Runaway

MacKenzies - Florida Civil War #1

by Heather Graham

"I accepted you as payment on a gambling table, because you're incredibly beautiful, and I want you for the same reason."

His smoldering gaze claimed her long before a poker hand made her his. Tara Brent knew she could never escape this dark and brooding stranger who promised her safety, with a price: marriage and life together in the lush, lethal wilderness of Florida. She didn't even know his name, only the promise of passion, and refuge in his arms.

Jarrett McKenzie swept his ravishing bride away from New Orleans to his remote Florida plantation, determined to uncover the desperate secret from which she ran. He couldn't tell her of his own Seminole roots—or open her guarded heart—until his former commander, President Andrew Jackson, declared war on the Indians, and a powerful enemy from Tara's past found his way to their door.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Civil War, Fiction, Westerns

493 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1994

About the author

Also published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell's Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette's Shadows, and for Harlequin's mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children's charity.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.

Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I hate you! Let’s go have sex." It’s such an infuriating concept: a romance novel built on misunderstandings, deliberate untruthfulness, and a couple who are drawn together physically while sharing inconceivable, undeniable passion for each other. Sometimes, the background story is strong enough to make up for the foolhardy behavior of both hero and heroine while they bicker their way into bed. This is not the case here.
The premise is promising, with our heroine, Tara, being on the run from an evil dude who framed her for his father’s murder, but the final showdown on this conflict is rather pat and anti-climactic. The setting could also enhance the drama, being set in Florida during the time Native Americans were being rounded up and sent west, or slaughtered if they wouldn’t go. Our hero, Jarrett, even has a Seminole half-brother, but the only reason this enters the drama is so our heroine can be kidnapped by him but not be in any real danger while her husband teaches her a lesson in submissiveness. Tara learns that Indians aren’t all filthy, scary savages. How nice for her. Of course, in her situation, should she really be judging anyone?
Whatever, the book was okay, if you like that kind of Alpha meets fake-feisty femme, he rescues her a lot and they live happily ever after kind of romance.

[Glamdring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so this is one review for the whole saga.

The saga begins during the second Seminole war and ends at the end of the secession war. The first two books are about Jarrett (white american) and James his half brother who is half white (same father)/half Seminole. The four following books are focused on their children.

The McKenzies are a close knit family. Then secession war happens and though they are all staunchly against slavery they find themselves politically divided.

Heather Graham has a real talent to weave real History through her romances and each time she gave us both side of the story.

One of my favorite historical saga ever.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this one was a goodie!!!
It's full of angst, and mystery and interesting characters.
I loved all the various and different characters within the story.
I adored the chemistry between the Hero and heroine. Their connection was so real. The growth of their relationship - from pure physical attraction to something deeper; love.
It's palpable.
But the best thing was, the angst never died. It was constant.
I always loved beautiful heroines. This one included.
And the Hero, he's so hot and gorgeous.
Both came with their own baggages; which was revealed slowly as the story progressed.
It was glorious.

[Glamdring · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Re-read*
Buddy read with Blacky <3<3<3

I loved it!
Here's my previous review.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first historical I've read by Heather Graham. It's the first in a six-book series focusing on the adventures of a fictional family, the MacKenzies, in 19th-century Florida. This is a unique setting for a historical romance novel, and Graham's love of the history and landscape shines through in her writing. The descriptions of the marshes, flora, and fauna are beautiful and evocative. Graham also weaves in details about the various Native American tribes living in Florida.

The book is packed with adventure, and the characters overall are well-developed. I would have rated this book higher if not for the melodramatic scenes of romance, of which this book has many (and yes, that's what you tend to find in a historical romance but every love scene was so over-the-top I was rolling my eyes). I don't get the whole "let's argue bitterly and then fall into bed" dynamic, and this was the extent of Tara's and Jarrett's relationship for almost the entire book. I also didn't like the fact that their big relationship problems came from a lack of communication, and Tara's character particularly frustrated me at times because she could just be so stupid. I will probably still pick up the next book in this series, though, because I liked it by the end and I'm curious to read more about the adventures of this fictional family.

