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Dakota Flame
FORCED INTO PASSION
Because enchantingly lovely Audrina Harris knew that she was destined to play a major role in the tribal life of the Dakota people, it came as no surprise when Chief Wild Hawk rode into the Minnesota River Valley town and captured her, swinging her up behind him on his powerful black stallion. Audrina felt the sharp stirring of rapture the moment her eyes met his, but the feisty, independent young beauty was determined not to be his captive. She would fulfill her destiny freely, or not at all. But the farther westward they traveled, the more she became a slave to Wild Hawk's searing kisses and the sweet strength of his powerful bronze arms. And the more she realized how easy it would be to leave the white world behind for a lifetime of scorching love with her passionate Indian warrior.
BEGUILED INTO LOVE
Deeply saddened and angered by his father's death at the white man's hands, all Chief Wild Hawk wanted was to lead his tribe to peace and to obey the call of his dream vision: to capture the beautiful young girl who possessed the sacred talisman of the Dakota people. But Audrina Harris proved to be more than the paleface slave he'd bargained for. She had spirit and fire and a mind of her own--and the loveliest body he had ever seen. When his lips first touched her luscious flesh, he knew that it was more than tribal destiny and a length of frayed rope that bound her to him. He knew he could not live without her warm breath in his ear, the fiery touch of her soft curves beneath his hands, and the raging passion that soon ignited into a fierce DAKOTA FLAME
Because enchantingly lovely Audrina Harris knew that she was destined to play a major role in the tribal life of the Dakota people, it came as no surprise when Chief Wild Hawk rode into the Minnesota River Valley town and captured her, swinging her up behind him on his powerful black stallion. Audrina felt the sharp stirring of rapture the moment her eyes met his, but the feisty, independent young beauty was determined not to be his captive. She would fulfill her destiny freely, or not at all. But the farther westward they traveled, the more she became a slave to Wild Hawk's searing kisses and the sweet strength of his powerful bronze arms. And the more she realized how easy it would be to leave the white world behind for a lifetime of scorching love with her passionate Indian warrior.
BEGUILED INTO LOVE
Deeply saddened and angered by his father's death at the white man's hands, all Chief Wild Hawk wanted was to lead his tribe to peace and to obey the call of his dream vision: to capture the beautiful young girl who possessed the sacred talisman of the Dakota people. But Audrina Harris proved to be more than the paleface slave he'd bargained for. She had spirit and fire and a mind of her own--and the loveliest body he had ever seen. When his lips first touched her luscious flesh, he knew that it was more than tribal destiny and a length of frayed rope that bound her to him. He knew he could not live without her warm breath in his ear, the fiery touch of her soft curves beneath his hands, and the raging passion that soon ignited into a fierce DAKOTA FLAME
479 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 1, 2010
Dakota Flame was a cheesy 80's style over-the-top melodramatic mess with bad writing.
Don't waste your time.
Don't waste your time.
September 13, 2021
This review is of “Dakota Flame” , a standalone novel from July 1989 by Sonya T. Pelton. (Published by Zebra/Kensington).
Part 1: Savage Journey.
The book begins in Mankato, Minnesota, December 1862. Thirty-eight Lakota braves are executed for their attack on a white settlement. Among them is a brave named Red Hawk. Later, his spirit pouch ends up with Audrey Tina (Audrina) Harris, 20, the heroine of the book. Audrina has red hair, green eyes and honey-gold skin. The reason Audrina receives the pouch : unbeknownst to her, Audrina is half-Lakota.
Soon after getting the pouch, Audrina is nearly raped by soldier Joe Powell. She is saved from this indignity by Wild Hawk, the hero of the book. Wild Hawk has black hair and bronzed skin. Wild Hawk is a chief to his band of Lakota, and Red Hawk’s son. He wants the pouch, and as time goes on, he also wants Audrina. Wild Hawk kidnaps Audrina, and later her Aunt Katherine and Sadie Peterson, another white woman, and takes them to his village. As they travel, Audrina begins developing romantic feelings for Wild Hawk, as he does for her. The trip is not entirely pleasant; two other Lakotas, a brave, Left Hand, and his sister, Tawena, hate all whites and have evil plans for the white women.
Part II: Precious Fire.
Not everyone will make it to Wild Hawk’s village. Katherine is killed by Left Hand. Later, Audrina and Wild Hawk become lovers. While this is going on, Sadie begins having romantic feelings toward Wild Hawk’s younger cousin, Fox Dreamer.
