I am going to go more into detail in the morning (its late here) but Ifinished the book tongiht and WOW! Rosina I can not put into words how wonderful this beek was. I love Hannah and Ben, perfect fit there, but I must admit there were times when I wanted to march up to you and say "hasn't she been through enough!?!" or just climb into the book and take care of business myself. That is the power your words have, they spin such a detailed story that I feel as though I am right there with the characters, and that they are people I know and love. I can not wait to see what you cook up with this new generation of Bonners (2 boys and a girl, quite the handful.. perhaps Ben, Hannah, Lily and Simon wil help those numbers grow? hint hint) So to finish off for tonight, Rosina, once again you have out-done yourself.

I am frustrated cuz I ordered mine from B&N back in September.� I just checked and it still hasn't been shipped.� I got an email from them on 10/28 saying it was going to be shipped but then got another email that said the release date had been changed so it wasn't going to be shipped.� Sure I could go out and buy it but I am basically lazy and love having stuff delivered to my house.� Do we have any more info about what is going on?

BD

I had ordered it from B&N online...they obviously didn't stock enough copies cuz when I called them they said they had to wait for the 2nd printing before they could ship and it wouldn't be until Nov. 27th.  I said **** that and cancelled my order with them.  I then went to Amazon and ordered one.  It will still be a week or so before I get it but that is a heck of a lot better than B&N.  Geesh.

BD

Misty, now that you brought it up, I can make the connection between Ben and Daniel as well. Let's see...

And I agree with you too about the conversation among Nathaniel, Bears and Hannah - it is really good. At that moment I new Ben would go home with Hannah.

I just finished QoS last night. I have to say I think its the best one so far in the series.� I got it Friday so that's 4 days. I was so happy that Hannah played a big part in the plot while I like Jennet, I'm very fond of Hannah.

The whole culture of New Orleans at that time must have taken a lot of research and while I consider myself southern I was shocked and somewhat offended that Hannah had to be refered to as a "Free woman of Color". Oh, that left a bad taste in my mouth, as I'm sure it was suppose to.

One question, was/is there really a law that stated that women of color had to wear whatever on their heads? Women of the time period generally wore some kind of little bonnet (think Amish) or scarf or something no matter what their color but I had no idea it was law.

I also see where the reviewer got 'Nathan' as the babies name. LOL

I'm so glad to hear that you've started working on another one. We'll see how well Ben does in Northern climes. While I love Hannah, her story is so sad but then I can't think of one 'Indian' story that isn't.

Great job on this one. Jeanne

I know what you mean about Hannah's love scenes. I had to stop reading for a moment and remind myself that all parents have to go through the time when they realize their child has sex. Crazy.

I loved it!� Great read, great story, great characters!� Wonderful job Sara!

"But I fear there is no girl left in her anymore, which is a sorrow to me"

This one line from Nathaniel to Elizabeth summed up my feelings regarding Hannah in this book.� There is just so little of the girl we grew up with in the woman we have today.� You did a beautiful job of giving us a glimpse of the scars and heartache that she's experienced throughout her life.� Considering all that she's been through and all that's she's seen, I absolutely understand her fears.

I wasn't ready for Hannah to move on with Ben.� I loved her and Strikes-the-Sky so much that I had already closed myself off to the idea of her being with someone else.� But you got me to love her as I'd love any member of my family - and in the end, I just wanted her to be happy.

The pain and emotional baggage she carried around was overwhelming.� While she loved her husband, you reminded us of the obstacles that do exist in any marriage.� I was happy that you gave us closure but didn't diminish her love for Strikes-the-Sky.� The woman she was with him was a far different woman that we had in this book.� But she loved him to the best of her abilities - she learned to understand his demons, to build a life with him, and face the obstacles that came with his world.�

We were never given a chance to see her anger in the previous book.� She was always a solid rock - a strong woman that continually moved forward and did what she had to do.� She was the woman that buried her son, turned and walked home.� But to see her angry at everything that she felt had a hand in taking away those she loved, at the weakness she saw in herself - that was heartbreaking.�

Those moments where she couldn't understand why Ben would fight for a country that didn't accept him, that destroyed so many lives, really made me see the conflict she had within herself, as well as all the unresolved anger she was clinging to.

It was Ben's understanding of that anger that really warmed me up to him.� This time, it was Hannah with the angry demons - and it was Ben who had to leave his life in New Orleans so that she could finally live hers.� He was the kind of man she needed.  He was to her what I think she was to Strikes-the-Sky. 

I was a little weary of the promises they made to each other in the end.� But I commend Hannah for telling Ben that this was the woman that she was, he had to love all of it.� Despite the time that has passed, she still has a lot of healing to do.� She will still be controlled by her fears.� I have no doubts that Ben will really help her heal.� And I have no doubts that Hannah will not take anything away from the man Ben really is.

Now for the rest of the book (LOL) - wonderful, wonderful job with setting the background.� The sights and smells of New Orleans were very well written.� The culture, the society, the beauty of New Orleans was unbelievable.� You really have a way with words.

I loved Nathaniel & Runs-from-Bears showing up.� It was when they showed up that we finally saw some of Hannah's vulnerability. Every time they were in a scene, I just broke out in a smile.� From Runs wanting to bring an alligator home to Nathaniel's self-assured strut into camp to rescue Ben - all of it made me smile.

I have so much more to say - but I think my boss would appreciate it if I did some work around here.

Great job Sara!

I also posted some commentary on my book site (although, it's pretty much what I said here too)

http://z11.invisionfree.com/MyBookBuddies

I am having a rough day, two hours at the chiropractor (my back has been a misery to me lately) and feeling down, but let me say, these posts really raised my spirits. It's tremendously uplifting to find that readers really get the story you were trying to tell, with all the nuances.

Thank you all. Thank you thank you thank you.