Welcome to the blog tour and giveaway for Chasing the Wind by Paula Scott, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Chasing the Wind
Author: Paula Scott
Publisher: West Butte Publishing
Release Date: March 20, 2018
Genre: Inspirational Historical Fiction
A beautiful, half-Indian girl raised by the Californios finds her fate intertwined with an American frontiersman haunted by his past in 1850 California.
As California comes to statehood amidst the madness of the gold rush, Isabella Vasquez must wed a buckskin-clad American who wins her in a card game. Though their union is passionate, Isabella soon finds herself abandoned in a brothel, where she rises to fame as a singer known as the Bluebird. Yet because of her Indian blood, the Bluebird will always be bought and sold in the white man’s world. When more is demanded of the Bluebird than just singing, Isabella flees to Fort Ross in search of her Russian father and her own race of people.
Peter Brondi has battled Indians all his life. The last thing he wants is a half-Indian wife. While taming the West with Kit Carson and John C. Fremont, Peter has fought the Mexican War and lost his beloved fiancée, Maggie, to his half-Indian brother, Paul. To satisfy his father’s dying wish, Peter vows to find his brother and put an end to the hate that’s between them. But when history repeats itself and Paul steals Isabella away, Peter must come to terms with his past and the animosity he holds against all Indians, including his half-brother and the wife he has forsaken.
*Chasing the Wind is the final story in the sweeping saga of California Rising, a tale of love, betrayal, and the ties that bind brothers together and California to the nation.
PURCHASE A COPY: Goodreads | Amazon
MY PERSPECTIVE
Never in my wildest book dreams did I think I would read about a marriage starting from a poker game! But as crazy as that sounds, it totally worked in this novel. It was really the only way that Peter and Isabella would end up together with Peter’s dislike of Indians. From that first night together it was obvious they were meant to be, that God had put them together. But Peter, poor Peter. Sometimes I just wanted to reach my hand in the book and shake him. One minute he was this sweet, caring man who wanted to protect and help Isabella, and the next minute he was pushing her away and trying to pretend he wanted nothing to do with her. This back and forth was a little confusing at times, but perhaps it was because he had to resolve all his old issues. We all have that from time to time. We know what’s good for us, we just have to come to terms with it.
I really enjoyed all the different characters in this book. Even Clara brought an element to this story that was spunky, funny, and a break from the emotions. Now, I will say that there are some subjects that are brought up, not in great detail, more of an implication and behind closed doors, but mentioned nonetheless. Some readers do not appreciate this in their books, but I found that it was done tastefully, none of the scenes made me blush or feel uncomfortable. It really added to the storyline quite frankly.
The story is really about redemption and forgiveness. It’s about listening to God when He’s talking to you, and doing what He says. It seemed like there were times when Peter adhered to what the Lord was telling him, and other times he totally let the Lord’s words go right over his head. But again, isn’t that what we all do at times? We try to go our own way, make our own path, and do what we want to do. I enjoyed seeing Peter stumble, get up again, and learn why he needed to trust God.
The bottom line is that this beautiful story of overcoming odds, redemption, love, and reliance on the Lord, will take you back in time and pull at your heart strings. And if you haven’t read the others in the series, I promise you’ll want to after this! I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paula began her writing career as a civilian contracted to write for the United States Air Force’s newspaper and magazines. Later, she wrote feature stories for a daily California newspaper. A fifth generation Californian, Paula’s great great grandmother came to California in a covered wagon and married a California farmer. Paula’s family has been farming ever since. Paula works on her family’s farm, writes historical fiction, and blogs about life, love, and farming at psbicknell.com
CONNECT WITH AUTHOR: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
GIVEAWAY
Paula Scott is giving away a signed print copy of Chasing the Wind! (US Only) Void where prohibited by law. Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
A new-to-me author but would love to read this one.
I love finding new historical fiction authors and this series sounds wonderful!
Thank you for your review on this book! I’m excited to read this. I love reading about the Gold Rush time period and I’ve never read anything by this author.
Hahaha. I liked the idea of a marriage beginning with a poker game. That seemed like such an interesting scenario.
Thank you for your wonderful review and the information on ” Chasing the Wind” by Paula Scott as well as for being part of the book tour.
I have this book on my TBR list and would love the opportunity to read it.
Thank you so much for having Chasing the Wind here on your blog. I am so glad you liked the story and so appreciate your review!
Beautiful review, my friend! thanks for being part of the tour 🙂