[Linda Shrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Romance,thrilling. I am not a Romance reader but found enough excitement in this to keep me reading.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXTREMELY VIVID, AND TRULY WELL WRITTEN! THE CHARACTERS BEFITTED THE TIME AND SETTING OF THE ERA SO DON'T LET OTHER REVIEWERS FOOL YOU WHEN THEY MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT ANNOYING HEROINES OR HEROES FOR LET ME REASON OUT WHY...

HERO is straddling the fence, being born Irish yet he also defends the Indians. Known as White Tiger to the Seminole people, he has grown up within their community because his father wedded one and conceived his beloved half-brother James or known as Running Bear. In other words, Jarrett is a peacemaker for both races - the White and the Indians. The story opens with him gambling in New Orleans and when a hooded female enters the bar, he was captivated. Who knew his night would end with her being a prize set upon him by one of the gamblers and before the night was over, he helps her escape the men after her and weds her. Yet they are both strangers with secrets of their past and it is the main dilemma which both struggle with during their marriage. Jarrett had too much pride to confess things that would soothe his distressed young wife when he brings her home to Indian Territory where the war is currently happening. Her fears were not unjust and who could blame her for freaking out? Jarrett was too biased and arrogant to assume that she would just accept her new life in a secluded bayou, with the threat of being killed by savages and it was unfair of him to compare her to his dead wife. He has his faults, but it didn't mean that he didn't put in effort to right his mistakes and took the time to reach out to Tara in his own way.

HEROINE is running away from a man who is obsessed with her, and also the one who killed his own father and framed her as a murderess right in front of the audience. She was a play actress. Desperate for money, she decides to work in a more respectable brothel which wasn't really because she was roped into one of the drunk gambler's game and offered to the dark Irishman, Jarrett who eventually saves her life and marries her. Tara is rightfully plagued with a lot of worries when her stranger husband takes her to him home where she is horrified to discover upon arrival that she's about to step in the midst of a Seminole war. Worse she doesn't even know Jarrett at all nor does he about her, and it's hard to trust a stranger you just met so I can honestly say her fears and cries were justified... especially for a woman of her time. I'd say she may sometimes be tempestuous but it made the story all the more dramatic and riveting.

OVERALL the passion was high, the angst was present and there was definitely A LOT OF ANGRY MAKE UP SEX and volatile emotions, especially jealousy. But it doesn't make you want to punch anyone for the characters while lacked communication, did indeed communicated towards the end thus finally solving their problems. I highly recommend this for a classic romance slash war slash Indian experience. I anticipate James's story though it's sad to know that Naomi dies for if she didn't we won't have his story....which sucks because I liked her and it hurts to know that another heroine will replace her. Hope James's future love will be able to trump Naomi's character or I will be sorely disappointed.

[Regan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating Love Story from the Florida Wilderness

This is the first in Graham's 19th century Old Florida's McKenzies series. It's a captivating story of a passionate romance set against the background of the history of this great state. Graham takes care to give us the history of Florida in 1835 (it is her home state), including the Seminole wars that resulted from broken treaties and the white man trying to push the Indians west.

Runaway is tells the story of Tara Brent, a beautiful girl on the run from a twisted suitor who would have her at any cost, including murder for which he has framed her. Escaping to New Orleans, she becomes a pawn in a game of cards where Jarrett McKenzie, a wealthy "Black Irish" plantation owner from the Florida territory, wins a night with her. Alarmed, she explains she only waits tables in the tavern, but when bad guys chase her, McKenzie protects her and then decides, at his friend's suggestion, to marry her and take her back to Florida. He lost the wife he loved to death but he knows he needs a wife. While there is no love to begin with, he desires Tara the moment he sees her. Tara agrees to marry him, needing to disappear and believing she has few options. Each has secrets they allow the other to keep as they find passion in their new marriage.

