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A View of the River
Birch Trueblood—a proud Ojibwe healer, who now works as a shaman, performing rituals for New Age believers and tourists.He does what he has to in order to support his young daughter. But when he’s called on to help communicate with ghosts at an historic bed and breakfast, he never guesses it’ll be the woman who runs the place that will haunt his dreams.Rochelle LeClaire—owner of Rosewood B&B.She and Birch have crossed paths before, and she has no reason to believe he’s anything but a fraud. But then her eccentric aunt hires him—to communicate with the spirits haunting the house of all things! Suddenly he’s in her space, in her thoughts . . . and eventually, in her bed.But when long-hidden secrets come to light, will their fragile bond be strong enough to hold them together? Kathleen Eagle published her first book, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award winner, with Silhouette Books in 1984. Since then she has published nearly 50 books, including historical and contemporary, series and single title, earning her nearly every award in the industry. Her books have consistently appeared on regional and national bestseller lists, including the USA Today list and the New York Times extended bestseller list. Kathleen Eagle lives in Minnesota with her husband, who is Lakota Sioux. The Eagles have three children and three grandchildren.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
26 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Eagle
116 books163 followersKathleen Eagle published her first book, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award winner, with Silhouette Books in 1984. Since then she has published more than 40 books, including historical and contemporary, series and single title, earning her nearly every award in the industry. Her books have consistently appeared on regional and national bestseller lists, including the USA Today list and the New York Times extended bestseller list.
Born in Virginia and raised "on the road" as an Air Force brat, Ms Eagle earned degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Northern State University. She taught at Standing Rock High School in North Dakota for 17 years.
Eagle's work is often singled out by book reviewers for its exceptional quality and appeal. THE NIGHT REMEMBERS was a Chicago Tribune Notable Book. SUNRISE SONG, THE NIGHT REMEMBERS, THE LAST TRUE COWBOY, and WHAT THE HEART KNOWS made the Library Journal "Five Best Romances of the Year" list. BookPage listed WHAT THE HEART KNOWS among its "Top Six Romance Picks" for 1999. THE LAST GOOD MAN was a finalist for the 2000 Minnesota Book Award for Popular Fiction--the only Romance so honored thus far. YOU NEVER CAN TELL was named to RWA's "Top Ten Favorite Books of the Year" list. She is an RWA RITA award winner.
Kathleen Eagle lives in Minnesota with her husband, who is Lakota Sioux. The Eagles have three children and three grandchildren.
Born in Virginia and raised "on the road" as an Air Force brat, Ms Eagle earned degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Northern State University. She taught at Standing Rock High School in North Dakota for 17 years.
Eagle's work is often singled out by book reviewers for its exceptional quality and appeal. THE NIGHT REMEMBERS was a Chicago Tribune Notable Book. SUNRISE SONG, THE NIGHT REMEMBERS, THE LAST TRUE COWBOY, and WHAT THE HEART KNOWS made the Library Journal "Five Best Romances of the Year" list. BookPage listed WHAT THE HEART KNOWS among its "Top Six Romance Picks" for 1999. THE LAST GOOD MAN was a finalist for the 2000 Minnesota Book Award for Popular Fiction--the only Romance so honored thus far. YOU NEVER CAN TELL was named to RWA's "Top Ten Favorite Books of the Year" list. She is an RWA RITA award winner.
Kathleen Eagle lives in Minnesota with her husband, who is Lakota Sioux. The Eagles have three children and three grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 30, 2017
I absolutely loved this book! As in most of Kathleen Eagle's books the hero of this story is Birch Trueblood, a proud Ojibwa healer who makes a meager living for himself, and his young daughter as a shaman who performs rituals for tourists and New Age believers near what used to be Ojibwa ancestral land on Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. Our heroine, Rochelle LeClair, is the caretaker of the Bruner estate as well as a companion to her elderly and quite eccentric Aunt Meg who is the grand daughter of Martin Bruner who made his fortune as a lumber baron many years ago. When Birch and Robin are caught in a historic Halloween blizzard that strands several other members of Aunt Meg's family this unlikely group of characters take shelter at the old estate and all kinds of strange things begin to happen. This story is a family drama, a romance, and a ghost story that has a dual time line that I found fascinating and equally compelling. I especially enjoyed all of the period clothes and accessories that are a very big part of the story and the revelation of some shocking news that ties the entire story up in a very satisfactory way. I read a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.
