His Dakota Captive

Trail Blazers #5

by Jenna Kernan

Being a prisoner of the Sioux Indians has scarred Lucie West inside and out. Just when she's starting to overcome the demons of her past, Sky Fox, a former captive himself, takes her hostage. Determined to escape, Lucie is equally determined to deny her attraction to the rugged outcast.Sky needs Lucie's help to save an innocent man from the hangman's noose. Seeing past her scars to the brave beauty beneath, Sky is increasingly drawn to her. Can he endanger the woman he loves?

Genres: Historical, Westerns, Romance, Western Romance, Western Historical Romance, Historical Romance

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Thank you for finding me on GoodReads.

Find my social media links here: https://linktr.ee/jennakernan

Here's a bit more about me...

Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Jenna Kernan has written over forty novels, most recently penning domestic thrillers. Her debut thriller, A Killer's Daughter, won the bronze medal in popular fiction from the Florida Book Awards in 2021. Jenna’s 2022 domestic thriller, The Ex-Wives, won the gold medal in the same category. The Nurse, was released in 2023, The Patient's Daughter released in 2024, and The Fake Mother in 2025. Her thrillers are intense, unsettling, and gripping with unexpected twists and turns.
Jenna began her writing journey penning historical romance, paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Find them here: https://www.jennakernan.com/books-1
A member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Florida Mystery Writers and Novelists, Inc. and a natural redhead living with her husband on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Jenna has recently increased her sunblock to SPF 50.

Jenna offers a FREE BOOK as a welcome gift to new VIP Readers. Subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/jennakernan/grippi...

Visit Jenna at www.jennakernan.com

Follow Jenna here ...
BookBub: jenna-kernan
Twitter: @jennakernan
Instagram: jenna-kernan
Facebook: AuthorJennaKernan or join her newsletter at www.jennakernan.com

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

After being disappointed by Sierra Bride, a previous Kernan title, I had high hopes for His Dakota Captive only to be disappointed again. What annoys me the most is this is an author will ten novels to her name yet I kept tripping over a myriad of errors in this book. In one sentence the heroine is wearing a shawl while two lines later her wet hair is dampening her shirt. What happened to the shawl?

Around the halfway mark of the book, the hero and heroine have slept together for warmth and he wakes first:

…he moved away from her, each step as difficult as the last.

Yet two paragraphs later:

Sky crawled away from the bedding…

This was the final straw for me. There are at least four other glaring continuity errors in the book and this just screams laziness to me. The author should’ve caught this. The editor should’ve caught this. The copy editor should’ve caught this…and on and on. If the author and the publisher can’t be bothered to catch errors like this (one is acceptable – five in less than 140 pages?) then I can’t be bothered to read them. ~ Ana, www.ireadromance.com

[Mary23nm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked His Dakota Captive. It's not really about the heroine being a captive in this book,as in the blurb. Sky just took her away for a bit to talk to her. It is about how she was changed by her kidnapping and marriage to Eagle Dancer, as a child and Sky's former life with the Lakota. It has been a few weeks since I read High Plains Bride, but I thought Lucie was closer to 15 when she was rescued in that book, but in this sequel, it said she was still 13 when rescued. This story picks up 20 years later. I did feel kind of bad for Eagle Dancer, who was still in love with her. I hoped they would get more closure and talk it out more, but it was handled well enough.

[E Oygard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insight into the loss of pride and dignity on Indian reservations

This is the follow on story about Lucie West captured by Apaches in the book High Plains Bride. It is twenty years later and she has returned from her parent's home in California to work in a mission school for children who have been torn away from their parents on the Indian Reservation.
Unknown to her, Eagle Dancer, the Apache she married unwillingly, is on this reservation and has asked Sky Fox, the former white captive to bring her to him.

Sky Fox may be white but his heart is pure Indian. His reclusive life hides a guilt so deep, he has never married. Lucie, marked by her husband's mother, knows how white men feel about returning white captive women and thinks she will never find love.

This story gives insight into the deprivation and loss of dignity the Indian people faced on the reservations and how white women who returned from captivity were treat. Not as good as High Plains Bride, but a decent follow up.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good. I liked the dichotomy between the two characters the former Lakota slave and former son of a brave, both white, but with two completely different experiences trying to desperately to struggle to worlds. The same tribe took or took them in however, the past circumstances were so different the tension create a chance for the male and female lead characters to understand how different the world is depending on your circumstances and how you are treated because of the circumstances. It was a good love story with some action thrown in, but only a little bit of action. It is not my usual taste in reading, but I did enjoy it if you like historical romance with Native American influences I think you will enjoy the book.

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucie West was captured, scarred and married to Eagle Dancer, Sioux Indian. He saved her from enslavement to be his wife. Her parents rescued her and took her East, but kept her as a virtual prisoner in fear of her being stolen again. When she could stand it no more she ran away and took a teaching job at an Indian school. Eagle Dancer sends Sky Fox to bring her back to him. Sky was also captured but as a very young child and raised as Indian. As a young man he was pulled from the tribe and sent to the white world where he never fit in. He owes a debt and goes for Lucie. How these 2 lonely outsiders fulfill their debts and find a place for themselves is a good story.

[Sandra Whittiker · Rating 5 out of 5]

His Dakota Bride: Trail Blazers Western Historical Romance

Sky was asked by his friend and mentor to go to the Indian school and to ask Lucie to come back to see him. This was not an easy task to ask of one's friend. Lucie was not exactly an ordinary woman and she had a history with no friend. Both Sky and Lucie had suffered much loss in their lives and their lives were mirror images of each other, they just did not know it right now. It would take great courage and heart's that were willing to sacrifice everything to make this journey. Only time would tell just how it would end or if it would be worth the effort. This is a Great Read!!!!!

[sandy forguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sky and Lucie

Wonderful book and well written two lonely souls who find true love and and everlasting peace with each other would highly recommend They got their HEA

[Gmc · Rating 4 out of 5]

His Dakota Captive by Jenna Kernan.

Skylar "Sky" Fox rescued as infant from the wagon of his dead parents by Sioux Indian Ten Horses. He grows toward manhood in the Bitterroot tribe until on one faithful day he kills his best friend in a hunting accident. He is sent away before the father of his friend can kill him.

Lucie West Captive of the Sioux and slave to the mother of Eagle Dancer. Given the choice at 13 of being a slave and beaten daily or becoming wife to Eagle Dancer, she chooses wife. Shortly after that she is rescued by her family.

[Tasneem · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the plot and the characters. The setting too was really captivating with a lot of understanding and sympathy given to the Indian troubles. The white people are often seen as blinkered, prejudiced and rotten.
However, there were continuity issues in the writting of the text that should have been corrected at the editorial stage.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. The author works to get readers to empathize with the plight of Native Americans from the late 1800s. I thought the jailbreak in Chapter 15 was a little far-fetched, but the author managed to make it work. There were some good emotional scenes.

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the weird title and that it is a Harlequin book, this one was actually really good.

[SKM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. This story is about love and forgiveness, and how both are so closely related. Wonderful characters, settings, and dialogue.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped reading this. I thought it was dumb.