The Heart Of The Savage: A Rain Of Thorns

by Jennifer Grayson

Mattie Collins, the daughter of a widower and rancher raised in the wilds of the Texas frontier, a child of the post Civil War era, a time of turbulent change and violent conflict. All Mattie knows of the world she lives in she’s gleaned from the tales of hard men; the cattle hands and tramps who work her father’s ranch. Mattie’s father, Jeb, loves Mattie above all things, and he’s taught her everything he knows about riding and roping, driving cattle and surviving the badlands. She’s a woman surviving in a man’s world, accepted as an equal, and living beyond the confines of all that polite society expects from a woman. But things are about to change.

Tragedy strikes during a cattle drive to New Mexico, and Mattie learns in one violent encounter that the world contains perils particular to women.

The Heart of the Savage is a brutal examination of post Civil War society, seen through the eyes of a complex and thoughtfully drawn protagonist who transcends the roles and limitations of her station. A Rain of Thorns, the first in the Mattie Collins saga, finds Mattie as a young woman, hobbled on all sides by the customs, expectations, and traditions of men. Against the vivid backdrop of violence and prejudice known as the American Old West, a world inhabited with steely gunslingers, ruthless outlaws, savage Indians, and greedy ranchers, Mattie must fight to protect everything she holds dear from men who would seek to destroy it all.

And it’s deep inside the confines of her untamed, passionate heart that she must look for the answers. For no matter how men may use her, or take from her, or force her to submit to their every base desire, they can never reach her there. And her desire to live free, to be her own master, and to experience the world and all of its pleasures on her terms, soon forces Mattie to abandon her fears, as she embarks on the most dangerous and uncertain adventure yet: The adventure of becoming a woman.

Genres: Westerns

49 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2014

About the author

Jennifer Grayson writes about life in the Midwest where she originates from. Her inspiration comes from her own life and from reading about the history of the old west.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Life is hard on the frontier. There is nothing romantic about this story. It left me feeling depressed. No pleasantness to soften it, and way too many spelling errors. Additionally, it is not the full story.

[James Goldie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cowboy story???

Having just finished this tale ,I could only hope that the writer has another way to make money..Very poor story and poorly written

[Debbie Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your typical western romance, it is a dark, gritty look at the life of a woman who is raised outside the norms of the post Civil Era. Having been raised wild and free in the company of rough cowhands and drifters Mattie is no wilting flower. She is a survivor and overcomer as shown by how she deals with her kidnapping and the fall out. I identified with her rage at being bound into the trappings and duties expected of a woman from this era after living wild and free. The first of 5 books chronicling Mattie's life this is has the strongest literary qualities. A great free Kindle ebook it leaves you wanting to continue the saga to see if she can rise above the rain of thorns she has been subjected to.

[Malissa S. Perry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a romance!

Sorry but I don't think this story should be in the romance category. No one wants to go in to a story expecting a romance and getting a kidnapping and almost rape. Then for her husband to be such a disappointment as well. It made me pity her through the entire time.