Santa Fe Woman

SANTA FE WOMAN is the story of Jori Hayden and her affluent family from Little Rock. Raised in the lap of luxury, Jori is stunned to find out the depression of the 1800's has ruined her father's financial status. With really no alternatives, the Hayden family plans to head west on the Santa Fe Trail in search of a new life. Chad Rocklin is recommended to the Hayden family as the man that could lead them safety across the rough and sometimes dangerous west, of course, Jori has to bail him out of jail first. Jori doesn't allow her instant dislike for Rocklin to alter her family's plans. They need to go west and Rocklin is the man that can take them there. SANTA FE WOMAN was predictable but a good read nevertheless, filled with an array of characters you enjoy getting to know. Some of the plots and situations seemed to mirror those in A MAN FOR TEMPERANCE which I found a bit unoriginal, but my love for westerns allowed me to overlook the similarities and enjoy the story that unfolded between key characters.

I have read a few of Gilbert Morris' books from the Lions of Judah series. I hadn't read any of his American history books. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and actually pulled out reference material to read more about the Sante Fe Trail. I was surprised to find that most of the things I read were also in the fictional account of Sante Fe Woman. It's so much more fun to learn about history when given a romantic story line to go along with the facts. I found the book to be entertaining but not over the top. By three-quarter's of the way through the book, you pretty much knew how everything was going to end up. It was still fun to get to the end though. After reading this book, I plan to pick up more of Gilbert Morris' books.