This book's title, and its cover, which depicts a long-gowned woman gazing passively out to sea, don't indicate that Lovelace's latest (after The Colonel's Daughter) is anything but a stereotypical romance between a swashbuckling hero and doormat heroine. There's more here than appearances suggest, however. Third in a series about army life and love in frontier America, the tale centers on the relationship between spirited, spoiled 17-year-old journalist Victoria Parker and young cavalry officer Sam Garrett. Despite Sam's love for a beautiful and dedicated nurse, he and Victoria impulsively get engaged after falling in lust on the eve of the Spanish American War. Following the couple from their Cheyenne, Wyo., hometown to war-torn Cuba, Lovelace, a retired air force colonel, brings her central theme—the creation of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps—to vivid life by focusing on Sam's struggles as one of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, Victoria's maturing from society fluff writer into respected war correspondent and the battle-driven evolution of their relationship from mere passion to impassioned love. As rich in history as it is in character, this romance is an inspirational delight. (Jan.)
Forecast:Despite the bland, misleading cover, booksellers should see an increase in sales if they display this one alongside similar western-flavored novels like Jodi Thomas's
The Texan's Wager and Kate Bridges's
The Doctor's Homecoming.
