Queen of Swords

Wilderness #5

by Sara Donati

It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a year searching the islands of the Caribbean for Luke’s wife and the man who abducted her. But Jennet’s rescue, so long in coming, is not the resolution they’d hoped for. In the spring she had given birth to Luke’s son, and in the summer Jennet had found herself compelled to surrender the infant to a stranger in the hope of keeping him safe.

To claim the child, Hannah, Luke, and Jennet must journey first to Pensacola. There they learn a great deal about the family that has the baby. The Poiterins are a very rich, very powerful Creole family, totally without scruple. The matriarch of the family has left Pensacola for New Orleans and taken the child she now claims as her great-grandson with her.

New Orleans is a city on the brink of war, a city where prejudice thrives and where Hannah, half Mohawk, must tread softly. Careful plans are made as the Bonners set out to find and reclaim young Nathaniel Bonner. Plans that go terribly awry, isolating them from each other in a dangerous city at the worst of times.

Sure that all is lost, and sick unto death, Hannah finds herself in the care of a family and a friend from her past, Dr. Paul de Guise Savard dit Saint-d’Uzet. It is Dr. Savard and his wife who save Hannah’s life, but Dr. Savard’s half brother who offers her real hope. Jean-Benoit Savard, the great-grandson of French settlers, slaves, and Choctaw and Seminole Indians, is the one man who knows the city well enough to engineer the miracle that will reunite the Bonners and send them home to Lake in the Clouds. With Ben Savard’s guidance, allies are drawn from every segment of New Orleans’s population and from Andrew Jackson’s army, now pouring into the city in preparation for what will be the last major battle of the War of 1812.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Historical Romance, Audiobook, Adventure

576 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 31, 2006

About the author

Working on the next novel in the Waverly Place series. Looking for more information? Visit the wilderness universe wiki. Register to comment and participate in giveaways.

Sara Donati is the pen name of Rosina Lippi, also here on Goodreads because she writes too. All book reviews you'll find under Rosina's name.

Reviews

[Mishelle LaBrash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Ms Donati, just when I had thought you had done the unforgiveable, (Referance to , and my review thereof) you go ahead in redeem yourself in a major KICK ASS way... DAMN how I love this family.... You are a talent to be reckoned with for sure, Up there among my lists of the greatests... Off to buy my copy of ~ Sad really as I am SO NOT ready to let this family go....

I really hope you are able and desirous of introducing us to another family of epic characters, real soon....

Until then....

Thank-you

[Melodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bonner family saga continues with the adult children take center stage. Hannah and Luke have spent a year searching for kidnapped Jennet. After the rescue they find themselves in New Orleans again searching, this time for Jennett and Luke's infant son.
Intricate plot twists, a lot of history, and new characters abound.The author keeps the story line moving but the reader is easily lost if not paying attention. The War of 1812 is the crux of the history in this book, and as is usual with this series, I was educated and entertained.
This diverse family has held me in their thrall for a while now. And there is only one book left in the series! I am looking forward to and dreading the final book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to warm up to this book. That being said, I do think, overall, that I enjoyed it. The fifth in the Into the Wilderness series by Sara Donati, it was only this book that I learned the authors real name. I have to say I was quite shocked that Rosina Lippi-Green was actually Sara Donati. As a linguistics graduate I am much familiar with her work there, and it does a lot to explain why the accents and "voices" of these characters are so accurate in these works.

As a bit of a recap (and possible spoiler for the previous books) we are first introduced to Elizabeth, a spinster teacher from England who has come to New York to teach the children there. She falls in love with rugged Nathaniel Bonner and elopes with him in an attempt to restore some property to its rightful owners. Next, they journey to Scotland when their twins are kidnapped and have a wild time trying to rescue them. Later on down the road the story focuses more on Hannah, Nathaniel's daughter from his first marriage and her efforts to be a doctor in a time that is not very appreciative of her talents. The fourth book brings Jennet from England to America so that she can woo Luke Bonner. The fight between the British and Americans have started and she and Hannah go undercover to rescue Hannah's brother from his captivity by the British. It is at the end of this novel that Jennet is kidnapped and forced to go South.

Queen of Swords takes place roughly a year after the last book. We are shown a continuation of what happens when Luke Bonner's wife to be is kidnapped and taken south. The book opens with her being rescued and we learn that she has borne a child to Luke in the time she has been away. This child was sent away for its safety and they must retrieve it before they can go back home.

