Rain Shadow by Cheryl St. John

I usually avoid Indian romances, unless there's something particular to recommend them - so often, they feature the same old cliches and stereotypes. But I'll read any book by Cheryl St. John - and of course, she doesn't write about "noble savage" cliches.

Rain Shadow by Cheryl St. John
(1994, Western) 9/9/08
Grade: 4

Rescued by an Indian warrior as a child, Rain Shadow has spent her life as a performer in Bill Cody’s Wild West show. When an accident leaves her and her son Slade on a farm in Pennsylvania, Rain Shadow isn’t sure how to live in the white man’s world - and Anton can’t figure out why he finds this unsuitable woman so attractive.

Although this didn’t have the deep emotionalism of Cheryl St. John’s best books, it’s well written and features real characters with real emotions. Although the “white woman raised as an Indian” plotline is familiar, the author takes it in new directions - it doesn’t feature the usual cliches. Rain Shadow is caught between two worlds, but Anton doesn’t have a problem with an Indian wife - he admires her for her strength and skill. The biggest problem with this book is that the hero and heroine spend far too long figuring out how they feel about each other. Especially in the second half, it started to feel repetitive. I wanted more of the characters’ emotions and less about the suspense plotline featuring Rain Shadow’s former lover. However, this is a fairly minor criticism - I found the book very readable and enjoyed it very much.

It's interesting that this was Cheryl St. John's first published book - it takes place after the events of another book she wrote, Heaven Can Wait. Perhaps she wrote that one first, but this one ended up being published first. However, her talent was definitely clear from the beginning!