December 2, 2017
Didn't realize this one was a reissue of an earlier (2005) book.
A lot more subtle and indirect than most romance novels I'm used to reading, which felt a little distancing at first. But I enjoyed the depiction of both protagonists, and the rich history that Eagle mines for this story. Rochelle LeClair is a descendant of a white lumber baron who in the early 20th century worked to displace the native Ojibwa so he could clearcut their land. She's come back home to Minnesota to look after her failing Aunt Meg. Aunt Meg has spent most of her life trying to help the native peoples her grandfather took advantage of, but now there's not much money left, and Rochelle is trying to turn the family mansion into a thriving B&B.
Birch Trueblood is an Ojibwe medicine man, one who is both simultaneously respectful of and cynical about his tribe's traditions, especially when non-natives wish to draw on skills he's not even sure he believes in:
"Outside Indian country, people had little time for a way of life beyond the making-a-living part. They commonly treated both religion and medicine as businesses rather than gifts. But they were hungry for something they thought Birch could provide, even if they had no idea what it might be. Who was he to deny them? ... He had a role to play, a persona to portray. He was attractive in every way—a mentor, a mystic, a man who could create extraordinary connections. Fees were never discussed, and gifts of cash were never refused" (Kindle Loc 438).
As a teenager, Rochelle had a crush on Birch, although now she views him more as the "Native American Elmer Gantry." Birch, raising a daughter alone, is mourning the death of his wife, although he seems less sad than just worn out by life and loss.
When he and his young daughter are snowed in at Rochelle's B&B after a freak Halloween snowstorm, he falls into an easy sexual attraction to Rochelle, an attraction that is less the emotional center of the novel than a quietly developing undercurrent. Family secrets, on both sides, and how history impacts the present, are of more interest to Eagle here.
Did not care for Eagle's depiction of Rochelle's sister, Crystal, an unkind mother who only seems to care about how much money she'll be getting from the estate after Aunt Meg passes on.
A lot more subtle and indirect than most romance novels I'm used to reading, which felt a little distancing at first. But I enjoyed the depiction of both protagonists, and the rich history that Eagle mines for this story. Rochelle LeClair is a descendant of a white lumber baron who in the early 20th century worked to displace the native Ojibwa so he could clearcut their land. She's come back home to Minnesota to look after her failing Aunt Meg. Aunt Meg has spent most of her life trying to help the native peoples her grandfather took advantage of, but now there's not much money left, and Rochelle is trying to turn the family mansion into a thriving B&B.
Birch Trueblood is an Ojibwe medicine man, one who is both simultaneously respectful of and cynical about his tribe's traditions, especially when non-natives wish to draw on skills he's not even sure he believes in:
"Outside Indian country, people had little time for a way of life beyond the making-a-living part. They commonly treated both religion and medicine as businesses rather than gifts. But they were hungry for something they thought Birch could provide, even if they had no idea what it might be. Who was he to deny them? ... He had a role to play, a persona to portray. He was attractive in every way—a mentor, a mystic, a man who could create extraordinary connections. Fees were never discussed, and gifts of cash were never refused" (Kindle Loc 438).
As a teenager, Rochelle had a crush on Birch, although now she views him more as the "Native American Elmer Gantry." Birch, raising a daughter alone, is mourning the death of his wife, although he seems less sad than just worn out by life and loss.
When he and his young daughter are snowed in at Rochelle's B&B after a freak Halloween snowstorm, he falls into an easy sexual attraction to Rochelle, an attraction that is less the emotional center of the novel than a quietly developing undercurrent. Family secrets, on both sides, and how history impacts the present, are of more interest to Eagle here.
