In 1755 Albany, NY, Marisa Jameson overhears her step-
uncle, John Rathburn, discussing with one of his henchmen
plans to burn the fields and homes of a Dutch community.
She then threatens Rathburn with her knowledge in order to
take her maid, Sarah Strong, who is still indentured to
him, to New Hampshire to find her a new position. Sarah
became indentured to Rathburn after another of his schemes
killed her parents, leaving Sarah to pay off the land debt
to the wealthy financier.
Rathburn has raised Marisa since the death of her parents
when she was young, but he has no loyalty to her. He
responds to her threats by paying his henchman, Dick
Thompson, to not only burn the fields but also to accompany
Marisa and Sarah to New Hampshire and kill them before they
arrive. Traveling through Indian territory is unsafe,
especially during the war between the French and the
English, so Dick hires Black Eagle of the Mohawk tribe as a
scout. Dick doesn't know Black Eagle and Marisa have met
and share a mutual attraction.
Trained in many English ways, Black Eagle sneaks into a
going-away party before Marisa's journey to dance with her.
She receives and relishes her first-ever kiss from him in
the moonlight. After he has left, she seizes a small chance
for freedom and runs after him. Thinking she will never see
him again, she must take this chance for one night of
passionate love. Black Eagle neglects to mention his
position as scout for her morning's journey.
Gen Bailey delivers a solid debut novel with BLACK EAGLE,
the first in the Warriors of the Iroquois series. Clearly
the product of a well-to-do upbringing, Marisa has moments
of imperiousness balanced with a generous heart towards her
best friend and maid, Sarah. Not completely set in her
ways, she has the willingness to change and grow once she
understands what she values most. While Bailey portrays
Black Eagle in typical Indian dress, carrying traditional
weapons, she describes the Mohawk tribe with the respect it
deserves. Many romances that include Indians require the
heroine to "tame the wild savage," which sets my teeth on
edge. Bailey, however, has done her research of the various
Indian tribes and the time period, sharing Mohawk legends,
beliefs and aspects of day-to-day life with the reader.
The plot moves at a steady pace, except for a few places
where it lags before the journey begins. Gen Bailey
(who also writes under the pen name of Karen Kay)
does a nice job with dialogue and language, given the
diversity of characters -- from those of Irish descent and
the less-educated Dick Thompson. My one small gripe is
Black Eagle's seeming worship of Marisa from the start,
calling her Beauty, vision and enchantress, even after he
knows her name. Overall, I enjoyed reading BLACK EAGLE, and
I encourage any romance fans with an interest in history
and/or Native Americans to pick up Bailey's novel.
A thrilling Warriors of the Iroquois novel—from an
exciting new voice in Native American romance.
Fleeing her corrupt uncle, Marisa Rathburn heads to a
friend’s home in the north, despite the escalating battles
between the English and French. Mesmerized by her beauty,
a Mohawk warrior named Black Eagle volunteers to act as
her eyes through the wild forests of New England. As
danger surrounds them, he realizes Marisa is not as she
appears. Caught in the crossfire of war, with an assassin
on their trails, they discover that trusting in their love
may be the only way to survive.
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