There is a snag however, in that the man who took the child, and his grandmother are determined to keep him. Jennet steals him away and must hide in the city with some old friends until they can escape safely. To go along with this, Hannah Bonner has joined her brother in helping to rescue Jennet and her son. She falls sick in New Orleans and loses touch with everyone until gaining the help of a dashing man who is half brother to a doctor she studied under. When he decides to fight on the American side of the war for the battle of New Orleans, she engages on as a doctor to be with him.

There are many more adventures of course. This book is full of them. However, as they are more side plots I am not going to go into detail about them with this review. Suffice to say that the reader is kept on the edge of their seat throughout the whole book.

Despite this adventure though, as I said before it was hard for me to get into this book. The first part reads very slowly and I found myself putting the book down for a break a few times. However, by the time it got to the middle I was fully engaged in the story and couldn't put it down. I believe part of my trouble was that I had grown to love the characters of Elizabeth and Nathaniel, the original protagonists in this series and it was hard to read a book without them in it. Luckily though, one of my favorite characters, Hannah, is restored to brilliant description and personality in this novel. After the last I had feared that her character had been given up on and was much relieved to find her the focus once again.

Donati's writings is very easy to read. She is not heavy handed on the description, but still includes enough to give you a sense of the place she sets her stories in. My only complaint on her writing would be that I'm not thrilled with her use of letters as a means of plot continuation. I can't stand the letters for some reason; perhaps because there always seems to be more than needed and I grow tired of seeing the format.

While at first I wasn't sure I wanted to continue the series, now after finishing the book I look forward to the next one. It is supposed to be the last book and it is my hope that all loose ends will be tied up. Truly though I think Donati is up to the task and I will enjoy it greatly.

Queen of Swords
Copyright 2006
562 pages

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I was sad that Nathaniel and Elizabeth weren't really in this installment of the Wilderness series, I liked the focus on Hannah, Jennet and Luke. (I can always tell when I consider the characters like they are my family because I actually refer to them by name and not as "MC" or whatever.)

This has been a fun series. I love the attention to detail given to the historical back drop. This book went from New York/Canada to the south with the War of 1812 front and center. Now I did have my problems with this, but it seems wrong to give it less than 4 stars. They had something to do with reused story lines from earlier installments, a lot of the men have the same personality when talking with their women, and some of this felt hurried. But I'm always a little more forgiving with family.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reviews get lower as I continue with this series. While, I may enjoy the characters, I can't ignore the plot holes such as why was Jennet kidnapped by Degre? To have a new book seems to be the explanation. She wasn't held for ransom nor did he marry her. Why did he want her? so she could sit around on an island playing with her tarot cards until Luke rescued her! Then why did Honore have a fake marriage to Jennet? He could have just slept with her in exchange for taking the baby. And why was it so important that Jennet get the baby away from Degre? What did she think he was going to do and why? Too many ludicrous situations.

The one thing I did take away from the book, was a glimpse at the horrible racism, prejudice, and slavery that were typical of the time in New Orleans. You really get to feel that through Hannah and the other characters around her.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

💞5 WONDERFUL STARS💞
My opinion of Sara Donati and her storytelling gets higher as I continue with the series...this book was absolutely fantastic!!! I have been devouring the series and I've been unable to put any of the books down. There are some plot holes in this one, but it is so well writen and there's sooo much angst and adventure that at the end I didn't care that I did not get the "why" of some events.​ I'm totally in love with the characters💖​ and I cannot wait to find out what they are up to in the last book!!​

QUICK REVIEW:

Enjoyment: 5/5
Writing style: 5/5
Storyline: 5/5
Hero: 5/5
Heroine: 5/5
Secondary characters: 5/5
Chemistry/attraction: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Hotness/Sex scenes: 0.5/5
Angst: 5/5
Drama level: 3/5
Humor level: 3/5
Depth of the book: 3/5
POV: It's "multi" pov

[Kaity ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/4 stars ish! It was difficult for me to get into this until the last quarter of it. I love Hannah and I grew to enjoy Luke and Jennet. I missed Elizabeth and Nathaniel a lot in this one but this one had a lot of action. The War of 1812 is in full force in this one and it was interesting to see our characters in New Orleans, a setting completely different from the previous ones. Overall, I enjoyed it, I mean I must have to zip through it this quickly. I love this series so much!

