In Awakening, the previous book in this historical series, Terry O'Reilly fooled me. He wrote a book with a not happily ever after true to history ending, and, as afterword, he wrote also a little quarrel scene, between him and his husband, in which he supported the rightness of his decision and instead Drew, his husband, warned him that the fans would be not happy. And I was not happy, but I understood his reason, I only wished that in the sequel, Nathaniel wouldn't find another man to replace Jonathan in his heart.
And for a moment, I almost feared that it was exactly what it was happening. Nathaniel went toward North, in the wild territory of Ohio, with Robert, his cooper's apprentice. Robert is a young man that is obviously in love with Nathaniel, but the older man is still in love with Jonathan, even if he knows that there is no future for them. But still in his heart he hopes in the impossible. Then comes a letter from Jonathan, a letter in which Jonathan asks to his lover to go on with his life, to forget him. And Nathaniel tries, he forces himself to accept Robert's love, even if not fully. He shares his life, home and bed with Robert, but he never arrives to share the same intimacy he had with Jonathan. And Robert, who in his young naivety, has eyes only for the man, accepts this second-hand love and thinks he can be happy with that. But years later another letter arrives, a letter in which Jonathan announces that his wife is passed away. He is not saying that he wants Nathaniel back, but still, probably in Nathaniel's heart that little hope in the impossible comes again alive and he slowly withdraws inside himself and far from Robert's comforting love.. At the same time Robert, being half Native American, is recruited against his will as interpreter for the English Army and forced to leave Nathaniel for months. He has the chance to meet another man, a full blood Native American, and also to see how his life could be in an Shawnee village, where he hasn't to hide his love for another man: in the north settlement where he lives with Nathaniel, their love was accepted like a unavoidable evil, with no woman around, what they could do? but with Red Horse he finally experiment a full life, not only since he is accepted by all the people around, but also since he is the first man in the warrior's heart. But Robert's heart is divided, like it was Nathaniel's one: can he fully love Red Horse, when he doesn't know what his life with Nathaniel could be if the man finally forget his long lost previous lover?
I like the story since it's a complicated but well mixed three way plot: Robert and Nathaniel, their life in the north settlement, a love that maybe is not passion, but that could be a long and loving relationship; Robert and Red Horse, a new love, not only since it's the first time Robert feels real passion, but also since they live free from the society boundaries: and finally, but not less important, Drew and Terry: more than in the previous book, Terry O'Reilly makes the fictional characters of him and his husband, real main characters of the story; not only Drew influences Terry's decision on the plot, we can also see how Terry's past experience are reflected in the story. And again, the sub-story of Terry and Drew is so interesting that it almost steals the scene to the main one.
As you can imagine, thanks to the setting far from the "civil" society and the boundaries of living in it, this time there is an happily ever after ending (even if I will not say between whom). It's not a forced ending, since probably, in that time, it was the decision of a lot of men who couldn't live in any other place if not in the wilderness, where probably no one would judge them for searching "male" companionship.
I was uncertain on this book, I liked the previous one and I was fearing to be disappointed by a sequel: there were little chance for the author to write something I could like. Well, he managed to, and I strongly recommend to read both books, above all if you are a romantic at heart like me.
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/divided-hearts/prod_211.htmlAmazon Kindle:
Divided Hearts ~ A Sequel to Awakening
Series:
1) Awakening:
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/456160.html2) Divided Hearts
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle
Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey
In Awakening, the previous book in this historical series, Terry O'Reilly fooled me. He wrote a book with a not happily ever after true to history ending, and, as afterword, he wrote also a little quarrel scene, between him and his husband, in which he supported the rightness of his decision and instead Drew, his husband, warned him that the fans would be not happy. And I was not happy, but I understood his reason, I only wished that in the sequel, Nathaniel wouldn't find another man to replace Jonathan in his heart.
