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First Love, Wild Love
Shunkaha was a convicted thief working on a road gang when Brianna first saw him. She knew from that moment her heart would belong to the bronze savage. Virile heathen and innocent maiden faced soldiers and the rugged terrain to be together in ecstasy forever.
408 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1989
200 people are currently reading
1094 people want to read
About the author
Madeline Baker
89 books289 followersMadeline Ruth was born on 1963 in California, where she raised. She married her high school sweetheart and they have three sons, all handsome enough to be cover models. Growing up, her favorite pastimes were going to the movies and going horseback riding on Saturday mornings at Griffith Park. Madeline has always been "horse happy." A horse was the one thing she asked for on every birthday and every Christmas. Many years later, that dream came true when she bought an Appaloosa mare named Candy—because she was so sweet. Madeline loves animals. Over the years, she's had numerous dogs, cats, fish, mice, hamsters, turtles and birds, and her horse, of course. The most exotic pet was a crocodile that belonged to one of her sons. Currently, she has a terribly spoiled Pomeranian named Teddi, six goldfish, a catfish, and a betta. When she's not writing, Madeline enjoys going to movies and the theater. Her favorite plays are The Phantom of the Opera, The Scarlet Pimpernel and her all-time fave, Beauty and the Beast. She also loves reading, going to lunch with her best friend, collecting Star Wars, The Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast memorabilia, and playing with the most beautiful, adorable, brilliant grandkids in the world.
Madeline started writing when her children were still at home, and she wrote for several years, finding time to write after her children were in bed and her husband was at work. In true cliché fashion, she wrote the books and put them under the bed, never telling anyone what she was doing, until one day she let a friend read one. Encouraged by her friend's comments, and armed with a copy of Writer's Market supplied by said friend, Madeline began sending out query letters. After six years and 31 rejections, Leisure Books bought Reckless Heart, and she's been writing ever since. After writing several Westerns, Madeline decided to try her hand at something else and wrote her first vampire romance. It was a short story titled "Masquerade" for an anthology. She loved writing that so much that she wrote her first full-length vampire romance, Embrace the Night, and thus Amanda Ashley was born. One of her dreams had been to write for Harlequin, and she accomplished that in 2003 with the publication of her Silhouette Romance novel, Dude Ranch Bride. Madeline loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her online at DarkWritr@aol.com or by mail at PO Box 1703, Whittier, CA 90609-1703.
Madeline started writing when her children were still at home, and she wrote for several years, finding time to write after her children were in bed and her husband was at work. In true cliché fashion, she wrote the books and put them under the bed, never telling anyone what she was doing, until one day she let a friend read one. Encouraged by her friend's comments, and armed with a copy of Writer's Market supplied by said friend, Madeline began sending out query letters. After six years and 31 rejections, Leisure Books bought Reckless Heart, and she's been writing ever since. After writing several Westerns, Madeline decided to try her hand at something else and wrote her first vampire romance. It was a short story titled "Masquerade" for an anthology. She loved writing that so much that she wrote her first full-length vampire romance, Embrace the Night, and thus Amanda Ashley was born. One of her dreams had been to write for Harlequin, and she accomplished that in 2003 with the publication of her Silhouette Romance novel, Dude Ranch Bride. Madeline loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her online at DarkWritr@aol.com or by mail at PO Box 1703, Whittier, CA 90609-1703.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
February 7, 2019
Proof positive that I am bad at learning lessons....
Buddy-read with the Queen of Trash (and
hopefully
Awkwardness, too). As well as the Monocle Mod-all.
Joined by a couple othercrazies romantics from over at the URR group, Korey & possibly Gaufre too!
Let the old school science commence...... On Monday!
Buddy-read with the Queen of Trash (and
Joined by a couple other
Let the old school science commence...... On Monday!
January 14, 2013
**********
Lots of sex (but not too explicit). Lots of violence (scalping, attempted rape, etc.). Minimal or no swearing. No typos.
**********
Spoiler free!! I keep it vague.
A solid 4 stars for this RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Indian Series. First Love, Wild Love is fast-paced, fairly tense, and somewhat profound. Set in 1875, it's told in third person POV, shifting primarily from H to h. The tone is serious, not light or witty, but I did chuckle once or twice. The writing quality is good but not excellent: decent dialogue, a (mostly) credible plot, and a flowing pace. The setting is weak. The romance is brimming with loving tenderness, fiercely protective loyalty, and sexy sizzle. From a historical angle, Baker does a nice job illustrating Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of Little Big Horn. She depicts a dying way of life; I sympathized with the Lakota People.
Relationship: Brianna is only 17 years old, yet she's been practically running the entire house for her lazy aunt, who beats her and treats her like a slave. She is compassionate, somewhat wise for her years, and beautiful, with bright blue eyes and long golden hair. I got a kick out of her spunk several times in the story!! Especially towards the end. Haha!
Her beloved warrior (something like Shinkaha) is about 30 years old, ripped, bronzed, and fairly tall. He's totally dreamy, but no pushover. He has every reason to hate the whites, but Brianna wins his trust and steals his heart fairly early in the story (yet it didn't feel like insta-lov on his part, because of the nature of their early encounters. However, Brianna's interest in him DID smack of insta-lov, yet in the context of her lonely isolation I could sorta believe it.)
Brianna and her warrior did not create obstacles for themselves through poor communication or false pride (not much, anyway). Instead, they had to overcome more authentic obstacles -- cultural differences and prevailing racial bias.
The ongoing THEME would have to be "cultural clash and compromise" as Brianna had to adjust to life with the Lakota People, including tipi building (interesting) and the gruesome Sun Dance ritual (uggh). Her warrior would not change himself to make her accept him (rightfully so, and kudos to the author for showing how much he wanted her to accept him -- how tempted he was to just let himself be "white-washed" so to speak). He did not relent, and so Brianna had to come to terms with some thorny cultural differences. This conflict was well done. Brianna questioned whether it would be wise to someday raise a child in a mixed marriage, yet she was mature enough to realize that full immersion and total acceptance was the only way to join his tribal family.