Did not care for Eagle's depiction of Rochelle's sister, Crystal, an unkind mother who only seems to care about how much money she'll be getting from the estate after Aunt Meg passes on.
August 14, 2017
I read this story years ago but had forgotten that A View of the River is not your typical Kathleen Eagle story. The Native American struggle is still a part of the story but it has a ghostly element to it, blending past and present together in a way that Kathleen Eagle does best. Just not usually real spirits involved in her books.
The injustices and greed from the past come to light which parallel the one among the members of Rochelle’s family. However, it seems the spirits have had enough of that. As the Ojibwe shaman Birch Trueblood works with Rochelle LeClair a bond is formed between them. Besides these two, I especially liked the part the children played in the story as well as Rochelle’s aging aunt. The sister and her entourage not at all.
I preferred for the story to dwell on the romance, more than the harsh family drama that takes place in the story. However, just like the weather, the family served a purpose to make this story complete.
An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley.
The injustices and greed from the past come to light which parallel the one among the members of Rochelle’s family. However, it seems the spirits have had enough of that. As the Ojibwe shaman Birch Trueblood works with Rochelle LeClair a bond is formed between them. Besides these two, I especially liked the part the children played in the story as well as Rochelle’s aging aunt. The sister and her entourage not at all.
I preferred for the story to dwell on the romance, more than the harsh family drama that takes place in the story. However, just like the weather, the family served a purpose to make this story complete.
An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley.
December 7, 2018
Interesting story - historical or not
I enjoyed this book and found the sections where the younger generation Robin and Garth a delight to read. There were some portions of the story where I got lost in what was belief and what was conjecture. The description about Aunt Margaret and her desire to protect the people who needed to preserve their heritage and her wish to preserve Minnesota history moved me more than I expected. Perhaps because the writing captures emotion and caring between the characters so well. The descriptions of the sexual relationships was more graphic than I prefer, but was still moving and an intimate part of the overall character development.
I enjoyed this book and found the sections where the younger generation Robin and Garth a delight to read. There were some portions of the story where I got lost in what was belief and what was conjecture. The description about Aunt Margaret and her desire to protect the people who needed to preserve their heritage and her wish to preserve Minnesota history moved me more than I expected. Perhaps because the writing captures emotion and caring between the characters so well. The descriptions of the sexual relationships was more graphic than I prefer, but was still moving and an intimate part of the overall character development.
July 4, 2019
Sweet and low-key, which I find typical of Eagle's romances. Maybe a little too low-key in the sense that various other plotlines - obnoxious in-laws, family history - are sort of dealt with/sort of not, very much like real life. I find that a lot of Eagle's stuff teeters on the border between romance and women's fiction and I think this is definitely one of those.
September 13, 2017
Birch Trueblood, Obijwe Shaman and Rochelle LeClair come together even their differences. Have this book in paper back and enjoyed the well written book with story line and characters.
Ebook from netgalley and publishers with thanks.Opinions are entirely my own.
Ebook from netgalley and publishers with thanks.Opinions are entirely my own.
August 22, 2018
Somewhat disappointing
June 13, 2012
As much as I love Kathleen's writing and am blessed to have known her personally when I lived in MN, this is the book she lost me on. lol. I hated living in Minnesota and this book, set near the town where we used to live, brought up nothing but bad memories!
February 5, 2009
This was a piece of fluff romance that helped me feel better when I was having a stressful September. I really liked it.
November 21, 2015
Not a very good book and I was so disappointed. The book was choppy and at times made no sense.
September 3, 2010
Her theme is usually about Indian (native AM)culture mixing with "white" Am. Prejudice, acceptance, romance.
Read
February 5, 2016okay story, strange ending
March 12, 2013
had a hard time holding my attention, too much sexual junk, I had to skip big parts and that didn't make the story any better!.
November 26, 2013
Not bowled over. Not my genre.
November 11, 2014
I like stories that have ghosts, love affairs and cooking as themes. A View of the River has them all.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews