Gentle Savage

Book Blurb:

RELUCTANT CAPTIVE

London belle Valentine Prescott rebelled at the idea of spending a year in America with a horde of savages, but she'd promised her mother, Sky Eyes, that she'd live a year with her people, the Blackfoot Indians. Still, she bristled with outrage when a towering Blackfoot warrior guide made her ride all the way to the Indian camp on a horse with no saddle. And how dare he call her "Heart's Flame"? But after a moonlight dip in a mountain stream, she stepped out onto a carpet of leaves softer than any London featherbed - and into the arms of her Indian escort. As Night Rider's lips crushed hers, the spirited miss saw her Blackfoot heritage in a new light, for her heart flamed at his touch and her blood flowed with rapture.

DETERMINED CAPTOR

Night Rider was well-versed in the legends of his people. He knew all along that the fancy, nose-in-the-air miss was destined to be a Blackfoot princess, and he knew that a great passion burned within her heart. But he was wise enough to know that, like any young thoroughbred, she'd have to be tamed and gentled before she could be ridden. Night Rider proceeded slowly, even averting his eyes as he handed her the soap for her bath in the moonlit stream. But when he beheld her creamy skin sparkling with diamond droplets, he knew that he could no longer wait to press his yearning body close to hers and claim her trembling loveliness in destiny's embrace....

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First, let me say, the blurb is wrong - Valentine (Heart's Flame) is NOT a captive. She is visiting the Blackfoot tribe where her grandfather is chief - fulfilling a deathbed promise given to her mother.

Since Native American romance novels are one of my favorite genres, I checked Gentle Savage out and am currently reading it. As I have been going through the book, however, there were so many references to events and characters which clearly had their own story, I felt this book MUST be part of a series (even though the site I usually use for book details did not have it listed thus). So, I read some of the blurbs for Kathleen Drymon's other books (finding some of those very characters mentioned!), and then did some internet searching until I found a list of the entire series. I am adding it here for any who might be interested in following the series:

1. Savage Dawn (1984)
2. Destiny's Splendor (1988)
3. Velvet Savage (1989)
4. Gentle Savage (1990)
5. Savage Heaven (1995)

Book 2, Destiny's Splendor, features Star Hawk and Jessica "Silver Star" Colton - Valentine's (Heart's Flame's) grandparents Book 3. Velvet Savage is more confusing (I have not read it, so I am going by the book blurb). The heroine is Kalina (who is Valentine's Aunt in Gentle Savage), but the hero is listed as Two Shadows, not Sacred Eagle (twin brother to Valentine's mother, Sky Eyes/Mary Jean). Otherwise, the story line from the blurb seems to mesh with what is mentioned of the couple in this book. The hero and heroine from both Savage Dawn (book 1) and Savage Heaven (book 5) I cannot place in the family dynamic (based solely on reading Gentle Savage). Books 2, 3, and 4 are certainly related to one another as the stories of the meeting of the couples for both books 2 & 3 are mentioned in this one (book 4). There is also some mention of the story of Valentine's parents, Sky Eyes (Mary Jean) and Nicholas Prescott, but I did not see their story in any of the blurbs I read. Perhaps their story is told in Velvet Savage???

As to an actual review of this book. I am only about 1/3 of the way into it, but I can already say it is rather flowery (for example, when the author describes the heroine's eyes she uses phrases like "velvet brown eyes" or "fawn brown eyes" and such...it is already getting a bit tiresome even though she does at least vary the wording a bit). While decent enough, I find Gentle Savage is not a riveting read. I am having no trouble putting the book aside for a while to do something else, so this does not seem to be one of those books you just can't put down (the kind you stay up all night reading). However, it is not bad, by any means. It would be a good book to read when you are traveling and would likely suffer frequent interruptions. I prefer to wait to rate a book until I have finished it, but if it keeps up as it has so far, I would likely give it 3 stars out of 5 (not great, but not terrible either).