Sweet Savage Heart Rating: 
Published: 1989
Illustrator: Pino
Imprint or Line: Zebra Lovegram
Published by: Kensington
Genres: Historical Romance, Western Romance, Native American Romance
Pages: 576
Format: Paperback, eBook
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Blue Falcon
SPOILER ALERT ⚠
The Book
Janelle Taylor‘s Sweet Savage Heart, a Zebra Lovegram historical romance, begins in Dakota Territory, in May 1867.
The Setup
It is here that an Oglala Indian maiden, Wild Wind, is troubled, for she is arguing with her brother, Lone Wolf, over her future.
Wild Wind is not actually Indian at all. Her name is Rana Michaels, and she was adopted into her band of Lakotas by Soaring Hawk, a Lakota chief who stole her from the Kiowa tribe which captured and enslaved her after they killed her parents, Marissa Crandall Michaels and Raymond Michaels.
Rana is conflicted about her life, and things are about to get more complicated.
The Plot
In Texas, rancher Nathan Crandall, owner of the Bar-C ranch and Rana’s grandfather, sees a painting of her and realizes it’s his granddaughter.
He asks his foreman, Travis Kincade, the hero of the book, for help in getting Rana back. Travis is half-Hunkpapa Lakota Indian and half-white. Their efforts are successful. However, there are complications due to many factors, including Rana herself.
However, she does agree to go with Nathan and Travis, and on the way to the ranch, Rana and Travis become lovers.
According to Oglala customs, that signifies marriage. White law doesn’t recognize this, however.
Back in Texas, however, there are major problems for the men, and now Rana. Nathan and Travis’ neighbor, Harrison Caldwell, and his daughter, Clarissa, have been using various means–mostly illegal–to force out all the ranchers in their valley in an attempt to create an empire for themselves.
The only rancher they haven’t forced out yet is Nathan, although they’re trying.
Upon their return to Texas, Harrison and Clarissa put their plan in motion to drive Nathan off his land. Nathan, Travis, and Rana help counter these actions. As the book goes on, secrets are revealed and a tragedy occurs.
In the end, the good guys defeat the Caldwells. Rana and Travis marry by white man’s law. They have two children and get their Happily Ever After.
Upside
In the past, I have frequently criticized authors for their lack of character development. That is certainly not the case here. Mrs. Taylor delves deeply into the characters of Rana, Travis, and Marissa. Rana and Travis are both strong characters.
I liked the fact that Rana had the opportunity to use the skills she learned as an Oglala to help Nathan and Travis.
Downside
Slightly nitpicky here, but the chapters average 28+ pages long. Even though people may have more time to read these days due to what is going on in the world, the chapters could have been shorter.
Sex
Multiple sex scenes, most of which feature Mrs. Taylor’s purple prose.
Violence
Assault and battery, attempted rape, attempted murder, shootings with bow and arrows and guns, and killings. The violence is not graphic.
Bottom Line on Sweet Savage Heart
Sweet Savage Heart is one of Janelle Taylor’s best books.
5 Stars
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| Overall: | 4.9 |
Synopsis
Kidnapped when she was a child, eighteen-year-old Rana Michaels couldn’t imagine any life other than her carefree existence among the Sioux. Then the white man Travis Kincade appeared in her camp, and the flame-haired beauty’s peace was shattered forever. But when he traded a few trinkets for her freedom, Rana vowed to slay him before returning to her people.
Sweet Savage Heart by Janelle Taylor
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Hi, Jacqueline. Thank you for posting my review.
“Sweet Savage Heart” is probably my favorite Janelle Taylor book so far (I have several other books of hers that I haven’t read yet).
Mrs. Taylor is one of several authors I have a love/hate relationship with; I’ll write a post about that soon.
Hello Blue Falcon! I’m ashamed to admit I’ve yet to read a Janelle Taylor book, but I have this one, so it would be a great place to start.
Yes! I would love if we could work together on some topics of discussion, like authors we love and hate. I’ve spoken at length about my relationship with Johanna Lindsey and Charlotte Lamb’s works. Like power hitters, they aimed big so achieved many powerful hits but struck out just as often. I think when a favorite author writes dozens of books it’s fair to expect some stinkers in the bunch, as well as great reads.
Hi, Jacqueline.
“Sweet Savage Heart” would be a good place to begin reading Mrs. Taylor’s work. It has likeable characters, a strong storyline with plenty of twists and turns and Mrs. Taylor made me as a reader care for Rana and Travis.
When I talk of writing about authors, I’m referring to authors that we may have a love/hate relationship with. I always want to be positive, so I won’t write a truly negative post about any author or book. What I will do, however, is to write about authors whose work I generally like/love, but who occasionally write what the C & C Music Factory called “Things That Make You Go Hmmm…..”