The tables turned, and for another chunk of the book, her warrior had to decide if he could live the way of the Whites, gardening and herding rather than hunting and trapping, living in a square wooden house, sleeping on a too-soft mattress, etc. This was handled fairly well. It seemed authentic enough:
1) Baker did not define the setting well, so I kept guessing until about 42% in. (How was I supposed to know that Pa Sapa is Lakota for Black Hills, South Dakota?) We don't find out the year (1875) until more than half-way into the story, so I felt frustrated, wondering if it was pre-Civil War.
2) The behavior of Adam Trent troubled me. As a character, he flipped around and I couldn't get a handle on him, especially towards the end. Also, the character of weak and icky Uncle Henry flipped at the end. All of a sudden he's grieving like crazy?
3) Baker got a little teachy as she described various Lakota customs, drawing me OUT of the story.
Nonetheless, a good read! It didn't feel too dated, either, even though it was originally published in 1989. This is the only book I have read so far by Madeline Baker.
Lots of sex (but not too explicit). Lots of violence (scalping, attempted rape, etc.). Minimal or no swearing. No typos.
**********
Spoiler free!! I keep it vague.
A solid 4 stars for this RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Indian Series. First Love, Wild Love is fast-paced, fairly tense, and somewhat profound. Set in 1875, it's told in third person POV, shifting primarily from H to h. The tone is serious, not light or witty, but I did chuckle once or twice. The writing quality is good but not excellent: decent dialogue, a (mostly) credible plot, and a flowing pace. The setting is weak. The romance is brimming with loving tenderness, fiercely protective loyalty, and sexy sizzle. From a historical angle, Baker does a nice job illustrating Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of Little Big Horn. She depicts a dying way of life; I sympathized with the Lakota People.
Relationship: Brianna is only 17 years old, yet she's been practically running the entire house for her lazy aunt, who beats her and treats her like a slave. She is compassionate, somewhat wise for her years, and beautiful, with bright blue eyes and long golden hair. I got a kick out of her spunk several times in the story!! Especially towards the end. Haha!
Her beloved warrior (something like Shinkaha) is about 30 years old, ripped, bronzed, and fairly tall. He's totally dreamy, but no pushover. He has every reason to hate the whites, but Brianna wins his trust and steals his heart fairly early in the story (yet it didn't feel like insta-lov on his part, because of the nature of their early encounters. However, Brianna's interest in him DID smack of insta-lov, yet in the context of her lonely isolation I could sorta believe it.)
Brianna and her warrior did not create obstacles for themselves through poor communication or false pride (not much, anyway). Instead, they had to overcome more authentic obstacles -- cultural differences and prevailing racial bias.
The ongoing THEME would have to be "cultural clash and compromise" as Brianna had to adjust to life with the Lakota People, including tipi building (interesting) and the gruesome Sun Dance ritual (uggh). Her warrior would not change himself to make her accept him (rightfully so, and kudos to the author for showing how much he wanted her to accept him -- how tempted he was to just let himself be "white-washed" so to speak). He did not relent, and so Brianna had to come to terms with some thorny cultural differences. This conflict was well done. Brianna questioned whether it would be wise to someday raise a child in a mixed marriage, yet she was mature enough to realize that full immersion and total acceptance was the only way to join his tribal family.
The tables turned, and for another chunk of the book, her warrior had to decide if he could live the way of the Whites, gardening and herding rather than hunting and trapping, living in a square wooden house, sleeping on a too-soft mattress, etc. This was handled fairly well. It seemed authentic enough:
"Much in his life had changed, but his love for her remained ever the same, and though he no longer hunted the buffalo in the shadow of the Pa Sapa, and though he no longer rode the war trail with the Lakota, he knew that, in the eyes of his woman, he would always be a warrior."Three weaker aspects:
1) Baker did not define the setting well, so I kept guessing until about 42% in. (How was I supposed to know that Pa Sapa is Lakota for Black Hills, South Dakota?) We don't find out the year (1875) until more than half-way into the story, so I felt frustrated, wondering if it was pre-Civil War.
2) The behavior of Adam Trent troubled me. As a character, he flipped around and I couldn't get a handle on him, especially towards the end. Also, the character of weak and icky Uncle Henry flipped at the end. All of a sudden he's grieving like crazy?
3) Baker got a little teachy as she described various Lakota customs, drawing me OUT of the story.
Nonetheless, a good read! It didn't feel too dated, either, even though it was originally published in 1989. This is the only book I have read so far by Madeline Baker.
Did not finish
February 26, 2026DNF @ Page 37 (12%)
This simply wasn't my cuppa. While it reminded me of The Blue Castle a bit, which got my hopes up cause I loved TBC, this sadly was nothing like it. It was too tedious and I simply give up.
★ BR with Nenia, Karly, Korey & Gaufre ★
Original start date: April 16, 2018
Put On Hold: May 16, 2019
DNF Shelved: December 29, 2019
sample-says-no
April 23, 2018My eyes started skimming over words in the first chapter so it's not a good sign. I don't like the long descriptions and the telling of feelings.
I don't like reading
More than anything else, she longed for a home of her own, for a husband who would cherish her, for a child to love as she had once been loved
at page 7. There is nothing wrong with wanting those things. But this is a romance, do I have to be told that the main character wants a home and to be cherished? So it adds very little to the character.
I don't like reading
More than anything else, she longed for a home of her own, for a husband who would cherish her, for a child to love as she had once been loved
at page 7. There is nothing wrong with wanting those things. But this is a romance, do I have to be told that the main character wants a home and to be cherished? So it adds very little to the character.
January 7, 2022
I had read "Love in the Wind" by Madeline Baker last February and loved it, so I wanted to read another of her books. Unfortunately, this one wasn't as nearly as good as that one. I still liked it, though.
