyway – just to be on the safe side! Fortunately for the state of my sanity there is definitely a happy ever after for Natalia – which she really deserved after everything she went through. If you like adventure stories with just a light touch of romance then I recommend this story. I would happily read more of Jenni Boyd’s books
With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
April 16, 2014
Loved this book from start to finish. It captured me from the first and I couldn't put it down till I finished it. The story is about a young girl who discovers the real story of what her life should have been like and the intrigue she goes through with gypsy's, vengeance and intrigue. I really liked the authors style of writing and look forward to reading more from this author.
December 17, 2018
This book took me thru 1870 England, Gypsy, Mystery, and all the trials that can go finding your family, love and recover from the wrong you have had in your life. Natalia has had all of this and more. The book is a bit slow for me until almost the middle then things pick. Please pick this up it is a good read and the story is so captivating.
December 22, 2016
I enjoyed this story of secrets and deception. Natalia, stolen as a baby, is reared by Mildred, a servant to a wealthy family. Natalia, now seventeen, is assaulted by the master of the house and is severely injured. Mildred, fearing for Natalia's life and her safety reveals the truth before sending her to Luludja, a gypsy woman with the power of healing. Natalia is cared for by the Romany gypsies, but once she has regained her strength she is determined to find her true family. Her journey involves many adventures along the way, but finding her family is more dangerous than she can imagine. A good and satisfying read with an outcome that left me with a smile on my face.
June 25, 2014
Great book! Enjoy the read. Hard to put down. :-) must read.
October 30, 2016
loved it..wasnt one I could put away for later..had to finish it .
June 10, 2015
Great book! Enjoy the read. Hard to put down.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews