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As I finished the latest installment in Susan Edwards’ White series, I looked at the fiery cover painting and elegant lettering, thinking that like the book design, White Dove is striking in some ways. And yet I winced as I realized that I was going to have write an ambivalent review, despite the handful of things that are remarkable about it.
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Not least of these is an irresistible premise: White Dove, the proud sister of a Sioux chieftain, spurns her white suitor, Jeremy Jones, thinking that he is not the “great warrior” she believes herself destined to marry. They embark on some hair-raising adventures in the Nebraska Territory in 1859, as he makes a series of adorably dogged attempts to prove himself and she, in turn, balances familial obligations and the desire to follow her heart.
Despite some important action going on, I had a hard time turning the pages. The conflict was promising; it involved the vengeance of another rejected suitor, volatile relations with another tribe, and the rescue of a captive white family. But because you spend more time in the characters’ heads than in actual events, you get the feeling that they ruminate more than they act. I was reminded of those young-adult romances told in the first person, where newly post-pubescent characters emote endlessly about every single vicissitude in their lives. But to be fair, you’ll find many of Dove’s and Jeremy’s actions heroic – at least you will when you get past the three-page explanation on character motivation that precedes each one.
For all their clueless stubbornness and inconsistencies that are guaranteed to make you froth at the mouth (for a large part of the book, the heroine is stuck in the “I-am-annoyed-at-him-he-is-not-my-great-warrior-oh-God-kiss-me” mode), the characters, incredibly, can worm their way into your heart toward the end. Jeremy is a memorable beta hero; the book opens with the heroine saving him from a bear, and him ending up with two cubs to raise when the mother falls. This earns him the name Hunkuya Mato (Bear Mother!), a designation that couldn’t be more apt given his uncanny knack with children. With Dove’s Xena-like gruffness – which sometimes borders dangerously close to petulance – there is an interesting role reversal theme.
Their relationship deviates from the common pattern where the characters mostly skirt around the idea of love before coming to accept its inevitability. In White Dove, the hero knows what he wants, and his efforts to convince the heroine to marry him reminded me of the quaint courtship customs back in Manila, where I come from. Grand declarations of love do not in themselves suffice to win the woman over. She must first allow the man to court her – the first hurdle – after which the battle for her heart formally begins. The author’s portrayal of the mating rituals of the Sioux calls to mind a time and a culture that, for all their savagery and political incorrectness, are thrillingly romantic.
A note on the love scenes though: I expected them to improve the lethargic pacing, but they didn’t capture my interest any more than the characters’ monotonous soliloquies did. I felt strange twinges of boredom and embarrassment when “her heated center came in contact with his pulsing hardness,” and I found myself rolling my eyes at such euphemisms as “nether curls” and “aching center of her.” I usually pay special attention to love scenes, and usually I like rereading them, but with White Dove , I just couldn’t.
White Dove is the sixth book in Ms. Edwards’ White series, which chronicles the lives and loves of Lakota Indians and pioneers on the Oregon trail – two groups that frequently intermarry, hence the series title (denoting the light skin color of their half-breed offspring). Though populated with characters from previous books, White Dove is a stand-alone story; but those following the series may take exception at the demise of two characters from preceding books. Sandra Brown did a similar thing with Another Dawn (1985), where she killed off a major character from its precursor, Sunset Embrace (1985). I remember being so outraged; I had loved both books but felt deprived of the illusion of a HEA ending. Depending on the comparative popularity of Ms. Edwards’ White series, she may get a lot of impassioned letters.
Grade: C-
Book Type: American Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 16/08/01
Publication Date: 2001
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.