Bitter Autumn

Loretta C. Rogers

May 2020 · The Wild Rose Press Inc

About this ebook

Flame-haired Birdie Mae Dix has no idea what tomorrow will bring. Kidnapped by the Pawnee and traded to the Comanche, she is now in the custody of the US Cavalry. After eighteen years of loss and cruelty, she trusts no one, not even the handsome captain whose piercing blue glare fills her with apprehension…and unwanted desire. Years of war have hardened Captain Ford Thackery. Pledging his life to a military career, he has sworn never to consider married life—until he rescues Birdie. He knows he must earn her trust as well as find a way into her heart. When she is abducted by a renegade Pawnee cavalry scout, Ford embarks on a dangerous journey of rescue, but he and Birdie must still bridge the gaping chasm of hatred that separates their worlds.

Ratings and reviews

The New Lives of Rescued Captive Women I've only started reading western romances the last year or so. This one is highly unusual because it looks at women who were held captive in the Old West, by an Indian tribe in this case. The tribes bartered and sold women, usually as “comfort women,” when they became of a certain age if they were taken when they were young, as the heroine in this story was. The book opens with the rescue of several of these women. Our heroine has clearly had it rough, taken at the age of 5 and now 23 with a six-year-old son. Having lived with several tribes, she only remembers smatterings of English. We learn her and the other women's backstories as the author artfully weaves them into the text. It is heartbreaking to see what these women went through. But the beginning scene finds them rescued by the US cavalry, their fortunes changing for the better in general, though there is still loss and suffering. I enjoyed the main romance as well as the two side ones. These women certainly deserved HEAs after all they had been through. The author seems to have done a great deal of research about the Indian tribes discussed, female captives, and the native languages. I do have one quibble with the book. The heroine is supposed to be flame haired, but the cover shows someone with brown hair or very dark auburn hair at best. This is not an easy read for sure, but it is a good one. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.