Queen of Swords 
asked by miceandmen on November 28, 2006 9:13 PM
It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a year searching the islands of the Caribbean for Luke’s wife and the man who abducted her. But Jennet’s rescue, so long in coming, is not the resolution they’d hoped for. In the spring she had given birth to Luke’s son, and in the summer Jennet had found herself compelled to surrender the infant to a stranger in the hope of keeping him safe.
To claim the child, Hannah, Luke, and Jennet must journey first to Pensacola. There they learn a great deal about the family that has the baby. The Poiterins are a very rich, very powerful Creole family, totally without scruple. The matriarch of the family has left Pensacola for New Orleans and taken the child she now claims as her great-grandson with her.
New Orleans is a city on the brink of war, a city where prejudice thrives and where Hannah, half Mohawk, must tread softly. Careful plans are made as the Bonners set out to find and reclaim young Nathaniel Bonner. Plans that go terribly awry, isolating them from each other in a dangerous city at the worst of times.
Sure that all is lost, and sick unto death, Hannah finds herself in the care of a family and a friend from her past, Dr. Paul de Guise Savard dit Saint-d’Uzet. It is Dr. Savard and his wife who save Hannah’s life, but Dr. Savard’s half brother who offers her real hope. Jean-Benoit Savard, the great-grandson of French settlers, slaves, and Choctaw and Seminole Indians, is the one man who knows the city well enough to engineer the miracle that will reunite the Bonners and send them home to Lake in the Clouds. With Ben Savard’s guidance, allies are drawn from every segment of New Orleans’s population and from Andrew Jackson’s army, now pouring into the city in preparation for what will be the last major battle of the War of 1812.
To claim the child, Hannah, Luke, and Jennet must journey first to Pensacola. There they learn a great deal about the family that has the baby. The Poiterins are a very rich, very powerful Creole family, totally without scruple. The matriarch of the family has left Pensacola for New Orleans and taken the child she now claims as her great-grandson with her.
New Orleans is a city on the brink of war, a city where prejudice thrives and where Hannah, half Mohawk, must tread softly. Careful plans are made as the Bonners set out to find and reclaim young Nathaniel Bonner. Plans that go terribly awry, isolating them from each other in a dangerous city at the worst of times.
Sure that all is lost, and sick unto death, Hannah finds herself in the care of a family and a friend from her past, Dr. Paul de Guise Savard dit Saint-d’Uzet. It is Dr. Savard and his wife who save Hannah’s life, but Dr. Savard’s half brother who offers her real hope. Jean-Benoit Savard, the great-grandson of French settlers, slaves, and Choctaw and Seminole Indians, is the one man who knows the city well enough to engineer the miracle that will reunite the Bonners and send them home to Lake in the Clouds. With Ben Savard’s guidance, allies are drawn from every segment of New Orleans’s population and from Andrew Jackson’s army, now pouring into the city in preparation for what will be the last major battle of the War of 1812.
Reviews
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The title of this book, Queen of Swords, denotes a Tarot card which depicts a strong woman who is a very capable leader and this is exactly what two of the Bonner women are..born leaders who are emotionally strong beyond the expectations of the day. The scene shifts from Lake in the Clouds in New York State to New Orleans where the infant son of Luke Bonner and Lady Jennett has been kidnapped and secreted away. Luke joins forces with his sister Hannah, a half Mohawk doctor and together they battle incredible forces to wrest Jennett and the baby from the clutches of the evil Creole family who are holding them prisoner, before the city is under seige from the British. Hannah meets the man who seems to be her soul mate, Jean-Benoit Savard, a man of mixed Indian, African and French races who aids Luke and his family to escape the city with the women and children and who obviously will play a large part in the next, and possiblt final, book.It's another big, beautiful and exciting read.
reviewed by teacher on November 28, 2006 10:14 PM
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If there were more stars to give I would. I read this book for seven hours without stopping, because I just could not put it down. You don't just read this book as an outsider looking in, you are pulled into living it. Sara writes so that you can hear it, taste it, smell it and feel what the characters are feeling. It pulls you away from reallity and takes you on an adventure. I love the strong female characters of all races that define the story, and at the same time teaches you a great respect and admiration for the males of this era. There is an obvious and coherent main plot, but Sara perfectly weaves in fascinating, wonderful and sometimes surprising subplots that make this story so rich. The attention to historic detail and languages and people is amazing. I could go on and on about this book, and the other four novels in this series are just as incredible!
reviewed by jazzman on November 29, 2006 12:03 AM
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Queen of Swords, the 5th installment in Donati's "Into the Wilderness" Series, continues the cliffhanger from the 4th. It stays focused on Hannah, Luke and Jennet and their struggle to first regain Luke and Jennet's baby and then to get out of New Orleans during the middle of the Battle for New Orleans in 1814.