This exposed me to Florida's history and made the Seminole wars come alive. As she did with her Civil War trilogy, Graham helps us to feel what it was like for families caught between factions in a war...in this case, a family with Seminole relatives. I loved the way Graham portrayed the beauty of the "Eden" that is Florida and have enjoyed all in the series (see below). Highly recommended.

The series in order:

RUNAWAY
CAPTIVE
REBEL
SURRENDER
GLORY
TRIUMPH

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both this series and the Civil War series really brought home to me what it must have been like back then. I mean, logically you understand that a civil war means families fighting against families, but for some reason it never really registered how much heartache and pain it brought with or without casualties. Brothers who love each other desperate not to face each other on the battlefield coming home to see each other across the dinner table. Fathers praying for sons on both sides of the lines. Wives watching as families who'd lived and laughed and loved together were torn apart by a war they didn't want. And in this series Ms. Graham highlights the Indian wars in Florida. Although it is rather lengthy, I loved seeing this family as much as her others. It was nice to see that sometimes love truly does conquer all.

[EvilAntie Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing novel

This novel in the beginning reminded me of James Michener 's novel.It is the land and the setting that sets the stage for an incredible novel. Jarrett is a force to be reckoned sign-up he is mesmerizing and captivating. This is a lush story that ran away with my heart.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars first book by this author and I quite liked it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is my first back read that is my 23 of 2023!! Let’s hope that I stick with my drawings and reading them when I can (after book club picks, TBR purchases and ARC wins)~

This was a chunk of a book, almost 500 pages…and, published quite some time ago (1995).

I enjoyed this book and remembered the trite romances I was once enamored with in my twenties. Although I don’t read many “damsel in distress; headstrong women, saved by Mr. handsome, strong and smoldering” type books anymore, it was nice to go back to a time when I did.

Set in 1835-ish, Tara Brent has committed murder, accidentally and unintentionally. She is running from the law. Jarrett McKenzie has just won her in a poker game…when she wasn’t a prize to be won. When he promises her safety from the thugs that are hunting her, marriage seems a small price to pay. However, his home is deep in Florida where there are “savage” Indians, crocodiles and venomous snakes. Would she have been safer at the end of a noose? And why does Jarrett think that he is immune from being slaughtered by the Indians?

This is the kind of story where you just go along for the ride and enjoy yourself. That is exactly what I did…it was a means of escapism! I enjoyed it, but I also remembered why I strayed away from this type of book. If you read them all the time, they eventually start to sound the same. That is not to say that they aren’t good reads. Just, “yea, yea, you love him…stop fighting it and get this resolved.”

I give this one 3 stars for the amusement of going “old school” with this book.

[Xee · Rating 4 out of 5]

20%: Oh, Robert, you sweet cinnamon roll. Please don’t die. 🥺
30%: Jarrett FFS! someone hand me a frying pan so I can knock some sense into him. 🙄
70%: Wow, this book is emotionally heavy. Painful, thought-provoking, and not always in a fun way.

The Florida setting? Stunning. Overwhelming. The descriptions of the marshes, flora, and fauna were so vivid . The history though , a brutal reminder of the horrors of American expansion and the “divine right” mentality. Let’s just say this book has me side-eyeing every single colonizer in my TBR. Bye, biographies of American presidents , leaders , politicians of those times—all of you, every single one are officially canceled.

Now let’s talk romance, aka the melodrama Olympics. Tara and Jarrett’s relationship is basically:
Bitter argument. Intense makeout session.Repeat.

The “let’s fight, then fall into bed” thinggot old but did I stop reading or even put it down? Nope.. Throw in Tara’s frustrating lack of common sense and their complete inability to communicate, and I was ready to scream in their faces.

That said, the adventure kept me hooked, and I actually couldnot put this baby down..I had hoped the deaths at the end wouldnt happen but they did and now Im upset. I still will read on but dangnabbit I'm So Damn Upset!

