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East Meets West in this frontier Western~

Rafe McKuen, the son of an Osage chief’s daughter and a successful American fur trader turned planter, has one foot in each world. As a child, he often visited his mother’s tribal camp near St. Louis. At his father’s Louisiana plantation, he was a beloved son, but “invisible” to New Orleans society which ignores his existence. Now he is a man— where will he spend his life-- in which world?

Miss Eve Holcombe is an Eastern beauty with influential relatives. Her father’s unexpected announcement that they are moving West startles and worries Eve. Why, she asks. But her father has a secret and a plan he won’t reveal. He insists she trust him. And if she stays in the East, her ambitious aunt will try to marry her off to her aunt’s advantage.

Both Rafe and Eve are on a journey, a Journey to Respect. But such journeys are rarely uncomplicated or without dangers. And falling in love is the most dangerous of all.

“I so very seldom write a review but I couldn't turn the last page without leaving one this time. Characters and emotions in this book seem so stunningly real I felt I was in the midst of them. This is a very beautiful story and I highly recommend it to each and all readers.”

“Wonderful Western Book

An absolute must read”"

Quoted material in this section is from the book's Amazon sales page. The bulk of my review is in the "further comments" section near the bottom.

People who like Christian romance, inspirational romance, sweet romance, historical romance, or just a good story.

Please see the "further comments" section near the bottom.

Please see the "further comments" section near the bottom.

Do something active. I'd been sitting too long, to finish the story.

Like I was reading Eve's diary sometimes, sometimes like I was on Eve's adventure.

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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. That's because there are "unwritten" rules for marketing inspirational fiction and I didn't know them so didn't follow them. Ignorance is not always bliss. 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, so here they are.

What were my "blunders?"

Journey to Respect--the hero and heroine don't meet till the end of chapter three (oh, my!)

Journey to Victory-readers don't want to read about a heroine who becomes involved in the American struggle to become a nation (who knew?).

Journey to Honor-nobody sets a Regency romance in French colonial New Orleans (evidently they MUST be in England).

I "apologize" for writing a historical series that doesn't FIT into the expected formula or follow the usual order. All three of the books in this series Journey to Respect, Journey to Victory and Journey to Honor, however, 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
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 material in this section is from the book's Amazon sales page. The bulk of my review is in the "further comments" section near the bottom.

I enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book. It's the third in the series and I highly recommend reading them in order. However, the first two are kind of like epic journeys, and, if I remember correctly, almost twice as long. This one is a more concentrated, shorter, and easier read.

So if you only wanted to read one of the first three, and like a shorter read, you could just read this one.

SPOILER ALERT - skip on down to the next paragraph if you don't want a spoiler. However, Christiane's appearance near the end was a delightful surprise, and it wouldn't have been nearly as meaningful if I hadn't already have read book one. And all of the references to Sarah from book two would have been less meaningful if I hadn't read book two.

So I really do think it's worth it to read them all, and in order. I haven't read the fourth one yet, but as it follows chronologically after this one, I think that my advice there will remain the same.

What I liked and loved: the characters, especially Eve, her father, Rafe, Tristan, Mac, Christiane, the Osages, and Eve's uncle.

What I didn't like: things I don't like in real life - the prejudice, crime, and negative attitudes about women (from some of the non heroic men - the heroic men treated women well).

The Osage tribe information was really interesting to me. I wouldn't likely have picked up a history book on it, but as it flowed naturally through the story, I found it fascinating. I loved their greet the sunrise ritual, and many other things about their culture.

I highlighted / bookmarked rather a lot for such a short fiction book. I'll share two highlighted areas.

1) One of my highlighted areas:

"'A lady does not associate with inferiors or...nurse them.' His tone sounded revolted, as if he’d come upon something dead and decaying.

'A Christian lady does.'"

The first quote was by a Lieutenant who had aspirations of marrying her. The second was by Eve, the heroine of the book.

2) Another passage I highlighted:
"She felt like a survivor of a shipwreck, cast upon a strange shore. She had only God to trust now. And He seemed very far away. Eve wore the buckskin leggings under her traveling dress. She straightened her shoulders to face Honga and the delegation of the other older men and chiefs who had come to bid her farewell.

“We, the Osage, will never forget what your father and you did for us,” Honga said. “All the clans will be told the story. You have saved many lives. You will always be welcome among us and your children and their children. The Osage have long memories.” Honga brought out a short, thin length of leather, adorned with intricate beadwork. “This is a sign that you are a friend forever.”"

SPOILER ALERT - skip on down to the next paragraph if you don't want a spoiler. Her father had just died before this passage, and he was all she had, family wise, on the frontier. The friendship and honor of the Osage tribe was especially meaningful.

I had been reading three other fiction books that couldn't keep my attention, so it was nice that I was able to read this one straight through. The other three are still waiting. One I didn't get past the intro (I'm sure the book will be good, once I get into it), the other would be good if it just went in chronological order, but the author is skipping all over the place and I don't think it is adding anything to the story, just making it jumbled, and the third is just something I prefer to take in small bites.

I might end up reading the fourth book in this series before I finish any of those three that I started before opening this book. We'll see. One of the three (the one I'm sure I'll like) is a library book, and I don't have a long time left on my loan, so I might finish that one.

It's late and I got sidetracked there. Sorry about that. The point is that this book was highly engaging. I didn't get bored. I didn't feel preached at. I did feel like I learned some interesting things and enjoyed the story and the learning.

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Created Jul 06, 2025 at 10:46pm • Submit your own review...