White Wolf takes place during the American westward expansion of the mid-1800s, and is the tale of love between Jessie Jones and half-breed White Wolf. Fresh characters and nice descriptive writing make this an fairly entertaining read despite instances of weak plotting and pacing problems.

Young Jessie (she has her sixteenth birthday well into the story) has a problem. She was raised by her three older brothers after they were all orphaned when Jessie was eight, and she is determined that her family will remain together no matter what. Just weeks before she and her brothers are to leave for Oregon by wagon train, the wagon master is injured and replaces himself with Wolf, who promptly announces he will allow no single women of marriageable age to travel with the train. It is too late for the Jones brothers to change plans so they make arrangements for Jessie to follow on a later train. Jessie will have none of that plan since it means the family will be split up for a time, so obviously she must find a way to go. The way this happens disappointed me as it makes Wolf appear rather foolish, and provides the first of the plotting difficulties.

I liked a number of things about this book. Here is a heroine who is young, with hair she had previously cropped short in a fit of pique, a still immature figure that is easily mistaken for a boy’s, and unusual skills including being a champion spitter and a master with a bullwhip. Her character was a refreshing change from the usual. Her strengths and her weaknesses are consistent with her upbringing by three older brothers, and her fiery temper and determination to get even when slighted provide plenty of entertainment. I found Wolf likable, too, despite his jumping to conclusions, making snap judgments, and talking too much. Wolf is observant and handles everyone on the train well (except Jessie). He’s a strong, competent leader who guides his train through pitfalls into which lesser leaders stumble. He also reveals himself to be heavily romantic when the time comes for Jessie and him to come together. Most of the secondary characters are also enjoyable, although few are developed in much depth.

The element I most enjoyed was Ms. Edwards skill in painting word pictures, bringing to life the sights, sounds, and smells of a pioneer wagon train traveling many dusty miles through a virgin land. These little gems were sprinkled throughout the story and some linger with me still.

On the other hand, I am quickly tiring of romance writers who insist on giving us such genetic oddities as Wolf, who is three-quarters Native American and yet still manages to have light hair, skin, and “sapphire” eyes. He is just as “white” in thought, speech, and action, and while this is supposedly explained by his having spent a few years in white schools, I still expect to see behavior and thought patterns more authentic to his race in a character who fully embraces his tribal life.

I was a little confused by the pacing in White Wolf. There is a feeling of a lot of time passing as they are traveling, but then a reference is made to the marriage of two of the characters as having happened only a week prior to the conversation, and this left me disoriented. Also, the “villains” of the story are two-dimensional and evil to the point of being ridiculous, and the final climactic scene is a bit confusing. And a minor nit – I didn’t care for the detail in which a love scene between two secondary characters was described. I felt it to be an unnecessary sidetrack from the story of Jessie and Wolf.

I found the strengths to outweigh the weaknesses – barely – and White Wolf provides a pleasant read. This is the second book in Susan Edwards’ White series, preceded by White Wind, the story of White Wolf’s mother, and to be followed by White Flame which will tell the story of Wolf’s brother, Striking Thunder.