The story starts off with Shunkaha Luta (I know, the name is long and not sexy at all. It's never shortened in the book.) living on the reservation. His sister just died. Everyone's starving. He goes to steal a cow from the farm nearby and gets shot in the arm and sentenced to 2 years in a work gang. One day, when the heroine Brianna is doing her many chores, she sees Shunkaha Luta working in the work gang. She notices how handsome he is and offers him food and water. Both of Brianna's parents died so she lives with her aunt and uncle, who don't appreciate her and force her to do all sorts of chores instead of being in school. She isn't allowed to even wear clothes that fit her because god forbid, she should show off her body. Her aunt even whips her from time to time. The heroine's situation reminded me of Heather from "The Flame and the Flower".
Because he is Native American, Shunkaha Luta is treated the worst by the road bosses. I was telling my parents at lunch how hard it was to be Native American at that time. Eventually, things escalate, the road boss attacks him and Shunkaha Luta kills him. Brianna begs SL (I don't know how the author stood writing his full name so many times) to take him with her when he escapes and he gives in and they leave together.
I would have liked a scene where the aunt and uncle react to Brianna running away and the Indian escaping. They didn't think she went with the Native American it seemed.
This book made me realize that the Native American life was not for me. It sounded pretty boring, and I'm glad SL finally accepted living in Brianna's house.
The Other Man, Adam Trent, seemed more interesting than our hero, Shunkaha Luta, and I thought he was better for Brianna...Never a good sign when the reader would prefer the heroine & the OM to be together. (There is also an Other Woman too, a Native American.)
I literally forgot there was a 13 year age gap until I read someone else's review just now. The story starts off with Brianna being 17 & SL is 30...That's why at the beginning he was reluctant to kiss her because he viewed her as a child. It isn't till he accidentally sees her without clothes when she goes to bathe does he realize she's a woman.
Will I read another Madeline Baker book? Maybe. I just hope it would be as good as "Love on the Wind" and not this one. She seems to have only written Native American romance. I just want to read another 5 star book ngl...
The story starts off with Shunkaha Luta (I know, the name is long and not sexy at all. It's never shortened in the book.) living on the reservation. His sister just died. Everyone's starving. He goes to steal a cow from the farm nearby and gets shot in the arm and sentenced to 2 years in a work gang. One day, when the heroine Brianna is doing her many chores, she sees Shunkaha Luta working in the work gang. She notices how handsome he is and offers him food and water. Both of Brianna's parents died so she lives with her aunt and uncle, who don't appreciate her and force her to do all sorts of chores instead of being in school. She isn't allowed to even wear clothes that fit her because god forbid, she should show off her body. Her aunt even whips her from time to time. The heroine's situation reminded me of Heather from "The Flame and the Flower".
Because he is Native American, Shunkaha Luta is treated the worst by the road bosses. I was telling my parents at lunch how hard it was to be Native American at that time. Eventually, things escalate, the road boss attacks him and Shunkaha Luta kills him. Brianna begs SL (I don't know how the author stood writing his full name so many times) to take him with her when he escapes and he gives in and they leave together.
I would have liked a scene where the aunt and uncle react to Brianna running away and the Indian escaping. They didn't think she went with the Native American it seemed.
This book made me realize that the Native American life was not for me. It sounded pretty boring, and I'm glad SL finally accepted living in Brianna's house.
The Other Man, Adam Trent, seemed more interesting than our hero, Shunkaha Luta, and I thought he was better for Brianna...Never a good sign when the reader would prefer the heroine & the OM to be together. (There is also an Other Woman too, a Native American.)
I literally forgot there was a 13 year age gap until I read someone else's review just now. The story starts off with Brianna being 17 & SL is 30...That's why at the beginning he was reluctant to kiss her because he viewed her as a child. It isn't till he accidentally sees her without clothes when she goes to bathe does he realize she's a woman.
Will I read another Madeline Baker book? Maybe. I just hope it would be as good as "Love on the Wind" and not this one. She seems to have only written Native American romance. I just want to read another 5 star book ngl...
October 2, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow. My favorite read of 2024! And my favorite (so far) vintage paperback romance I've read.
First, let's talk about that book cover. I really got into the vintage romances (despite simply being a romance lover) because the covers lured me in at the flea market. I love the bright color palette on this one. The bright pink and deep shades of blue. I love the cover! However, that man and that woman plastered on the cover do not match the MMC and MC of this novel. In my mind, I can only picture Uncus from The Last of the Mohicans - a very young Eric Schweig - as Shaunkaha Luta. Long black hair, muscular and dressed as a traditional Lakota warrior. That painted man isn't anything like the main male character. Same goes for MC Brianna. She is painted as a white woman with golden hair - and that is accurate - however the painting just doesn't match Brianna. In my mind, I pictured Naomi Bohannon from Hell on Wheels, played by the young actress MacKenzie Porter. She has long blonde hair and baby blue eyes - but she is much younger than the girl painted on the cover.
To say I loved this novel is an understatement. I happened upon this book at the right timing. I just finished watching the TV show 1883 and was in the mood for a western romance - and found this book. It matched my mood perfectly. And I have a guilty pleasure for American Native romances. There is something about forbidden romances! And it doesn't get much more taboo than a white woman lusting over, giving herself to and/or marrying a Native man in the 1800s. It was just unheard of - and an unspeakable act - in that time period. And I love it.
Just like Elsa loving Sam in 1883 - Brianna falls in love with a Lakota man in First Love, Wild Love.
There are many conflicts in this book, because well, these vintage paperbacks are so much more complex than today's modern contemporary romances. The story is a complete journey. However, the overall conflict is what you would imagine. The prejudice judgmental minds of folks in this time period - and well - even the main characters. The cultural struggle is thick and consistent throughout this entire novel. It is honestly the MAIN conflict. A white woman falling in love with a Lakota man in the year of 1875. This is more than a controversial, scandalous romance - it is downright unheard of for this time period. The cultural differences is the rollercoaster🎢 of their relationship and yet the one thing that kept me most interested in this couple.
The couple finds prejudice no matter where they go. From the ranch, to the towns, and into the Lakota villages they live among. Both equally seeing nasty glares because of their relationship. The white folk are disgusted by Shunkaha - mainly terrified - it is still a time when Natives are fighting against the reservations - fighting for their people's survival. Their desire to roam wild+free is strong. The Earth belongs to no one! The Lakota people stare at Brianna. A white woman married to a Lakota warrior. The other warriors shake their heads in disappointment in their brothers choice to marry a white woman.
And even inside their own relationship, the couple struggles with cultural battles. Brianna has a difficult time swallowing and digesting the Lakota beliefs and traditions. She finds almost everything her husband does and his people barbaric. Shunkaha expects his wife to adapt to the ways of his people and struggles with her distaste in what he believes in. He expected her to become 100% Lakota - while she expected him to settle down like the white man.
"He often rode into the hills that were a part of Brianna's land, needing to be out in the open, to ride beneath the bold blue sky, to breathe in the scent of earth and trees, to be away from the house, away from the walls that closed him in and made him feel trapped. But for Brianna, he would have left long ago."
Shunkaha is a Lakota warrior. He was born and raised as a man of the wilderness. The Earth belongs to no one. It is not meant to be spent in one place for every season. The natives move endlessly with the animals. There is a season for everything.
Like all whites, Brianna feels the need to be rooted to one patch of ground, to spend summer and winter in the same place.
A bright yellow moon hung low in the sky. A stalking moon, Shunkaha thought, and remembered the many nights he and his friends had crept through the darkness toward an enemy camp, lying in wait for the moon to set and the sun to rise before they attacked. Those were the good days, when a man's blood ran hot with the thrill of battle, when there were honors to be won and coup to be counted, when the buffalo were more numerous than the stars in the sky and the red man lived as Wakan Tanka had intended."
PRIMITIVE.
FERAL.
SAVAGE.
ANIMALISTIC.
WILD.
In my digging through vintage romance reviews, I've noticed a lot of people get weird +sensitive about the "terms" used in these vintage paperback romances to describe Natives. Descriptions that are not culturally “kind,” BUT I’m over here like 🥵 women (me) like the term savage because it goes back to those deep masculine roots of a wild man in the wilderness. Something animalistic. And there is something sexy about feral masculinity. 🔥 So when I see terms like this - I’m 💯 invested. Basic biology.
But also, I'm 💯 swimming up current and despise the woke movement. I don't believe in political correctness - but in historical correctness. And what I had found inside this book is that Madeline Baker did a hell of a job painting a picture of 1875. I believe this one is just as much historical as it is romance. Don't be fooled. There was a time when the white men came and slaughtered Natives for just being. They were rounded up and placed onto reservations without care. They were given rules that only applied to them. White people hated them and they hated white people. These things happened. When I read a book, I respect it more for being accurate to the time period. I don't understand the erase history movement.
So basically you have a book about a mixed marriage that is struggling to navigate the cultural differences and compromise on what life for them should be. I found this fascinating.
But of course, there is more than just cultural struggles - like I said - these books are complex! There is another man and woman thrown into the mix as the live among both white folk and the Lakota tribe. The Other Man, Adam Trent, was actually a respectable feller. A western white lawman with the duty of arresting Shunkaha for murder. Said man happens to fall in love with Brianna, and spends most of his journey in this book pining after her. I liked the conclusion of Adam in the end. I think this storyline tied into the main story perfectly.
The drama of Soft Wind (the Lakota woman who is hellbent on making Shunkaha Luta her husband) was 🔥 ... I guess until it wasn't. Because I did find myself irked that Shunkaha went the morning after Brianna had some backbone and threatened to leave him altogether because of Soft Wind that he decided to work with other tribe members to build their own tipi lodge. Like ? If if it was that simple why not do that from the start?? And then later on in the story, after the destruction of the Lakota village, the narrative thoughts of Shunkaha frustrated me when he reflected on things with Soft Wind. Obviously she was some temptation for him. Logically, I know its realistic for Shunkaha to be tempted by marriage with a Lakota woman. Shes beautiful, yes, but ultimately he has spent his relationship with a white woman in turmoil over these cultural differences. It would be so simple for him to marry someone of his own people. And I understand that. But did I find it eye twitching when he was tempted? Of course. I wanted him and Brianna to be together. So reading Soft Wind's part inside this story got my blood boiling.
Overall, this is a fun read. If you are a vintage romance lover and you enjoy western romances, than this is a book you'd probably enjoy.
Wow. My favorite read of 2024! And my favorite (so far) vintage paperback romance I've read.
First, let's talk about that book cover. I really got into the vintage romances (despite simply being a romance lover) because the covers lured me in at the flea market. I love the bright color palette on this one. The bright pink and deep shades of blue. I love the cover! However, that man and that woman plastered on the cover do not match the MMC and MC of this novel. In my mind, I can only picture Uncus from The Last of the Mohicans - a very young Eric Schweig - as Shaunkaha Luta. Long black hair, muscular and dressed as a traditional Lakota warrior. That painted man isn't anything like the main male character. Same goes for MC Brianna. She is painted as a white woman with golden hair - and that is accurate - however the painting just doesn't match Brianna. In my mind, I pictured Naomi Bohannon from Hell on Wheels, played by the young actress MacKenzie Porter. She has long blonde hair and baby blue eyes - but she is much younger than the girl painted on the cover.
To say I loved this novel is an understatement. I happened upon this book at the right timing. I just finished watching the TV show 1883 and was in the mood for a western romance - and found this book. It matched my mood perfectly. And I have a guilty pleasure for American Native romances. There is something about forbidden romances! And it doesn't get much more taboo than a white woman lusting over, giving herself to and/or marrying a Native man in the 1800s. It was just unheard of - and an unspeakable act - in that time period. And I love it.
Just like Elsa loving Sam in 1883 - Brianna falls in love with a Lakota man in First Love, Wild Love.
There are many conflicts in this book, because well, these vintage paperbacks are so much more complex than today's modern contemporary romances. The story is a complete journey. However, the overall conflict is what you would imagine. The prejudice judgmental minds of folks in this time period - and well - even the main characters. The cultural struggle is thick and consistent throughout this entire novel. It is honestly the MAIN conflict. A white woman falling in love with a Lakota man in the year of 1875. This is more than a controversial, scandalous romance - it is downright unheard of for this time period. The cultural differences is the rollercoaster🎢 of their relationship and yet the one thing that kept me most interested in this couple.
The couple finds prejudice no matter where they go. From the ranch, to the towns, and into the Lakota villages they live among. Both equally seeing nasty glares because of their relationship. The white folk are disgusted by Shunkaha - mainly terrified - it is still a time when Natives are fighting against the reservations - fighting for their people's survival. Their desire to roam wild+free is strong. The Earth belongs to no one! The Lakota people stare at Brianna. A white woman married to a Lakota warrior. The other warriors shake their heads in disappointment in their brothers choice to marry a white woman.
And even inside their own relationship, the couple struggles with cultural battles. Brianna has a difficult time swallowing and digesting the Lakota beliefs and traditions. She finds almost everything her husband does and his people barbaric. Shunkaha expects his wife to adapt to the ways of his people and struggles with her distaste in what he believes in. He expected her to become 100% Lakota - while she expected him to settle down like the white man.
"He often rode into the hills that were a part of Brianna's land, needing to be out in the open, to ride beneath the bold blue sky, to breathe in the scent of earth and trees, to be away from the house, away from the walls that closed him in and made him feel trapped. But for Brianna, he would have left long ago."
Shunkaha is a Lakota warrior. He was born and raised as a man of the wilderness. The Earth belongs to no one. It is not meant to be spent in one place for every season. The natives move endlessly with the animals. There is a season for everything.
Like all whites, Brianna feels the need to be rooted to one patch of ground, to spend summer and winter in the same place.
A bright yellow moon hung low in the sky. A stalking moon, Shunkaha thought, and remembered the many nights he and his friends had crept through the darkness toward an enemy camp, lying in wait for the moon to set and the sun to rise before they attacked. Those were the good days, when a man's blood ran hot with the thrill of battle, when there were honors to be won and coup to be counted, when the buffalo were more numerous than the stars in the sky and the red man lived as Wakan Tanka had intended."
PRIMITIVE.
FERAL.
SAVAGE.
ANIMALISTIC.
WILD.
In my digging through vintage romance reviews, I've noticed a lot of people get weird +sensitive about the "terms" used in these vintage paperback romances to describe Natives. Descriptions that are not culturally “kind,” BUT I’m over here like 🥵 women (me) like the term savage because it goes back to those deep masculine roots of a wild man in the wilderness. Something animalistic. And there is something sexy about feral masculinity. 🔥 So when I see terms like this - I’m 💯 invested. Basic biology.
But also, I'm 💯 swimming up current and despise the woke movement. I don't believe in political correctness - but in historical correctness. And what I had found inside this book is that Madeline Baker did a hell of a job painting a picture of 1875. I believe this one is just as much historical as it is romance. Don't be fooled. There was a time when the white men came and slaughtered Natives for just being. They were rounded up and placed onto reservations without care. They were given rules that only applied to them. White people hated them and they hated white people. These things happened. When I read a book, I respect it more for being accurate to the time period. I don't understand the erase history movement.
So basically you have a book about a mixed marriage that is struggling to navigate the cultural differences and compromise on what life for them should be. I found this fascinating.
But of course, there is more than just cultural struggles - like I said - these books are complex! There is another man and woman thrown into the mix as the live among both white folk and the Lakota tribe. The Other Man, Adam Trent, was actually a respectable feller. A western white lawman with the duty of arresting Shunkaha for murder. Said man happens to fall in love with Brianna, and spends most of his journey in this book pining after her. I liked the conclusion of Adam in the end. I think this storyline tied into the main story perfectly.
The drama of Soft Wind (the Lakota woman who is hellbent on making Shunkaha Luta her husband) was 🔥 ... I guess until it wasn't. Because I did find myself irked that Shunkaha went the morning after Brianna had some backbone and threatened to leave him altogether because of Soft Wind that he decided to work with other tribe members to build their own tipi lodge. Like ? If if it was that simple why not do that from the start?? And then later on in the story, after the destruction of the Lakota village, the narrative thoughts of Shunkaha frustrated me when he reflected on things with Soft Wind. Obviously she was some temptation for him. Logically, I know its realistic for Shunkaha to be tempted by marriage with a Lakota woman. Shes beautiful, yes, but ultimately he has spent his relationship with a white woman in turmoil over these cultural differences. It would be so simple for him to marry someone of his own people. And I understand that. But did I find it eye twitching when he was tempted? Of course. I wanted him and Brianna to be together. So reading Soft Wind's part inside this story got my blood boiling.
Overall, this is a fun read. If you are a vintage romance lover and you enjoy western romances, than this is a book you'd probably enjoy.
September 11, 2022
Rating: 3.3 / 5
As the most-read and rated book by Madeline Baker on Goodreads, quite frankly I'm surprised that it took me this long to get around to it, but finally I have!
As characteristic of one of her earlier works, basically this plot progresses through a lot of cliches from the 45% mark onwards, which is a shame because the first 45% progressed just so perfectly!
We have a Cinderella-like scenario with the heroine, Brianna, being used for hard labour by her aunt and uncle, and expecting nothing in return. She comes across Red Wolf (who is constantly referred to in the text by his Lakota name, which I like but also can't spell, sorry!), who's a prisoner among many forced to work on a road gang for the remainder of his sentence. His crime?--stealing a cow so that he doesn't die of hunger, which is perfectly understandable, as is the prison sentence.
Brianna witnesses Red Wolf being mistreated by the prison guards and sneaks around to help him, and then slowly but surely the two fall in love.
It's just that...once they've already fallen in love and gotten together the first time, then the plot seems to speed up and we go through pretty much every cliche in the book:
+ separation
+ thinking that the other is dead
+ other people (both another man and another woman) being interested in them, but of course they've only interested in each other even if they think the other is dead
+ a pregnancy, of course
+ the constant reminder of the law being after Red Wolf
And so on and so forth. I did like that Baker devoted some time to explaining Lakota culture and lore, but I've noticed that in her earlier works she has the tendency to lump all this info together in paragraph after paragraph of exposition-like writing which, let me tell you, isn't as engaging as it could be if she just interlaced cultural explanations within the plot. There was virtually none of that though, as Brianna's interactions with the Lakota are limited to pretty much just Red Wolf, and then telling everyone that she'll return to her own people once she thinks he's dead and whatnot.
A lot of it is, quite frankly, stuff that I've read before, but since this is one of Baker's earlier works and characteristic of the way plots worked at the time, I accepted it for what it was. Thankfully, no prolonged-angst, rape, or any other traumas are prevalent or the like, so overall it was an okay read and merits its 3-star rating.
As the most-read and rated book by Madeline Baker on Goodreads, quite frankly I'm surprised that it took me this long to get around to it, but finally I have!
As characteristic of one of her earlier works, basically this plot progresses through a lot of cliches from the 45% mark onwards, which is a shame because the first 45% progressed just so perfectly!
We have a Cinderella-like scenario with the heroine, Brianna, being used for hard labour by her aunt and uncle, and expecting nothing in return. She comes across Red Wolf (who is constantly referred to in the text by his Lakota name, which I like but also can't spell, sorry!), who's a prisoner among many forced to work on a road gang for the remainder of his sentence. His crime?--stealing a cow so that he doesn't die of hunger, which is perfectly understandable, as is the prison sentence.
Brianna witnesses Red Wolf being mistreated by the prison guards and sneaks around to help him, and then slowly but surely the two fall in love.
It's just that...once they've already fallen in love and gotten together the first time, then the plot seems to speed up and we go through pretty much every cliche in the book:
+ separation
+ thinking that the other is dead
+ other people (both another man and another woman) being interested in them, but of course they've only interested in each other even if they think the other is dead
+ a pregnancy, of course
+ the constant reminder of the law being after Red Wolf
And so on and so forth. I did like that Baker devoted some time to explaining Lakota culture and lore, but I've noticed that in her earlier works she has the tendency to lump all this info together in paragraph after paragraph of exposition-like writing which, let me tell you, isn't as engaging as it could be if she just interlaced cultural explanations within the plot. There was virtually none of that though, as Brianna's interactions with the Lakota are limited to pretty much just Red Wolf, and then telling everyone that she'll return to her own people once she thinks he's dead and whatnot.
A lot of it is, quite frankly, stuff that I've read before, but since this is one of Baker's earlier works and characteristic of the way plots worked at the time, I accepted it for what it was. Thankfully, no prolonged-angst, rape, or any other traumas are prevalent or the like, so overall it was an okay read and merits its 3-star rating.
March 27, 2018
"First Love,Wild Love" follows the lovely love-story of the Golden-haired Brianna and the Wild-hearted Lakota Indian Shunkaha Luta.
They have their ups and downs throughout the story-with their own cultural differences and the blood-spilled war between Indians and the White-people coming between them.
The first part of the story are the best on in this book.The scenes where Brianna and Shunkaha first met until Brianna runs away with Shunkaha to a beautiful forest,and where they freely and beautifully express their undying love to each other.The author made a wonderful job at expressing the characters and their situations.But later on it came all down,and i suddenly found myself not liking the writing style of this author-and the plot got worse.
Many things got weird and i suddenly found myself not knowing the characters at all sometimes.Overall i like the epiluge very much-the author made a great job with it,and the first part of the story are the best.This story could have been more epic if Baker wanted to,instead of putting up more puzzles that made it all more confusing.But i have to say that i just LOVE the cover-it`s just so coulerful and sexy!
They have their ups and downs throughout the story-with their own cultural differences and the blood-spilled war between Indians and the White-people coming between them.
The first part of the story are the best on in this book.The scenes where Brianna and Shunkaha first met until Brianna runs away with Shunkaha to a beautiful forest,and where they freely and beautifully express their undying love to each other.The author made a wonderful job at expressing the characters and their situations.But later on it came all down,and i suddenly found myself not liking the writing style of this author-and the plot got worse.
Many things got weird and i suddenly found myself not knowing the characters at all sometimes.Overall i like the epiluge very much-the author made a great job with it,and the first part of the story are the best.This story could have been more epic if Baker wanted to,instead of putting up more puzzles that made it all more confusing.But i have to say that i just LOVE the cover-it`s just so coulerful and sexy!
March 21, 2022
this book pisses me off. first off don’t be a fucking pussy stand up for your goddamn self. if someone starts whipping you turn the fuck around grab that shit out of their hand and whoop them across the face with it and do it as many times as you feel like it and i’ll guarantee they will never put another hand on you. and beat the fuck outta somebody girl you got hands use them bitches whoop his goddamn ass till his fucking legs cave in i don’t give a fuck if it is the 1900s i promise a motherfucker he would be dead and that’s on everything i fucking know
March 11, 2010
I enjoyed this book. I found the heroine to be a little bit naive and wimpy but I guess all women even in fiction can't be strong self sufficient types. I wish that a bit more actual Native American lifestyle had been shown but what was there was interesting. I liked that both the hero and the heroing gave serious thought to whether or not they could fit into each other's world. I thought it was realistic that they realized that they could not live on in the old ways. I enjoyed watching two people cleave together through adversity.
September 9, 2021
Сантиментално-сълзлива Дисни анимация, и то далеч от хитовите заглавия. Описанията на историческия фон са дърварски. Но заради темата с индианците и смелостта да се разглежда привличането между расите, а не избиването, закръглям нагоре.
2,5 звезди
2,5 звезди
May 3, 2018
I was encouraged to read this by a bunch of goodreads friends, too bad I read it too slowly to really participate in buddy read fun.
This is very different then I thought it was going to be. This awesome vintage cover (which the Kindle edition sadly does not have) tricked me into thinking this book was much older than it is and I was expecting bodice ripper craziness. This is not a bodice ripper at all. The story is much more low key than I expected going in, and Shunkaha is not the kind of domineering hero I anticipated.
Once Brianna escapes her evil Aunt and Uncle she isn't put through the wringer like I expected her to be. I was also surprised that this book doesn't traffic in old racist cliches about Native Americans that populate a lot of Native American romances. I can't tell you for sure how accurate the history is but the tone when describing the practices of the Lakota is reverent and there's definitely an attempt to educate the reader (to the point of info dumping exposition about Lakota cultural practices).
This is a wordy way of saying I expected a bodice ripper, I got a sweet but overly simple romance where the hero and heroine are consistently tender to each other and their conflicts are grounded in realistic culture shock issues as they try to build a life together. I liked it well enough but I actually wish it had some of the offensive mayhem I expected going in. I would call this a decent bit of fluff. It's pleasant enough to read but it's not especially substantive or memorable.
This is very different then I thought it was going to be. This awesome vintage cover (which the Kindle edition sadly does not have) tricked me into thinking this book was much older than it is and I was expecting bodice ripper craziness. This is not a bodice ripper at all. The story is much more low key than I expected going in, and Shunkaha is not the kind of domineering hero I anticipated.
Once Brianna escapes her evil Aunt and Uncle she isn't put through the wringer like I expected her to be. I was also surprised that this book doesn't traffic in old racist cliches about Native Americans that populate a lot of Native American romances. I can't tell you for sure how accurate the history is but the tone when describing the practices of the Lakota is reverent and there's definitely an attempt to educate the reader (to the point of info dumping exposition about Lakota cultural practices).
This is a wordy way of saying I expected a bodice ripper, I got a sweet but overly simple romance where the hero and heroine are consistently tender to each other and their conflicts are grounded in realistic culture shock issues as they try to build a life together. I liked it well enough but I actually wish it had some of the offensive mayhem I expected going in. I would call this a decent bit of fluff. It's pleasant enough to read but it's not especially substantive or memorable.
June 17, 2017
Do not be fooled by the cover of this book. Though there are a lot of sex scenes, none are explicit. This is NOT erotica of any kind (The 2009 reissue is a much better cover, in my opinion). It is a story about the trials and obstacles that threaten to tear apart the undying love of a white girl and a Lakota warrior. Brianna, abused and ignored by her aunt and uncle, is moved by the plight of a Native American man, named Shunkaha Luca, in a chain gang working near the home she lived in. She shows him tender kindness when he is beaten and whipped, and the two of them grow to become intrigued with the other. When Shunkaha Luca (Red Wolf) escapes from the chain gang, killing one of the gang leaders in his flight, a wounded Shunkaha is found by Brianna, who hides him away in the barn belonging to her aunt and uncle. There, she tends to his wounds and they develop a strong bond that slowly transforms into a powerful and passionate love that is tested time and time again by the cruel world around them, where Indians are forced onto reservations or slaughtered by white men. With Shunkaha's people, their love is tested and tried. With Brianna's people, their love is tested and tried. The two of them face jealousy, doubt, despair, pain, and desperation as they embark on a journey together, falling deeper into love while fighting for that very love they share.
This story is downright beautiful, albeit slow. It is wonderfully written and, while it is not explicit, it is not without its moments of passion and love. There are no over-the-top villains or revenge plots. In fact, there is literally only one side plot that comes into play at the end. The entire novel was more of a Point A to Point B sort of story. I remember reading a Georgiana Gentry story called Apache Tears. That book, while having an over-the-top villain with a crazy thirst for revenge against the Apache, had several different smaller plot threads that connected themselves later on, making the book very interesting. I like Madeline Baker's writing and the book wasn't void of action or emotion, but it was definitely slow going the whole time. But it works for one big reason.... there is a tragic truth that is touched on throughout the story.
It wasn't until the end of the story that I realized something the book was subtly telling us. The Native Americans had been ravaged by war and bloodshed. They were forced onto reservations or faced being ruthlessly killed. The war between settlers and Indians was a war for the right to a way of life. And the book mentions twice that the Indians could no longer return to the Old Ways. They lost the war, even before the fighting ended, because their way of life had been removed from them. Their loss was not just land or hunting rights. They lost the ability to live where they wanted, hunt where they wanted, go where they wanted, and their lives were endlessly intruded upon by the white man who saw them as less than human, as savage people. I won't spoil the end of the book, but there is a very subtle sadness hiding under the dialogue between Shunkaha and Brianna regarding the Indian's way of life from then on. The Natives would never be given what was promised them by the White Man. They would never be able to return to the way of life they had lived for hundreds of years. That way of life was taken. The war had been lost to them because there was no going back to the Old Ways.
Seriously. Read that last page and the epilogue and tell me I'm wrong! Is that not a tragic, bittersweet end to the story, despite the words on the page giving us **SPOILER** a happy ending? So, despite the book being slow going, and having no plot threads to make the story more interesting, there is a hint of loss in this story that is not explicitly said, but is seen and felt. So for that, this book gets 5 stars. The romance was powerful and timeless, the emotional turmoil that the star-crossed lovers faced was heart-wrenching, and the underlying loss of the Native American way of life is beautifully done in this story.
**SPOILER** I need to get this off my chest. There is a part of the book where Shunkaha Luca goes off to war and is presumed dead when he does not return with the other Indian warriors. When Brianna believes him to be dead, she participates in a very deep and emotion-based act of the Lakota culture, which is mutilating one's flesh as a way to demonstrate one's grief. Wouldn't this have been such a great moment for Shunkaha Luca to come back to her and see her scars? Wouldn't the emotion be so deep and beautiful for him to see the scars she punished herself with, scars made for HIM? But the scars are literally NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN after being dealt to her skin. Such a waste of a potentially touching scene! I feel as though the 'skin mutilation in response to grief' thing was done a little better in Lakota Love Story by Madeline Baker (same author of First Love, Wild Love) because the main male lead Blue Hawk mutilated his skin while he grieved over the loss of his grandmother early on in the book. And the female lead actually SAW the scars and reacted to them. But in this book, not only do we not have a conversation between the two characters regarding the act already done, but there isn't even a REACTION. That is what I call bad storytelling! But, anyways, my rant is now over. The book itself is definitely a sweet story and is worth reading!
November 27, 2018
a great fun read!
June 30, 2013
This review is from: First Love, Wild Love (Kindle Edition)
First off, ignore that sexy cover because I think it cheapens the story.
Madeline Baker gives us a first hand view of a life that is long past. She brings us emotionally into the heart of a desperate Indian, Shukade Luta, and a young, innocent white girl, Brianna.
Both of these people have been abused, emotionally and physically, and that's what forms their first bond together. This bond eventually grows into a deep, mature love.
Miss Baker not only shows us the life Brianna leads among the Indians, but then she brings us into the white world with her Indian.
If you like historical romance, I would highly recommend this book.
First off, ignore that sexy cover because I think it cheapens the story.
Madeline Baker gives us a first hand view of a life that is long past. She brings us emotionally into the heart of a desperate Indian, Shukade Luta, and a young, innocent white girl, Brianna.
Both of these people have been abused, emotionally and physically, and that's what forms their first bond together. This bond eventually grows into a deep, mature love.
Miss Baker not only shows us the life Brianna leads among the Indians, but then she brings us into the white world with her Indian.
If you like historical romance, I would highly recommend this book.
January 24, 2011
What I appreciated most about this book was that (1) it included information on Native American culture (though I wished for more), and (2) that it showed how the hero and heroine struggled with whether they could live in each others culture. It wasn't just a matter of love ruling over common sense, but a grappling over the reality of present day happenings, as well as what the future might hold for them and their children. There was a bit of an age difference between the couple, but the author told the story in a way that it wasn't an issue.
This is my second book by Madeline Baker and I look forward to reading more.
This is my second book by Madeline Baker and I look forward to reading more.
Read
January 19, 2016I am a huge fan of Native American romance stories. Read hundreds and hundreds of books. While I enjoyed this book...I prefer my heroines to be innocent yet more stronger in character.
Although, he was unsure where his heart lay I liked the fact that he was strong and brave. Again, I would of preferred for the heroine's character to have more fire.
Although, he was unsure where his heart lay I liked the fact that he was strong and brave. Again, I would of preferred for the heroine's character to have more fire.
November 20, 2014
The hero and heroine were so sweet in this book. They never went through the misunderstanding and hatred phases of most historical romances.
February 15, 2015
I usually don't read a book that has this sort of cover(NEVER judge by its cover! or that was published 10+ years ago but it intrigued me enough to give it a try.
What a surprise it was!
What a surprise it was!
November 14, 2017
I enjoyed this book, but there were a lot of things that could have been done better. At times, information about Lakota culture felt a bit like someone was regurgitating information just for the sake of laying it out there. And if you have read other books by this writer, it feels like she takes some paragraphs of information and copies and pastes it into a different story. It was disappointed. I was also disappointed that there was no a scene where Shunkaha Luca recognized that Brianna had mourned him the Lakota way. I felt like her doing that was a big moment of acceptance of his culture, however it was never mentioned again. You would think he had noticed the scars on her body.
May 7, 2018
While by no means intellectual food, this book was actually much better than most from this genre. The couple is loyal and faithful to each other, they trust each other much more than is the norm in these stories, and the girl manages somehow not to be an annoying suffragette in the days where women knew where their power lay. It wasn't terrible by any means, but it was pretty generic. I can't remember that it had anything particularly objectionable, but it did have a few explicit scenes which make it unsuitable for many audiences.
January 26, 2018
While the love between these two was very believable and it made for a good read - it was a bit fluffy for my tastes. I like a little more intrigue and conflict. There was a lot but it wasn't deep enough for my tastes. Every conflict ended within ten to twenty pages. But again - good chemistry building between the characters. However, it was not as bodice-ripping, passion-filled as most of these types of novels are.
March 21, 2018
First Love, Wild Love by Madeline Baker
What an excellent story. I enjoyed it so much. Joy, happiness, sadness, love and war. These were all the elements to make it such good reading that I hated to put the book down at any time. I simply wanted to continue reading without any breaks. You must read it to understand what a great writer this author is.
What an excellent story. I enjoyed it so much. Joy, happiness, sadness, love and war. These were all the elements to make it such good reading that I hated to put the book down at any time. I simply wanted to continue reading without any breaks. You must read it to understand what a great writer this author is.
December 22, 2018
5 stars
This was a good read went very fast kept my attention ,even though some books i have read are better it still deserve five stars.This book is more of the life on the Indian land and not so much of the old west
This was a good read went very fast kept my attention ,even though some books i have read are better it still deserve five stars.This book is more of the life on the Indian land and not so much of the old west
June 7, 2023
Shunkaha Luta and Brianna, sigh. Her rescuing him from the chain gang, was just the beginning. He becomes her everything. And then some. I don't do spoilers so just believe when I say it's worth a read. :)
January 31, 2026
First Love Wild Love by Madeline Baker
I did not put this down. Madeline's writing and her historical knowledge is excellent. I going myself living the peoples lives as I read this book.
I did not put this down. Madeline's writing and her historical knowledge is excellent. I going myself living the peoples lives as I read this book.
May 29, 2017
My opinion
very well written and captivating at this point I have read several of her books and keep coming back for more
very well written and captivating at this point I have read several of her books and keep coming back for more
March 5, 2018
First Love, Wild Love
I loved this story, I recommend everyone to read this book, I look forward to reading more of her books. Kattie.
I loved this story, I recommend everyone to read this book, I look forward to reading more of her books. Kattie.
May 14, 2019
Indian romance
I love Meadeline Baker's books, I love india N romance and Mz, BKer never leave you hanging Always keeps you into what is going to happen next.
I love Meadeline Baker's books, I love india N romance and Mz, BKer never leave you hanging Always keeps you into what is going to happen next.
June 10, 2021
Love
Young love. Exciting and adventures this couple who truly love. I loved the story. And will read it again and again.
Young love. Exciting and adventures this couple who truly love. I loved the story. And will read it again and again.
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