Judith‘s review of Fallen by Blayne Edwards (looks like her website is defunct)
“She just fell from the freakin’ sky!”
The Cherokee people don’t have a mating dance. Unfortunately for Lossiah’s clan, he’s an innovator. An innovator and perhaps a bit of a troublemaker. Of courswe, he never meant to bring home the flu bug that almost wiped out his entire family, and he didn’t really think the Dance would convince the Great spirit to forgive him and send him a wife. Losi is not a bad guy. He’s just trying to score some action. And who can blame him? Living isolated in the Smoky Mountains for all those years can be hell on a guy’s sex life. Not to mention what it can do to his two-step.
Sarah’s had it up to here with being nagged about her sex life. There is no problem with her sex life. She HAS no sex life! How can there be a problem?What do you do when something you want is just out of reach? If you want it badly enough, you reach a little farther.
I love the Native American cultures and all the mystery, color, beauty, and grandeur of their customs, their connection with Mother Earth, and their great respect for all creation as the expression of the Great Spirit. That Lossiah is driven in frustration to go to the Great Spirit is not really an odd thing, but this small contingent of Cherokee are different than those that are found in Oklahoma. Rebelling against the U. S. Government’s demands that moved them from their original ancestral lands, this small group quietly wandered away from the larger mass of families and settled in hiddenness in the North Carolina woods not far from the Appalachian Trail. For over 200 years they had lived here, and it is no wonder that the Elders are extremely reluctant to allow outsiders to become a part of the clan, whether as friend or mate.
This is a lovely and genteel story of how a determined and goal-oriented botanist “falls” into the arms of Lossiah–bruised, bleeding, cut, and nearly unconscious after rolling down a 200 foot embankment. Has the Great Spirit answered? So it would appear.
Sarah’s desire for companionship certainly matches Lossiah’s, yet she will not engage in light weight sex for its own sake. She wants a man who is kind, generous, respectful, and who doesn’t just want a one-night-stand. It would also appear that she has found such a man in Lossiah. As for Losi, Sarah is an answer to prayer and is the mate he is wishing for. Now he only has to convince the Elders.
This is a lovely novella and a simple story of love and companionship well written and easily read. Sarah meets some unusual people and experiences sights and sounds that are surprising and gratifying. She is drawn into the legend and folklore of this small village. The issues are real and are not necessarily easily solved, but it is a very romantic tale and so very entertaining.
Romance fans, I think, will like this book. My rating is lower because I think it could have been expanded into a longer book.
I give this work a rating of 3.75 out of 5.
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.
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