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is on my lifetime top ten. This is the 5th book in Donati's Wilderness series and I have loved every minute.

This is the saga of the Bonner family which started in 1792 with book 1 and Elizabeth Middleton coming to America from Britain. She arrives in the mountains of New York and takes over the schooling of the children and attracts the attention of Nathanial Bonner. Through the next 4 books we watch as their love story grows and they face the good and bad of what is put before them, all the while building a family.

Book 5 has us on adventure as two of the children of Elizabeth and Nathaniel search for their wife and cousin, Jennet, who has been abducted. Their search takes them from the New York mountains to Hati, to New Orleans. In the Big Easy, The Battle of New Orleans is gearing up and they find themselves caught, unable to return home.

Donati's writing and research are pitch perfect.

I have the last book The Endless Forest ready to go. However, I hesitate as I know I will be sad to leave this family.

[Adrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have watched Last of the Mohicans and enjoyed it, this series is a must read as it continues the story. This particular instalment focuses mostly on Hawkeye's grand daughter Hannah. However, the POV is shared around a number of loved characters.

This is my favourite in the series. It packs a punch and being the character driven reader that I am, the character development in this warms my heart to no end. That is number one. Number two? Ben Savard. Read it and meet him.

[BrandyD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gahhh..... the bad guy in this story is such an awful villian, grrr....
And, again, Kate Reading does such a terrific job with the narration!

[Shannon Dyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Round up to 4.5 stars.

[Charlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took more than a year for Luke and Hannah to find and rescue Jennet, to dispose of her abductor. After so long in captivity, the Bonner siblings had no idea in what condition they would find their wife and sister, respectively. No matter what, though, they'd be able to finally go home, to leave the sea behind, and heal together at Lake in the Clouds. Only, there's more to do than merely save Jennet and dispose of her kidnapper; unbeknownst to Luke and Hannah, when Jennet was taken from them, she was carrying a child, a child that she, upon fearing for the baby's life, placed in the care of a stranger. To recover their son, their nephew, Luke, Jennet, and Hannah begin the second leg of their journey, traveling first to Pensacola and then to New Orleans. There, a maelstrom of complications await them, including the bemusing Creole culture, disease, and a looming battle between the Americans and the British, the war of 1812 raging around them. In order to be reunited with baby Nathaniel, the Bonners find themselves pitted against one of the first families of New Orleans - the cruel and sadistic Honore Porterin and his equally as crazed grandmother - and depending upon the kindness of old and new friends and strangers alike. It's a whole new wilderness for the Bonners to conquer, one that couldn't be further from the endless forest they know and love so well.

From the very first pages of Queen of Swords, adrenaline starts pumping, and it doesn't let up. There are no lulls in this novel. Rather, it's constant action and meaningful suspense. While obviously a strength of the book, its true genius is in its setting. New Orleans, despite its balmy weather, breathed new life into this series. Though always enjoyable, the change in location allowed Donati to explore a new culture, putting the unique Bonner perspective to use in interpreting not only the relationships between Creoles and both Americans and the British but also their slaves, free blacks, free blacks who own slaves, quadroons, Indians, and those Indians of mixed race. Plus, New Orleans gave her a playground of new characters to introduce. Finally, by removing Luke, Jennet, and Hannah from everything they knew, the characters were allowed to grow, especially the two women. Jennet grew up, and Hannah was finally able to make peace with her past. She did this by moving on, by letting go, by returning to herself while rediscovering who she was, things that just didn't seem possible back in Paradise. By relocating the story to New Orleans, at least temporarily, Donati was also able to quickly and efficiently progress the story for the rest of the Bonners back in New York as well, relating what Luke, Jennet, and Hannah missed through letters. Combined, everything sets up for the next phase of this family's tale, now properly spiced with a little foreign flair and fresh blood as everyone reunites in The Endless Forest.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

"It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a year searching the islands of the Caribbean for Luke's wife and the man who abducted her. But Jennet's rescue, so long in coming, is not the resolution they'd hoped for. In the spring she had given birth to Luke's son, and in the summer Jennet had found herself compelled to surrender the infant to a stranger in the hope of keeping him safe.

To claim the child, Hannah, Luke, and Jennet must journey first to Pensacola. There they learn a great deal about the family that has the baby. The Poiterins are a very rich, very powerful Creole family, totally without scruple. The matriarch of the family has left Pensacola for New Orleans and taken the child she now claims as her great-grandson with her.