Runaway was a wild ride—equal parts eye-roll-but-delicious-high-octane-worthy romance and deeply thought-provoking historical drama. 3.5 stars and a whole lot of feelings.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so grateful to have found this book and learn so much about the history of my new home state of Florida and what it was like here nearly 200 years ago in 1835. Florida was undeveloped then and considered a wild, savage, and unsettled land. Some of the bloodiest battles between the Anglos and the Seminoles occurred here long before it became a state. The author, Heather Graham, lives in Florida and she has written a five-generation family saga that begins with "Runaway." The story starts out in New Orleans and continues west of Tampa on Cimarron Plantation, considered to be "neutral" ground. This is the story of Tara and Jarrett, two very remarkable people. Tara has been accused of a murder in New Orleans and she is running for her life. Jarrett's step-mother and younger brother is Seminole and he is caught between two worlds. This is an amazing story of courage and true love.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stoped at page 88 because Graham’s meandering way of writing was just too much to follow. She took her title far too literally. Tara runs out of a house, she runs away from Jarret, she runs back to Jarret, they run upstairs, they run downstairs… and all the while Graham throws in random lines to let us know that the two found each other hot. It was so disconcerting. As were the endless use of exclamations and characters having ott dramatic moments. How did a card game suddenly become a weapons fight for absolutely no reason other than to show off the ninja like skills of the hero?
Personal pet peeve: I never trust an author who is too lazy to do historical research. Of course the beauty is wearing a gown and petticoat but apparently she was also wearing her corset straight on her skin. Do you know what kind of stress that puts on skin? And what upper class Northener was wearing a ponytail in the 1830s?

[MAMcK · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because it promised me a novel about Florida's history and nature, but what I found instead was the most poorly written 'romance novel' I've encountered in a long time. I put it in the discard pile before page 30, but ended up picking it back up strictly for the history, which is this book's only redeeming feature. She gets it right, but her characters don't ring true for their era. Even her descriptions of nature left me scratching my head in places. Anyone who has been in Florida's woods knows that the pine needles that litter the ground are cinnamon brown, not green. Green water? Our creeks are root-beer brown. Has Ms. Graham ever been in the woods??

The next two books in the series will be a pass for me.

[Esther Kozakevich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heather Graham is my absolute favorite historical romance author because of her exciting plots and attention to historical detail. However this was my least favorite of her books because of the annoying and unnecessary miscommunications/arguing that took up more than half of the book. In general I despise when hero/heroine seem to only have chemistry going for them, and this was exactly that kind of book. Graham usually straddles the angst line well, but here it just did not work because there was 0 reason for all the miscommunications and secrecy, and the characters had nothing to unify them except for ***. annoying.

[hani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise of this book, and I so liked the writing. What I didn't like, are the characters.

What makes or breaks the entire experience of liking a book is how the female heroines are portrayed. I don't like to see women being regarded as unreasonable and hysterical. We have enough of that depiction of women in the real world, so I don't like seeing that in the books I read since it's further perpetuate that notion. As for male heroes, they're usually like "whatever" because, in my opinion, they're not very complex to create, and they all act the same so I don't care much for them. Obviously if the hero is a horrible cheating person then I'd hate the book, but in the case of this book, this character was, like i said, "whatever".

Moving on, one of my many issue with this heroine is the fact that she always acts like a victim when the hero responds back to something hurtful she said. How are you hurt that he's lashing out at you when you brought up the topic of his dead wife? I literally cringed so bad when i read that. Moreover, she's a person who's literally running from the authorities and keeps many secrets, yet she feels the need to critique him, his house, and his life choices. Like what? At least he accomplished something. Moreover, she's also extremely childish, immature, and never say what she means Everytime she converse with the hero, her inner monologue is like "this is wrong, and I shouldn't say something like that to him" while saying all the wrong things to him face-to-face. Like come on now 🙄 it's extremely frustrating.

Overall, she's very entitled, expects honesty from the hero when she's never honest, and bratty. I just couldn't stand her, and that's why I'm giving this book a low rating.