I enjoyed this book. In fact, I've enjoyed all of the books in the series. Revisiting the characters is like going to a family reunion, only one in which I control the time (that I read!), if not the events. I did miss Elizabeth and wanted more of her story--especially since she has the baby "predicted" in book 4. However, I do understand Donati's need to focus on these three characters as they grow up and develop into adults. I enjoyed getting to know them better, especially the friendship that develops between Jennet and Hannah.
I highly recommend Queen of Swords to anyone who enjoys Donati's or Lippi's work, or a good historical romance that isn't afraid to challenge your suppositions and make you think about the issues of the day while weaving a good story on top of it. She is a very good writer who manages to get the details right. You love her characters and want to get to know them better. When I'm reading one of her books, I think about it when I'm not reading, which really encourages me to get back to it, and I'm always rewarded when I do!
I enjoyed this book. In fact, I've enjoyed all of the books in the series. Revisiting the characters is like going to a family reunion, only one in which I control the time (that I read!), if not the events. I did miss Elizabeth and wanted more of her story--especially since she has the baby "predicted" in book 4. However, I do understand Donati's need to focus on these three characters as they grow up and develop into adults. I enjoyed getting to know them better, especially the friendship that develops between Jennet and Hannah.
I highly recommend Queen of Swords to anyone who enjoys Donati's or Lippi's work, or a good historical romance that isn't afraid to challenge your suppositions and make you think about the issues of the day while weaving a good story on top of it. She is a very good writer who manages to get the details right. You love her characters and want to get to know them better. When I'm reading one of her books, I think about it when I'm not reading, which really encourages me to get back to it, and I'm always rewarded when I do!
reviewed by smiling on November 29, 2006 1:41 PM
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Book 5 (this book) is a bit different from the earlier 4 books in that the entire book focuses on Hannah, Luke, and Jennet in New Orleans. You hear nothing of Paradise or Lake in the Clouds until more than half way through the book, and then it is only through a letter. Elizabeth, Simon, Lily, Curiousity, and all the others at Lake in the Clouds are only discussed in letters in this book. Nathaniel shows up in the final chapters of the book to rescue the crew in New Orleans.
The book is very descriptive - both with New Orleans scenery and battles. So if you like description, you'll love this book. If you were more looking for finding out what happens next with many of the characters you love from books 1-4, you really only find out details on Hannah, Luke, and Jennet. I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the characters in this book - Jennet was distant and hard to understand at the start (due to her ordeal), and Hannah was in a relationship that didn't seem true to her character.
I do look forward to book 6 to find out what's happening back in Paradise...
The book is very descriptive - both with New Orleans scenery and battles. So if you like description, you'll love this book. If you were more looking for finding out what happens next with many of the characters you love from books 1-4, you really only find out details on Hannah, Luke, and Jennet. I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the characters in this book - Jennet was distant and hard to understand at the start (due to her ordeal), and Hannah was in a relationship that didn't seem true to her character.
I do look forward to book 6 to find out what's happening back in Paradise...
reviewed by reader99 on November 29, 2006 5:39 PM
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A year has past since the abduction, but by the summer of 1814, Canadian merchant Luke Scott and his Mohawk half-sister Dr. Hannah Bonner mount the successful rescue of his wife Jennet held in the French Antilles. Jennet informs her spouse and sister in law that their child was born while she was in interned, but that she got Creole merchant Honor Poiterin to smuggle their Nathaniel out of the Caribbean.
The trio heads to New Orleans to retrieve their offspring and bring him to Montreal to live with them. However, the city is under siege as the British and American armies prepare for battle. Neither Hannah nor the Scotts realize how deadly the Poiterin clan can be when someone crosses them. Taking the infant is a major affront to the family matriarch, who calls for a family feud and sends her descendents to kill the "kidnappers" and bring home the baby.
Though the ending is expected, readers will appreciate this fine historical tale that provides a deep look at the city on the verge of the Battle of New Orleans, the bloodiest engagement of the War of 1812 (ironically after the peace was signed in Paris). The story line is driven by personalities from the Scots and their half Mohawk sibling, the Poiterin kin, and city political leaders preparing for the worst. QUEEN OF SWORDS is a fine entry in the Bonner-Scotts early nineteenth century saga.
Harriet Klausner
The trio heads to New Orleans to retrieve their offspring and bring him to Montreal to live with them. However, the city is under siege as the British and American armies prepare for battle. Neither Hannah nor the Scotts realize how deadly the Poiterin clan can be when someone crosses them. Taking the infant is a major affront to the family matriarch, who calls for a family feud and sends her descendents to kill the "kidnappers" and bring home the baby.
Though the ending is expected, readers will appreciate this fine historical tale that provides a deep look at the city on the verge of the Battle of New Orleans, the bloodiest engagement of the War of 1812 (ironically after the peace was signed in Paris). The story line is driven by personalities from the Scots and their half Mohawk sibling, the Poiterin kin, and city political leaders preparing for the worst. QUEEN OF SWORDS is a fine entry in the Bonner-Scotts early nineteenth century saga.
Harriet Klausner
reviewed by squeege on November 29, 2006 7:19 PM