Part III: Savage Angel.
As they make their way to Wild Hawk’s home village, Audrina finds herself in a dilemma: on the one hand, she’s falling in love with Wild Hawk; on the other, she wants to live a white person’s life. Meanwhile, Left Hand and Tawena have joined up with Powell to get Audrina and Sadie. Later, Left Hand rapes Sadie, and Powell semi-abducts Audrina (she went willingly with Powell after he lied to her about her father appearing).
Part IV: Lost Embrace.
Upon learning of Audrina’s departure, Wild Hawk comes to the realization that he does, in fact, love her, and sets out to find her. Powell is killed, but this doesn’t free Audrina; instead, she becomes the captive of Left Hand.
In the end, the following things occur: Left Hand, Powell, and Tawena are all killed. Wild Hawk finds and rescues Audrina, they reconcile their differences and acknowledge that they love each other. Audrina does meet her father, Frank Harris, who is also half-Indian. Audrina and Wild Hawk have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: “Dakota Flame” is the best book I’ve read by Ms. Pelton so far (out of the 7 I’ve read. More on that later). Audrina is a fairly likeable character. The love scenes are good for a mainstream historical romance novel from 1989.
Downside: “Dakota Flame” contains two tropes I really dislike, maybe to the point of hating. Those tropes are: Captor/captive, and Simpering Sara.
Wild Hawk kidnaps Audrina, and during the course of the book, he is cruel at times to her. Despite this, Audrina is warm for his form and is willing to forgive his behavior towards her. Although I liked Audrina, she is at times royally stupid, an example of this is her going with Powell, even though he nearly raped her earlier, because he’s white. (Audrina's thinking-or not thinking: "Hey, he's white. Even though he nearly raped me, he can be trusted because, you know, he's white!" She is also a bit whiny, spending much of the book yearning for the white world yet acknowledging she’s in love with a man who can’t live there. There is no character depth or development.
The book is told from the following perspectives: Audrina. Katherine. Powell. Sadie. Tawena. Left Hand. Who’s missing from this list? Wild Hawk. Only in the last third of the book does Ms. Pelton allows Wild Hawk to speak in his own voice and express his own thoughts. The books I like best are those where both the hero and heroine get equal or near equal time to do this.
Sex: As mentioned, the love scenes are quite good for a mainstream historical romance novel from 1989. The scenes don’t approach erotica, but they are on par with the love scenes from Cassie Edwards’ many Native American romances.
Violence: Assault, attempted rape, battery, and killings all take place here. The rape scene is mildly graphic.
Bottom Line: I mentioned earlier that “Dakota Flame” is my favorite book authored by Ms. Pelton. Considering that she has written such “classics” as “Passion’s Paradise”, that’s not exactly a high bar to get over. It is also a milestone, as “Dakota Flame” is the first book by Ms. Pelton to get more than a 2 star rating from me, but just barely. 2.52 stars.
Tropes: American Upper Midwest. Captor/captive. Half -Native-American Heroine. Historical Romance. Native American Hero.
Location: Mankato, Minnesota. South Dakota.
Time Frame: Late 1862-1863.
Part 1: Savage Journey.
The book begins in Mankato, Minnesota, December 1862. Thirty-eight Lakota braves are executed for their attack on a white settlement. Among them is a brave named Red Hawk. Later, his spirit pouch ends up with Audrey Tina (Audrina) Harris, 20, the heroine of the book. Audrina has red hair, green eyes and honey-gold skin. The reason Audrina receives the pouch : unbeknownst to her, Audrina is half-Lakota.
Soon after getting the pouch, Audrina is nearly raped by soldier Joe Powell. She is saved from this indignity by Wild Hawk, the hero of the book. Wild Hawk has black hair and bronzed skin. Wild Hawk is a chief to his band of Lakota, and Red Hawk’s son. He wants the pouch, and as time goes on, he also wants Audrina. Wild Hawk kidnaps Audrina, and later her Aunt Katherine and Sadie Peterson, another white woman, and takes them to his village. As they travel, Audrina begins developing romantic feelings for Wild Hawk, as he does for her. The trip is not entirely pleasant; two other Lakotas, a brave, Left Hand, and his sister, Tawena, hate all whites and have evil plans for the white women.
Part II: Precious Fire.