New Orleans is a city on the brink of war, a city where prejudice thrives and where Hannah, half Mohawk, must tread softly. Careful plans are made as the Bonners set out to find and reclaim young Nathaniel Bonner. Plans that go terribly awry, isolating them from each other in a dangerous city at the worst of times.

Sure that all is lost, and sick unto death, Hannah finds herself in the care of a family and a friend from her past, Dr. Paul de Guise Savard dit Saint-d'Uzet. It is Dr. Savard and his wife who save Hannah's life, but Dr. Savard's half brother who offers her real hope. Jean-Benoit Savard, the great-grandson of French settlers, slaves, and Choctaw and Seminole Indians, is the one man who knows the city well enough to engineer the miracle that will reunite the Bonners and send them home to Lake in the Clouds. With Ben Savard's guidance, allies are drawn from every segment of New Orleans's population and from Andrew Jackson's army, now pouring into the city in preparation for what will be the last major battle of the War of 1812." (From Amazon)

The novel takes place away from Lake in the Clouds and carries on with the next generation. It is great seeing Hannah all grown up and like her stepmother, Elizabeth. Hannah has had many tragedies in her life and her latest ones have wounded her heart and soul. She is very different from earlier in the series and while your heartbreaks for her it is great to see Donati's realism.

[thered_hairedreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This....where do I even begin? Amazing read. We follow the next generation of Bonners (Hannah, Luke, and his wife Jennett) into Louisiana and the War of 1812. It begins as Luke and Hannah try to find Jennet who was abducted in the previous book. After they locate her, they then begin the search for the baby Jennett had while she was captive and it leads them to Louisiana. Hannah was already traumatized enough from events in the previous book, but becomes even more traumatized when she and Luke come across the evils of slavery and slave runners. The society of New Orleans was so complicated with the elite Creoles who were of French ancestry, the freed people of color who weren't protected by illegal slave running, and the Indians and people of mixed race, as well as slaves. I wasn't even prepared for the raw descriptions that Sara used. The main antagonist was an evil man named Honore Poiterin who made Satan look angelic.

Even though Luke and Jennett are reunited with their baby, they must begin the healing that all the traumas have wrecked upon Jennett's mental health. Hannah struggles with trying to deny her feelings for a mixed Choctaw Indian of African heritage named Ben. He is up to the task and is more than her match. It is a long book, and it can exhaust it you, but it is worth it.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was the hardest to get through in this series. This focused more on Jennet, Luke and Hannah. It was during war times and I felt it just encompassed too much of that aspect into the storyline. At times the political aspect was so drawn out that it got to be quite boring.


For some reason it was hard to connect with the main characters especially Jennet and Luke. It was nice to see a bit more on Hannah and her trials and tribulations being an woman of mixed ethnicity.

I sorely missed Elizabeth and Nathaniel in this book. They are ever present but the story does not directly involve them until the end.

This has to be my least favorite book in the series.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to give this 5 stars. It has everything in historical fiction I love. The wilderness doctor, love affairs, the worst of humanity and the hardscrabble of the times. On to the last in the series...Book #6.

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donati's writing just got better and better as she continued the story of the Bonners and all their various children/relatives/friends. This book contained several gut-wrenching scenarios which are not for the faint of heart. However, I must say it was probably my favorite of the five I've read so far.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best one of the series so far.

[Alexandria Brim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the fifth book of Donati's "Wilderness" series, it follows from the fourth book, Fire Along the Sky, though a year has passed. In that year, Luke Scott and his half-sister Hannah Bonner have traveled the Caribbean in order to rescue his fiancée, Jennet. They find her and kill her captors before escaping to Luke's mother's estate for safety. He and Jennet are married and she confesses she gave birth to Luke's son in the past year. To keep the boy safe, though, she gave him to a man named Honore Poiterin. After he forced her to marry him in a sham ceremony (the minister had been defrocked and had no authority to marry anyone). Jennet and Luke have to overcome this and get their son back from Honore, traveling to Pensacola, FL, to do so.

