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Frontier Flame
When her cousin Patrick deserts the army, Suzanne Donovan leaves Mississippi for isolated Fort Laramie to find him but is confronted by Major Blade Landon who is also seeking the deserter
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 30, 2022
3.75 - 4 stars. This is the 1st book in a loosely connected trilogy and quite good. I read Savage Caress before this one not realizing this was better read after Frontier Flame as Black Wolf, the H of SC, is introduced and somewhat featured in FF. However, you could read as a standalone, but I wish I’d read FF first. The plot for Frontier Flame was good lots of action and good characters. I do have to say though cousin Patrick’s role did wear on me at times as he was the main source of angst between our H and h. All in all a pretty good book, but I doubt I’ll read it again and I thought Savage Caress was better. Now on to book 3 Untamed Heart.
April 11, 2020
This review is of “Frontier Flame” by Rochelle Wayne.
The book begins in 1848 in Mississippi. It is here, on a plantation named Southmoor, that the Donovan family, consisting of patriarch Thomas, matriarch Ellen, and their only child, a son, Patrick, 13, live. They will be adding a fourth member to their household as Suzanne Donovan, age 3 arrives. (Backstory: Suzanne, who will become the heroine of the book as a 21 year-old adult, is the daughter of Thomas’ brother, Kevin, and his wife Gloria. They both passed from yellow fever and Suzanne was in an orphanage in New Orleans before Thomas decided to bring her to Southmoor. This action wasn’t borne out of love, but family duty).
When Suzanne arrives, the only person who shows her any kindness is Patrick. Over the years, Suzanne will develop a brother/hero worship for Patrick. Their relationship will play a significant role in the book.
Fast forward. The Civil War breaks out and Patrick goes to fight for the Confederacy. He is captured by Union soldiers and sent to prison. He is later released, but then word arrives of Patrick being involved in actions that disgrace his family, but are also illegal. Not believing that Patrick is guilty of what he is accused of, Suzanne, his fiancee’ Molly O’Ryan, and a freed slave named Saul, who was also Patrick’s best friend, head to Wyoming to find out what happened. When they arrive, Suzanne meets Army Major Blade Landon, the hero of the book. They immediately clash as both want to find Patrick; Suzanne to clear him, Blade to kill him. Despite this, they are also strongly attracted to each other, and later become lovers-and frequent antagonists.
Suzanne isn’t the only member of her party to find love; Molly does as well, with Blade’s friend, Army scout Justin Smith. Both relationships are troubled, however. In addition to the looming specter of Patrick, Suzanne and Blade’s love is threatened by Almeda Johnson, the scheming daughter of Blade’s commanding officer. Molly and Justin’s relationship is imperiled by Army Captain Gary Newcomb, who hates Justin with a passion. Newcombe breaks up Molly and Justin by lying about an incident from Justin’s past. Molly then decides to marry Gary.
When Blade and Justin go on an Army mission, Suzanne decides to follow up a lead on Patrick’s whereabouts, gets herself in trouble and has to be rescued by Blade, who takes her to a Lakota Indian village, where he is trying to negotiate a peace treaty between the Lakota and the whites. They find peril, however, in the form of a vengeful brave, Two Moons, who wants to kill all white people.
Later, Suzanne once again goes away following a lead about Patrick and finds herself yet again in peril, with Blade again having to rescue her. More trouble follows when Newcomb leads an attack against a defenseless Lakota village; many are killed, including Newcomb. After Gary’s death, Molly reunites with her true love, Justin. They, and Blade and Suzanne, have a double wedding. Suzanne and Blade adopt a girl, Kara, who is the great-granddaughter of an Indian chief, the mystery of Patrick is revealed and resolved, and both couples have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: I am a big Rochelle Wayne fan, and “Frontier Flame” shows why. She effectively uses flashbacks to tell the story of the relationship between Suzanne and Patrick. Suzanne and Blade are strong characters, as are Justin and Molly.
Downside: For much of the book, Suzanne and Blade are arguing with each other. Some sparks flying is a good thing. However, it can be taken too far, and that is the case here. Sadly, the hero and heroine frequently arguing with each other is a trope Ms. Wayne uses in every book she writes. Another trope, which I also strongly dislike, is the fact that in every book, Ms. Wayne’s heroines-and occasionally a supporting female character-make an error in judgment that places them in danger, and needing rescue by the hero.