Not everyone will make it to Wild Hawk’s village. Katherine is killed by Left Hand. Later, Audrina and Wild Hawk become lovers. While this is going on, Sadie begins having romantic feelings toward Wild Hawk’s younger cousin, Fox Dreamer.
Part III: Savage Angel.
As they make their way to Wild Hawk’s home village, Audrina finds herself in a dilemma: on the one hand, she’s falling in love with Wild Hawk; on the other, she wants to live a white person’s life. Meanwhile, Left Hand and Tawena have joined up with Powell to get Audrina and Sadie. Later, Left Hand rapes Sadie, and Powell semi-abducts Audrina (she went willingly with Powell after he lied to her about her father appearing).
Part IV: Lost Embrace.
Upon learning of Audrina’s departure, Wild Hawk comes to the realization that he does, in fact, love her, and sets out to find her. Powell is killed, but this doesn’t free Audrina; instead, she becomes the captive of Left Hand.
In the end, the following things occur: Left Hand, Powell, and Tawena are all killed. Wild Hawk finds and rescues Audrina, they reconcile their differences and acknowledge that they love each other. Audrina does meet her father, Frank Harris, who is also half-Indian. Audrina and Wild Hawk have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: “Dakota Flame” is the best book I’ve read by Ms. Pelton so far (out of the 7 I’ve read. More on that later). Audrina is a fairly likeable character. The love scenes are good for a mainstream historical romance novel from 1989.
Downside: “Dakota Flame” contains two tropes I really dislike, maybe to the point of hating. Those tropes are: Captor/captive, and Simpering Sara.
Wild Hawk kidnaps Audrina, and during the course of the book, he is cruel at times to her. Despite this, Audrina is warm for his form and is willing to forgive his behavior towards her. Although I liked Audrina, she is at times royally stupid, an example of this is her going with Powell, even though he nearly raped her earlier, because he’s white. (Audrina's thinking-or not thinking: "Hey, he's white. Even though he nearly raped me, he can be trusted because, you know, he's white!" She is also a bit whiny, spending much of the book yearning for the white world yet acknowledging she’s in love with a man who can’t live there. There is no character depth or development.
The book is told from the following perspectives: Audrina. Katherine. Powell. Sadie. Tawena. Left Hand. Who’s missing from this list? Wild Hawk. Only in the last third of the book does Ms. Pelton allows Wild Hawk to speak in his own voice and express his own thoughts. The books I like best are those where both the hero and heroine get equal or near equal time to do this.
Sex: As mentioned, the love scenes are quite good for a mainstream historical romance novel from 1989. The scenes don’t approach erotica, but they are on par with the love scenes from Cassie Edwards’ many Native American romances.
Violence: Assault, attempted rape, battery, and killings all take place here. The rape scene is mildly graphic.
Bottom Line: I mentioned earlier that “Dakota Flame” is my favorite book authored by Ms. Pelton. Considering that she has written such “classics” as “Passion’s Paradise”, that’s not exactly a high bar to get over. It is also a milestone, as “Dakota Flame” is the first book by Ms. Pelton to get more than a 2 star rating from me, but just barely. 2.52 stars.
Tropes: American Upper Midwest. Captor/captive. Half -Native-American Heroine. Historical Romance. Native American Hero.
Location: Mankato, Minnesota. South Dakota.
Time Frame: Late 1862-1863.
April 16, 2022
I didn't like this book nearly as much as I thought I would or wanted to. I do love a good Native American romance, but this one...I guess was lacking excitement or something. It had an even pace, not a lot of action really, some steamy scenes, and Audrina was so wishy-washy. I wanted to shake her. Did she love Wild Hawk or didn't she? After she made that determination, she still wanted to leave him. Why? What was she going to go back to? There was nothing left for her in Mankato. She wouldn't have been welcomed back by the townspeople after living with the Indians, not without a lot of drama and gossip anyway. What was her point? Wild Hawk treated her well. Sadie, a girl that was captured with her, didn't want to go with her even though Audrina begged her to. It just didn't make sense and she kept planning it, all while telling Wild Hawk she loved him and had earned his trust.
What kept this book going for me were the antagonists, Tawena and Left Hand, a sister/brother warrior duo. They kept the action going with their lies, underhanded ways, and I never knew what they were going to do next. They were angry, venomous, and even traitorous. They were more of a human study as to what happens when jealousy and greed control your life.