But the War of 1812 is still ongoing and affecting the Gulf area. With the British closing in, Honore has escaped to his family home in New Orleans and put the boy (named Nathaniel) into the care of his powerful grandmother, Agnes. Jennet and Hannah make the journey to New Orleans with Luke planning to travel behind them. Jennet gets herself into Agnes Poiterin's household, pretending to be Honore's obedient wife. Agnes puts restrictions on what Jennet can and cannot do and in the end won't guarantee she'll let Jennet remain "married" to Honore and raise Nathaniel. Hannah meanwhile comes into the city but is unable to help her friend due to swamp sickness. She is rescued by Paul Savard from Lake in the Cloudsand is reunited with Jennet and the baby at his house. Paul's half brother Ben helps them escape Agnes and brings them to Paul's for safety. Luke is reunited with them shortly after as General Andrew Jackson arrives in New Orleans. War is bearing down on them and the family has to hold on for it.

This is the first book where Nathaniel and Elizabeth do not play a major role in some way. And it feels right. Like the series has slowly become Hannah's, who is the main star of this book with Luke and Jennet close behind. It seems very natural for the children, now grown, to move to the forefront while the parents move to the background. We mostly hear about Paradise and Lake in the Clouds through letters and that is okay. It is enough to know life goes on up in New York, though Nathaniel and Runs-From-Bears show up to help with the war. But they are still minor characters, there to support Hannah.

Queen of Swords is also the first book where I really feel Ms. Gabaldon's influence on Ms. Donati's writing. Yes, even after the fact Dawn on a Distant Shore took place mostly in Scotland. Jennet and Hannah are put through the Jamie Fraser ringer. For those wondering, it's what I call it when an author throws as many traumatic events at their character as possible. Jennet has a more realistic reaction to her traumas than Hannah but in the end, it still feels right to her character. But it's mostly in the beginning of the novel, which can make it a bit difficult to get through emotionally. Most of it is Jennet's--Hannah's comes later and has a bit more of a punch than before because of how well things were going. And the tension is built up better toward the middle rather than the beginning.

Most of the story takes place in New Orleans at the end of the War of 1812. Which means the city is bracing itself for war to come to it. But it's a great setting. It's unique in early American history in how the races interacted. Mulattos and Creoles, Native Americans and Whites, etc. It's a fascinating world and a good place for someone like Hannah, who walks between two worlds herself. But it still shows the prejudices which still run through the city. Hannah encounters them when she sets up a clinic in the city and has to earn the trust of the different groups of color in the city. But I have gone on about how much I admire and enjoy Donati's description skills, I feel like I'd bore you now and wouldn't really add anything more.

Jean-Benoit Savard or "Ben" as he is simply known is the romantic partner I had wanted for Hannah back in Lake in the Clouds. Someone who shared the same world she did--the one between "White" and "non-white." I never got why Hannah had to choose between the two in Lake in the Clouds. I always saw her walking the line between the two--"red" enough for the Native peoples, "white" enough for the Americans. He understands her struggles because they have been his. While he is strong, he is also playful. In all, he's the right man for Hannah in my opinion. And a bit different from the usual Donati romantic hero, though he still is very similar to Nathaniel. He works well with Hannah and when they get together in the end, it is very satisfying. The only thing I think was held off for too long was Hannah's reason for keeping Ben at arm's length for a long time. It's revealed Hannah has closed herself off after the death of her husband, afraid of loving another man only to lose him to war. I feel this could've been brought in sooner. But he does tread very close to Jamie Fraser territory: where everyone likes him and all the women want him. Luckily, there are no hints the men want him as well.

Luke and Jennet, once reunited, are quite an interesting couple though overshadowed by Hannah and Ben. But they have a realistic relationship in which one person has suffered a trauma. Luke wants to do everything in his power to help Jennet but he doesn't know how to. All he can do is love her and wait for her to move on past what has happened to her. It takes some time but it happens. I feel this was handled better than how Gabaldon approached Jamie and Claire's relationship after her trauma in Dragonfly in Amber.

The antagonists of this book are a step above the minister from the last book but not quite up to Martha Kuick's level. Agnes and Honore Poiterin are privileged, wealthy and used to getting their way. There isn't much to make Agnes sympathetic. She orders people around and scorns Jennet, who most likely outranks her in society no matter her country of birth. I would've expected a bit more help from her brother's people in some way but Luke and Jennet found their allies against Agnes. After all powerful people have many enemies. Honore, though, is more of a sociopath due to his upbringing under his grandmother. He doesn't care who he hurts along the way as long as he gets what he wants. And we see that because Donati goes deeper with him than his grandmother. Their ultimate demises are moments to cheer in the book.