[Suzy Vero · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the entire series.

Heather Graham is an incredible storyteller and her Florida Civil War series of six books is riveting, full of passion and rich historical details.

The first two books, Runaway and Captive, take place during the Seminole Wars, mid 1830s and the heroes are two brothers, Jarrett and James McKenzie who has a Seminole mother. Both wealthy landowners. Jarrett wins Tara, the heroine, in a poker game in New Orleans.

The rest of the series is about four of their adult children and is set during the Civil War. All the romances mirror the intensity and battles of these wars… they are enemies to lovers… especially during the Civil War books when the McKenzies are divided in loyalty … Union or the South.

This series has much more historical detail compared to Graham’s earlier series about the Camerons… Florida is her home state and was the breadbasket of the Confederacy. At times the actual romances are almost a backstory .., in one book they hero and heroine only meet sporadically until the end, as the battles in the North raged around them. There’s plenty of blood and gore, tragedy, high stakes adventures, all surrounding sex scenes full of slightly purple prose. The state of Florida plays a starring role along with the splendid McKenzie clan who all appear in the final book as the author ties all the loose ends together.

Recommend if you’re interested in reading HRs heavy on history and lighter on the number of pages for romance. Yes, I loved the series!

[Amarylisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

ไม่ถึงกับไม่สนุกหรอกนะ แต่มันไม่ค่อยได้อารมณ์นิยายโรมานซ์เท่าที่ควร เนื้อหาส่วนใหญ่ของเรื่องจะเป็นรายละเอียดของการต่อสู้กันของคนขาวกับอินเดียนแดงเป็นส่วนมาก นางเอกซึ่งหนีจากการถูกใส่ร้ายในคดีฆาตกรรมเลยหนีมาทำงานในบาร์ก็เลยเจอกับพระเอกที่เล่นพนันชนะได้ตัวนางเอกมา แล้วก็แต่งงานกันอย่างรีบด่วนแล้วก็พานางเอกไปอยู่ที่ไร่ ส่วนพระเอกก็ต้องเข้าไปพัวพันกับสงคราม

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical romance that takes place in Florida during the Seminole wars. A beautiful mystery woman on the run winds up through strange circumstances being married to a wealthy handsome man with a plantation in the Florida swamps. Romance sizzles, danger increases, mysteries deepen and slowly come to light. I liked learning the history of a time period in Florida.

[Ree · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a book I’ve read several times over the years, this book never fails to engage me with the tale of love and danger, war and peace. It’s just the start of a sweeping saga of the last of the Seminole people, and the war that was splitting the nation to evict them from Florida. Needless to say, I absolutely love this book and will continue to read and reread it!

[Patricia Mayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great...

I love the Historical novels that Heather Graham write. I know there is usually stuff I think is really stupid, like how dumb the characters can be but usually overlooked. This was kind of normal with that stuff but I did learn a good deal on Florida History. Along with the Indian issues here as with the ones elsewhere in the country.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Runaway

I enjoyed this historical romance. Some scenes were contrived but there was a definite storyline that followed the times. I would like to know more about James and how he and his people fared during the war.

[Basbouseolz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
A lot of brow arching
Heroines character was very 90s heroine
Rash and outspoken. it was cringe at times but I still liked her
A reviewer here said that the best thing abt this book is that the tension between mmcs was there up until the end which I loooved

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for a romance novel. Graham writes such good paranormal FBI books, I guess I was expecting a bit more mystery.

[Caryl Moulder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had not read this series of Heather Graham. Her research into historical events and times is always accurate. Good characters with just the right amount of angst.

[Ryane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun to read. If you are a Floridian then you'll really enjoy how she so perfectly weaves her fictitious story right into the real history of Florida's Indian wars.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I don't even know where to begin😍
This book is a re-read this book is worth purchasing, it is an Adventurous Historical Romance book I love that Jarrett is half Indian and half white and Tara was stubborn at times but eventually loved him, their chemistry was undeniable 🔥❤