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Daughter of a French courtesan to frontier wife to friend of Martha Washington-

In the early 1700's Christiane flees France with her renegade father. In the Canadian wilderness, she survives the shock of leaving a life of wealth and privilege. To escape frontier violence, she moves southward only to become involved in the burgeoning American Revolution. Daughter of a French courtesan to frontier wife to companion of Martha Washington--circumstances move Christiane into the very heart of the American rebel elite. But one man in her life can never be forgotten.

John Eastham, who’d also left Europe behind, had protected her as the captain at a Canadian frontier fort. Then he’d been a friend. Now when they meet again, he has become the enemy. Both of them must face the history they left behind. Both of them must face the consequences of war and--also of peace. How do enemies lay down arms and forge a future--a dynasty.

Three generations in early America-one family's saga, a young nation’s story~

A fascinating book, well worth reading, difficult to put down and gave me a new insight into the early history of the US.—a UK reader

Publisher Note: The formatting glitch has been fixed."

Quoted information above is from the book's Amazon sales page. The bulk of my review will be in the "further comments" section near the bottom.

People who like historical Christian fiction / romance, or regular historical romance and don't mind Christian elements.

Learning some historical things without feeling like I was being taught. More in the "further comments" section below.

Sometimes the pace was slow and sometimes it was hard to relate to the heroine's choices

Get up and move around.

Lots of different things. I did cry and laugh.

"From the Author
When I started my very first manuscript, I literally ran after my two toddlers with a clipboard in my hand and wrote a sentence or two whenever they paused. Anyway I wrote that story without knowing anything about the market. In fact, I told myself just to write the book and then I'd think about marketing it. The thought of that was overwhelming at that time. It took me three years of writing to finish my first manuscript-1,000 handwritten pages. Whew!
But I found out that while my first manuscript, Journey to Victory and my second Journey to Honor, garnered interest from agents and editors, neither found a publisher. In spite of this I still believe these are good stories and should they sit ignored on my shelf forever? I decided to let readers decide whether or not they're worth reading.

All four of the books in this series follow the three touchstones of my historical novels:

a heroine who is ahead of her time, who sees people for who they are not just what they appear,
authentic historical research (I have a Masters in American history and love researching little know historical facts) and
finally a multi-cultural cast of characters. So if you don't always follow the rules, why not take the challenge and read something a bit unexpected?--Lyn Cote

From the Inside Flap
The late prolific reviewer Harriet Klausner gave the print edition 5 stars: "Book one of the Patriots and Seekers Revolutionary War era thriller is a great tale due to a strong cast and held together by a wonderful brave protagonist. Readers obtain a taste of life in the rebellious colonies through the trials and triumphs of courageous Christiane."
Authentic history with historic figures in the cast. Rated PG13 for adult situations and mild violence.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Lyn Cote has written over 45 books. A Romance Writers of America RITA finalist and an American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, Lyn writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense and historical novels. No matter which kind of story, her brand "Strong Women, Brave Stories" comes through. Her most recent achievement is being added to Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll for bestselling authors. She lives in a lakeside cottage the northwoods of Wisconsin with her comfy husband and two adorable cats. Visit her website/blog at LynCote.com and find her on Facebook, GoodReads and Twitter."

Quoted information above is from the book's Amazon sales page.

Overall, I did enjoy it.

When I read the second book in this series, about Christiane's daughter, I thought I was reading the first book. So when I went to read the next one, I was surprised to see this first one. Instead of reading the third book next, I decided to to back and read the first one (this one). I'm glad I did. Usually series are nicer for me to read in the intended order. I do wish I'd read this before reading the second book. There are some things that would have made a lot more sense, had I done so. So if you're thinking about this series, I definitely recommend reading it in order, starting with this book.

It's important to note that when the book opens, Christiane is only fifteen years old. She seems a lot more mature than that in the opening scenes, but some of her decisions between then and her turning nineteen made me raise my eyebrows. Then I'd remember her age, and it would make sense. So don't be like me and forget her age as you go.

She has a remarkable journey and takes some daring risks. Some for love, some for freedom, and some seemingly from just being an impetuous young person.

There was a spot where I laughed out loud, quite a few spots that made me smile, and one that actually brought me to tears. So the author did well in engaging my emotions.

What I liked best: Christiane's strength of character (for the most part), some of the amazing other characters in the book, especially the men she married, and particularly the last one she married. The parts with George and / or Martha Washington. Her care for others and animals. That the historical elements felt authentic.

I did find myself getting bored at times and I would set the book aside and read something else. But when I came back to this one, I enjoyed it again. I think I bought it on sale for 99 cents or $1.99, so I think I own it. I doubt I'll read it again, but one never knows. It was one of my rewards from one of my Dear Me 2025 letter accomplishments. I do wish that Amazon would let me gift books like this to someone else when I'm done with them, like I could a physical book. I enjoy passing physical books on to people when I'm done with them.

Back to this book and its series. As I've already read the next one, I will likely read the third book in the series next time I'm in the mood for historical romance.

This book could have been a series of linked short stories. I felt there were plenty of times that I could just put it down and feel complete. Though I was interested in what happened next in Christiane's life.

SPOILER ALERT - please don't read further if you don't want spoilers.

I was hesitant to call this a Christian romance because it violated some of the tenets of Christian romance, particularly having premarital relations. But there was a faithful Quaker family who was essential to the plot, there were prayers and mentions of faith, and while most of the colonies were Protestant, when traveling through Maryland, Christiane did stop and do her confession to a priest (her first in eight years, if I remember correctly).

The scene where Christiane discovered that her beloved horse Nancy had been abused made me cry so much I needed multiple tissues. Her and her love's response endeared them to me a lot more at that juncture.

The thing that bothered me the most about the book was that if the major (then a captain) had just married her when they first met, instead of auctioning her off (at 15!), they could have had a whole happy life together, and she could have been saved so much pain. Though she never would have had her first son, Jean Claude, or met the Washingtons. It's just that he was attracted to her and it didn't really make sense as to why he didn't participate. There should have been a better explanation, I think.

So, this felt like an epic book, but it was "only" 426 pages. Considering it covered her life from 15 to 22 years of age, and she had a very interesting life with some incredible situations and challenges, I guess it felt longer somehow. Maybe it was because my reading of it was extended by reading other books in between. Anyway, I did enjoy it and do plan to read the rest of the series.

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Created Jun 28, 2025 at 11:16pm • Submit your own review...