A little about the story. The book starts out with the hanging of 38 Indians in Mankato, Minnesota. That really did happen and after I did some research of my own on it a long time before I read this book, I discovered one of the men hanged was innocent. It was the biggest execution ever held in the United States history and these Indian guys didn't get a fair trial. They were tried unfairly, convicted, and hanged at the same time under the orders of President Lincoln. That isn't covered in the book. That was my own history lesson.
Wild Hawk's father was one of the men hanged. Wild Hawk is town to collect his father's belongings, which the army refuses to give him. While he's there, he sees that a soldier, Joe Powell, has Red Hawk's medicine bag. Medicine bags are sacred and the way Joe Powell is dangling it around and disrespecting it raises the hackles of Wild Hawk. He wants to get it back and bury it with his father. He bumps into Audrina at the same time.
Audrina is horrified that this execution is going on and isn't there to watch, which makes me wonder why she left the house at all, but she noticed Wild Hawk, too. Later on, a real hawk drops the medicine bag at her feet. She retrieves it and keeps it close, of course, and told only a couple of people that she had it. Wild Hawk wants it back and is determined to get it back, so keeps an eye on her.
Meanwhile Joe Powell is hot for Audrina and tries to force himself on her. Wild Hawk sees this and even though she's escaped half-naked, he still thinks she's Joe Powell's woman and that is a problem for him. He captures her, not knowing that she has the medicine bag, then takes her Aunt Katharine and a young woman named Sadie, captive as well.
This wasn't a horrible book at all. I didn't hate it, but I saw opportunities for some good action that were missed that would've made the story more exciting and interesting. I did like Wild Hawk and his cousin, Fox Dreamer. I liked them a lot, but I thought Wild Hawk was far too trusting, especially for being a chief. He was thought to have some sort of "magic" that protected him. Maybe, I guess. I didn't see it until he counted coup with an army leader who was leading some troops against him. That was pretty cool.
Other than that, the book dragged in places, Audrina was an idiot at times, and there just wasn't a whole lot to keep me interested. I finished the book. It just took me longer than it should have.
What kept this book going for me were the antagonists, Tawena and Left Hand, a sister/brother warrior duo. They kept the action going with their lies, underhanded ways, and I never knew what they were going to do next. They were angry, venomous, and even traitorous. They were more of a human study as to what happens when jealousy and greed control your life.
A little about the story. The book starts out with the hanging of 38 Indians in Mankato, Minnesota. That really did happen and after I did some research of my own on it a long time before I read this book, I discovered one of the men hanged was innocent. It was the biggest execution ever held in the United States history and these Indian guys didn't get a fair trial. They were tried unfairly, convicted, and hanged at the same time under the orders of President Lincoln. That isn't covered in the book. That was my own history lesson.
Wild Hawk's father was one of the men hanged. Wild Hawk is town to collect his father's belongings, which the army refuses to give him. While he's there, he sees that a soldier, Joe Powell, has Red Hawk's medicine bag. Medicine bags are sacred and the way Joe Powell is dangling it around and disrespecting it raises the hackles of Wild Hawk. He wants to get it back and bury it with his father. He bumps into Audrina at the same time.
Audrina is horrified that this execution is going on and isn't there to watch, which makes me wonder why she left the house at all, but she noticed Wild Hawk, too. Later on, a real hawk drops the medicine bag at her feet. She retrieves it and keeps it close, of course, and told only a couple of people that she had it. Wild Hawk wants it back and is determined to get it back, so keeps an eye on her.
Meanwhile Joe Powell is hot for Audrina and tries to force himself on her. Wild Hawk sees this and even though she's escaped half-naked, he still thinks she's Joe Powell's woman and that is a problem for him. He captures her, not knowing that she has the medicine bag, then takes her Aunt Katharine and a young woman named Sadie, captive as well.
This wasn't a horrible book at all. I didn't hate it, but I saw opportunities for some good action that were missed that would've made the story more exciting and interesting. I did like Wild Hawk and his cousin, Fox Dreamer. I liked them a lot, but I thought Wild Hawk was far too trusting, especially for being a chief. He was thought to have some sort of "magic" that protected him. Maybe, I guess. I didn't see it until he counted coup with an army leader who was leading some troops against him. That was pretty cool.
Other than that, the book dragged in places, Audrina was an idiot at times, and there just wasn't a whole lot to keep me interested. I finished the book. It just took me longer than it should have.
October 17, 2014
a good read
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews