Chasing the Wind by Paula Scott – Book Review & Giveaway

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.

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In My Opinion (Book Review)

With rich historical detail and descriptions, readers get a sense of life in California as it is on the verge of becoming a state. Wars with Californios and Indians, the gold rush, and unsettled land once made this land both exciting and dangerous.

Scott doesn’t shy away from writing about the consequences of her character’s actions and decisions, especially when those go against the Lord’s prodding. There are some hard truths in this book—sin exists, prejudice is real, and ignoring God’s voice leads to pain and heartache.

Yet there’s also hope. God doesn’t turn His back on His children when they’ve continuously done just that to Him. Nope, He longs to heal what we’ve so tragically broken and give us the lives He longs for us.

Isabella and Peter learn that lesson more than once in Chasing the Wind.

While Chasing the Wind is the final book in Paula Scott’s California Rising series, it is the first book I’ve read by this author. In fact, I was over halfway through the book when I began to wonder who the first two books were about and looked them up, so you definitely don’t miss any story if you start here. But now I want to delve into the first two books because this one was fantastic.

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR