A Father's Vow
Grade : B+

A Father's Vow, the latest in the Montana Mavericks: Return to Whitehorn series, has just about everything I consider essential for a good book. In other words, it's a winner.

It begins with Julia Stedman's arrival in Whitehorn, Montana as she searches for the father she has never known. While dining at the Hip Hop Cafe, the place to see and be seen in Whitehorn, she meets Sam Brightwater. Although he gives her the cold shoulder when he is introduced to her, Sam is instantly attracted to Julia, and vice versa. As it turns out, Julia's father is alive and well and has been Sam's surrogate father since his own father died when Sam was an adolescent. He is loathe to admit it, but Sam is jealous that Julia will take his place in Dan's heart. He also intitially resents Julia and the attraction he feels for her because she is only half Northern Cheyenne Indian. Full Northern Cheyenne Indian himself, and totally committed to the preservation and well-being of the tribe, Sam has always-and-only planned to marry a woman who was also full Northern Cheyenne Indian. The crux of the conflict between Sam and Julia is established, but they are both helpless against the strength of their feelings for each other.

Sam and Julia are brought to life as they confront their feelings for each other and, especially, the impact these feelings have on Sam. Julia gives as good as she gets while Sam works through his feelings. Sam and Julia, however, are honest with themselves and with each other about what is happening between them, and, as a result, their struggle is heartwarming. Their relationship throughout the book is alternately playful, passionate, and emotional. When Julia winds-up pregnant and Sam insists on getting married because it's the right thing to do, Julia digs in her heels. She will settle for nothing less than a man who loves her. When they are stranded together during a blizzard, Sam finally utters those three all-important little words.

This is one of my favorite kinds of books. The characters are helpless against their feelings for each other but, more importantly, they are not afraid to confront the feelings that are turning their lives upside down and inside out. As they muddled through, Sam and Julia became so real and so vital that I truly hated for this book to end.

While all of the books in this series are worth reading, especially if you want to keep up on the mysteries that tie the books together, I particularly recommend the very first book in the overall Montana Maverick series. Sleeping With The Enemy, also by Myrna Temte, is the story of Jackson and Maggie Hawk. In conclusion, I offer this friendly warning: Once you get started with these books, you can't quit!

Reviewed by Anne Ritter
Grade : B+
Book Type: Series Romance

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : April 28, 1998

Publication Date: 1998/05

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