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T'on Ma

by Magnolia Belle

327 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #06-1485; ISBN 1-4120-9729-0; US$21.79, C$25.06, EUR17.90, £12.53

Lana Cooper loves two men - a Kiowa warrior, Two Hawks, and an Army officer, Liam O'Connell. Society in 1850s Texas tells her to choose Liam, but her heart says otherwise.

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About the Book

About the Author

Excerpts

About the Book

T'on Ma is set in Texas during the 1850s and offers a classic tale of a woman torn between two lovers. Lana Cooper lives with her three brothers and parents on their new homestead. During the summer of 1850, she meets Two Hawks, a young Kiowa warrior, who doesn't know what to make of her blue eyes. Is she a medicine woman? A spirit woman? Should he kill her or take her captive? While he decides her fate, he gives her the name T'on Ma, Kiowa for Water Woman.

Lt. Liam O'Connell is a West Point graduate from a wealthy Georgia family. He is assigned to Ft. Worth and sent on scouting missions to subdue the Indian trouble. It is on such a mission that he meets the Cooper family. One look at Lana and he knows that he must pursue her.

When Lana is captured by the Apache, both Liam and Two Hawks desperately try to rescue her before she is sold into slavery in Mexico. It is the only time that the two warriors ever agree on anything.

When her family sees that she desires Two Hawks, they fear for her well-being. In that day's social mores, to have her turn Kiowa means a death sentence; she can never return home. Two Hawks' way of life involves taking slaves, allowing more than one wife, holding a different faith, and living a different culture. Because of this, Lana allows her father to push her into a rushed marriage with Liam. However, Liam's family's lifestyle is no better and, in many ways, worse. Within Lana's hearing, they take the young officer to task for marrying so far beneath him.

Through adventure, captivity, betrayal, marriage, and death, these three lives intertwine as Lana tries to find her way between two men that she loves. Her choices cost them all.

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About the Author

Magnolia Belle graduated in 1978 from Tarleton State University. She won first place in the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Editorial competition in 1977. She grew up in the military and has lived in several states as well as the Orient. While not of Kiowa ancestry, she proudly declares some Native American heritage. She also has written a second series Black Wolf.

Reviews

Historical Romance

T'on Ma is a compelling novel set during the early 1850's and delves into cultures and a period in American history rarely addressed in romance literature. The story is primarily built around the triangle of Lana Cooper (Water Woman, T'on Ma), Two Hawks (Yi Centas) and Liam O'Connell. This is the first book in a trilogy that will span from the 1850's through the 1880's and follow the families introduced in the first book. This story focuses on Lana, and the choices she must make as these two men enter her life.

Lana Cooper is the seventeen year old daughter of Joshua and May Cooper who have decided to become homesteaders and settle their family in North Texas following the Mexican-American War. We see her close relationship with both parents and her three brothers, and we also get a sense of how difficult life must have been for pioneers at that time. We follow her journey and growth as she meets and develops relationships with two very different men. Her choices are complicated by cultural differences, which the author deftly delineates.

Two Hawks is a Kiowa brave, and his tribe is near the location where the Coopers have settled. When Two Hawks and Lana meet, the connection is instantaneous. However, their relationship is hampered by the understandable concerns of their respective families, as relationships between the Kiowa and homesteaders were not always friendly. Their love is deep; however, it is not what either Lana's family or Two Hawk's tribe want for them. Lana also eventually meets Liam O'Connell, who is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is stationed in Ft. Worth. One of his scouting missions brings him in contact with the Cooper family. We learn that he is well educated and is from a wealthy Georgia family. He is enamored with Lana, and is a support to her and her family.

Overall, this book was a joy to read. At times this reviewer was frustrated that the style of writing for this novel is simplistic, however, the simple writing fits the story in the sense that Lana and Two Hawks must learn to communicate with each other. The character development is superb, the plot moves at just the right speed, and the reader is treated to seeing the characters make very human choices. With a classic story of a woman torn between two men, this story could have easier fallen prey to all sorts of clichés, cop-outs, or unrealistic decisions. Magnolia Belle allows for the development of both love interests and makes room for the analysis of different types of love. It is refreshing that Liam, as the "antihero" is not portrayed as a villain. Lana is faced with the choice of the known versus the unknown. Should she follow what she has been brought up to believe or should she take a chance? Should she follow her "head" or her "heart"? This novel is special because we see our heroine struggle with these choices and their consequences, and this novel does not follow a typical romance formula. We see our heroine's growth as a person as she makes difficult decisions and lives with her choices. As the ultimate triumph of true love is never assured, it is all the more satisfying.

Reviewed by Erin Erato - Romance Reader's Connection

Rating - 4 1/2

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Excerpts

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