Under a Blackberry Moon

GIVEAWAY

MILLER, SERENA B.
UNDER A BLACKBERRY MOON

Just a few days after she gave birth alone in the northwoods, a recently widowed young Chippewa woman stumbled into a nearby lumber camp in search of refuge from the winter snows. Come summer, it is clear that Moon Song cannot stay among the rough-and-tumble world of white lumbermen, and so the camp owner sends Skypilot, his most trusted friend, to accompany her on the long and treacherous journey back to her people.

But when tragedy strikes off the shore of Lake Superior, Moon Song and Skypilot must depend on each other for survival. With every step they take into the forbidding woods, they are drawn closer together, until it seems the unanswerable questions must be asked. Can she leave her culture to enter his? Can he leave his world to enter hers? Or will they simply walk away from a love that seems too complicated to last?

Get swept into a wild realm where beauty masks danger and only the truly courageous survive in a story that will grip your heart and your imagination.

My Review:

The kind of read that makes your blood boil and your heart thrill. Miller does an exceptional job of delivering historical accuracy...and she doesn't pull any punches. The treatment of native people throughout history has been abysmal. It's a good thing I wasn't actually there because I would have done a few individuals bodily harm. How so-called Christians could treat an entire race with such callousness and cruelty...well it boggles the mind.

Skypilot (Isaac Ross) is larger than life -- the stuff tall tales are made of. A kind and decent man with his feet firmly planted in the white man's world. Moon Song is just as immersed in her Chippewa culture and yet an unlikely friendship has developed between the two. A friendship that deepens into something much more during their treacherous journey. Talk about an impossible romance!

Miller has drawn on historical figures to flesh out her fictional characters and their stories leave me in awe. The details are spectacular -- everything from the bawdy logging town to the plight of women in the mid 1800s. Lots for a reader to sink her teeth into. Like this:

"Ladies are supposed to strive to be competent, never excel." A secondary character, Isabella, makes this comment to Skypilot. Of course, she's speaking from a white woman's perspective so the contrast between Moon Song and her white counterparts is riveting -- both for the reader and Skypilot himself.  Because Moon Song excels at a lot of things.

Complicated relationships, life and death struggles and always the thrill of the unexpected -- Under a Blackberry Moon is the kind of story that sweeps you away and holds you captive until the very last page.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  Under a Blackberry Moon please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday March 6 2016 . Offer open to international readers. Good luck!