All in all, another good entry in an excellent series.

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to do an audiobook reread of this fifth book in the Wilderness series by Sara Donati. If my memory serves me correctly, it was one of my favourite books in the series. Queen of Swords is the continuation of the Bonner family saga but in this book, the story shifts from the original couple Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner to their children Hannah and Luke and Luke's wife Jennet in a story that is filled with adventure.

Readers witness a lot of problems thrown at these three characters which include being taken away from the comfort and support of their family in rural New York state/Quebec. The story takes the characters to Pensacola, New Orleans and Haiti which are vividly described and give readers a look into Creole culture, the variety of races in the Caribbean and how they were treated, and historical references like the ongoing War of 1812.

There's a great sense of adventure in this book - there's kidnapping, war, sham marriages, and a powerful New Orleans family readers will love to hate. As for the Bonner clan, I missed Nathaniel and Elizabeth who were very peripheral in this story, but through their letters readers keep up on what's happening back in Paradise, NY.

This change in scenery also helped to progress Hannah and Jennet's characters who each come into their own. I particularly enjoyed getting to know Hannah better - we see the toll her experiences and losses have taken on her as she finds her strength and rediscovers who she wants to be. I also loved seeing how this book connects with Donati's Waverly Place series.

This was a good read, but it took me longer to feel fully immersed in the story - despite the adventurous energy. The audiobook didn't hold my attention well this time out, but the series remains one of my favourites and I eagerly look forward to the final book which I remember being a perfect ending to this wonderful historical fiction series.

[BeverlyB · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 5th in this series did not disappoint! The war of 1812 is raging and Luke and Hannah have safe haven to find Jennet who's been kidnapped. They finally find and rescue her, only to discover that during her captivity she's given birth to Luke' son. To keep him from coming to harm she entrusts her son to a stranger she thought she could trust. Their search for him leads them first to Pensacola and then on to New Orleans. A corrupt, but powerful family in New Orleans has claimed the child as their own and New Orleans is on the brink of war. Free people of colour, or people of mixed parentage are not safe in New Orleans. And Jennet and Hannah and Luke are separated and no one is safe. They find people they can trust and they do eventually find each other safe. What a fantastic adventure! Can't wait to see what happens next!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

In every series there is a book that is a least favorite in the series and this one was it for me. This one follows Jennet and Luke and Hannah. I really like Hannah but Jennet is not one of my favorite characters. This one also takes place during the war of 1812 and I did not care to read about the war. So this one really dragged for me. I borrowed it from the library so I had to finish it in a reasonable time, otherwise it would have taken much longer. There was also a lot of bad things that happened in this book that were not pleasant to read about so that did not help either. I am excited to move on to the final book in the series though.

"And he is a man, forbye, and infected as all men are with the need to tear down the world now and then so that they may play at building it up again afterward."

"Hannah realized that her cheeks were wet, and that her eyes stung, and that she had remembered, finally, how to weep."

"I hope I'll win your father's respect, but in the end it's not his opinion that matters to me."

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 5 complete. I am anxious to read Book 6 as it is the conclusion to the Wilderness series. The setting for this book 5 mostly took place in the south in New Orleans during the war of 1812 with returning characters focused on Hannah and her medical practices. I read with interest in the author notes as Sarah states “The War of 1812 was not widely studied or known, something which has always struck me as odd. My interest in that war is part of the reason the story exists. I’ve tried to tell a little of what happened here and in the novel that proceeds this one Fire Along The Sky but it is only a very little”.

I find this comment ‘odd’ as well because I felt there has been so much written and talked about over the years about this important time in our history. Very much enjoyed nonetheless.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one the least in the series, didn't care for the setting or the heavy storyline of slavery and all its abhorrent evils.
3.5 stars

[Shelby Duckworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read!!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a lot longer to finish this on audiobook bc of all the life things but it was just as good as all the other books in the series! Can’t wait to see the next installment!!

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The war part dragged on for way too long for my liking. The whole book also felt more drawn out. Not my favorite but still a solid read. One more to go in the series 🙂

[Theresa Wranitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous books in the series but still a lot of history & adventure.

[Connie Whitcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. It satisfies my need for melodrama. It is the equivalent of a soap opera with lots of history thrown in. Love it.

[Peggybwaltman · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. I really enjoy this series.