Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

It’s a wonderful thing when someone discovers their absolute, true talent. Author Lori Benton has certainly found hers. Her book Burning Sky captured my attention from the very first page.  Only when I happened to look at the back cover did I realize, with a double take, that it was her first novel.  Benton’s writing style is beautiful and descriptive.  I could easily imagine the American frontier through her words.  My ignorance about American history surfaced as I learned that some Native American tribes took captives when they lost their own people to disease or war.  Somehow I had never realized that those captives had a face, a name, a family.  Burning Sky, also known as Willa, was one of those captives.  She was torn from one world then torn from another, lost in limbo as she struggled to regain a sense of herself.  Along the way she encountered a doctor-turned-botonist Neil MacGregor.  He reminded me a bit of Jamie from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, what with his accent and all.  Then there was the drama between Willa and her former betrothed, Richard Waring.  All of this is blanketed in Willa’s journey through the home she once knew. 

Burning Sky has a deep message of endurance and putting aside differences.  Somehow we tend to forget that discrimination, racial tension, and other tribulations of our time aren’t really new to this country.   For those who have an interest in the American revolution or Native Americans, Burning Sky by Lori Benton is a gem.  It’s a gentle type of romance, so those who don’t really want The story is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.  The thread of faith ties it all together.  I really enjoyed this book and look forward to sharing it with others.