Sex: Quite a few love scenes-Suzanne and Blade and Molly and Justin. The early love scenes are more graphic than the later ones, but none approach erotica. They are, however, fairly hot for this type of book.
Violence: Assault, battery, attempted rape, shootings and killings. The violence is not graphic.
Bottom Line: The issues stated above keep “Frontier Flame” from a 5-star rating. However, it is still a very good book.
The book begins in 1848 in Mississippi. It is here, on a plantation named Southmoor, that the Donovan family, consisting of patriarch Thomas, matriarch Ellen, and their only child, a son, Patrick, 13, live. They will be adding a fourth member to their household as Suzanne Donovan, age 3 arrives. (Backstory: Suzanne, who will become the heroine of the book as a 21 year-old adult, is the daughter of Thomas’ brother, Kevin, and his wife Gloria. They both passed from yellow fever and Suzanne was in an orphanage in New Orleans before Thomas decided to bring her to Southmoor. This action wasn’t borne out of love, but family duty).
When Suzanne arrives, the only person who shows her any kindness is Patrick. Over the years, Suzanne will develop a brother/hero worship for Patrick. Their relationship will play a significant role in the book.
Fast forward. The Civil War breaks out and Patrick goes to fight for the Confederacy. He is captured by Union soldiers and sent to prison. He is later released, but then word arrives of Patrick being involved in actions that disgrace his family, but are also illegal. Not believing that Patrick is guilty of what he is accused of, Suzanne, his fiancee’ Molly O’Ryan, and a freed slave named Saul, who was also Patrick’s best friend, head to Wyoming to find out what happened. When they arrive, Suzanne meets Army Major Blade Landon, the hero of the book. They immediately clash as both want to find Patrick; Suzanne to clear him, Blade to kill him. Despite this, they are also strongly attracted to each other, and later become lovers-and frequent antagonists.
Suzanne isn’t the only member of her party to find love; Molly does as well, with Blade’s friend, Army scout Justin Smith. Both relationships are troubled, however. In addition to the looming specter of Patrick, Suzanne and Blade’s love is threatened by Almeda Johnson, the scheming daughter of Blade’s commanding officer. Molly and Justin’s relationship is imperiled by Army Captain Gary Newcomb, who hates Justin with a passion. Newcombe breaks up Molly and Justin by lying about an incident from Justin’s past. Molly then decides to marry Gary.
When Blade and Justin go on an Army mission, Suzanne decides to follow up a lead on Patrick’s whereabouts, gets herself in trouble and has to be rescued by Blade, who takes her to a Lakota Indian village, where he is trying to negotiate a peace treaty between the Lakota and the whites. They find peril, however, in the form of a vengeful brave, Two Moons, who wants to kill all white people.
Later, Suzanne once again goes away following a lead about Patrick and finds herself yet again in peril, with Blade again having to rescue her. More trouble follows when Newcomb leads an attack against a defenseless Lakota village; many are killed, including Newcomb. After Gary’s death, Molly reunites with her true love, Justin. They, and Blade and Suzanne, have a double wedding. Suzanne and Blade adopt a girl, Kara, who is the great-granddaughter of an Indian chief, the mystery of Patrick is revealed and resolved, and both couples have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: I am a big Rochelle Wayne fan, and “Frontier Flame” shows why. She effectively uses flashbacks to tell the story of the relationship between Suzanne and Patrick. Suzanne and Blade are strong characters, as are Justin and Molly.
Downside: For much of the book, Suzanne and Blade are arguing with each other. Some sparks flying is a good thing. However, it can be taken too far, and that is the case here. Sadly, the hero and heroine frequently arguing with each other is a trope Ms. Wayne uses in every book she writes. Another trope, which I also strongly dislike, is the fact that in every book, Ms. Wayne’s heroines-and occasionally a supporting female character-make an error in judgment that places them in danger, and needing rescue by the hero.
Sex: Quite a few love scenes-Suzanne and Blade and Molly and Justin. The early love scenes are more graphic than the later ones, but none approach erotica. They are, however, fairly hot for this type of book.
Violence: Assault, battery, attempted rape, shootings and killings. The violence is not graphic.
Bottom Line: The issues stated above keep “Frontier Flame” from a 5-star rating. However, it is still a very good book.
May 16, 2012
It was okay except it was repetitive throughout the book that Suzanne was torn between her love for cousin Patrick and Captain Blade.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews