Book Review: "Courting Morrow Little" by Laura Frantz

Morrow Little is haunted by the memory of the day her family was torn apart by raiding Shawnee warriors. Now that she is nearly a grown woman and her father is ailing, she must make difficult choices about the future. Several men—ranging from the undesired to the unthinkable—vie for her attentions, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a forbidden love that both terrifies and intrigues her. Can she betray the memory of her lost loved ones—and garner suspicion from her friends—by pursuing a life with him? Or should she seal her own misery by marrying a man she doesn't love?

I don't know much about the history of Kentucky. For example, I had no idea that the state (or territory at the time) used to be spelled Kentucke. Thanks to this book, I was able to learn this while enjoying a wonderful story. Morrow Little has returned from the city and finishing school to her frontier home to her father. They are still recovering from the Indian massacre that took the life of Morrow's mother over a decade ago. Now a young woman who is of marriageable age, Morrow faces many suitors all eager to take her hand in marriage. I was impressed with the way that Morrow handled returning back to home. She accepts that this is her chosen path but doesn't give in easily to the first person who shows favor in her way. Her character is very likeable especially her relationship with Red Shirt. I found him to be a very interesting character and wish that there had been some scenes from his point of view. A lot of the story deals with forgiveness and learning to let go. This is a path that is prevalent in a lot of inspirational fiction plots, but Frantz manages to use it with a different twist.

For me the most interesting part of the book was the interracial marriage and blending of cultures. I was a little afraid that the book would take a stereotypical turn in terms of Native American and Caucasian romances but luckily the story did not go there. In fact after a while, race is not mentioned at all, even by the people surrounding the couple. Even though this is in a historical context, it's always nice to see multiculturalism make its way into Christian fiction.

Overall I felt that this book was an enjoyable historical romance and a pleasant way to spend a day. I liked the historical context of the book as well as the romance bit. It was believable without being too sappy. While not being a deep heavy read, it's a good way to do some escape reading. This was my first Laura Frantz novel and I believe that I will be returning to read more of her books.

Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz is published by Revell (2010)

This review copy was provided by the publisher