Spirit Dance by Stephen G. Lonefeather

By: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 19, 2013

 Title:  Spirit Dance:  An uncommon love story

Author:  Stephen G. Lonefeather

Published:  March 8th 2010 by Booklocker.com

Page Count: 482 

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Shelf: Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When a Lakota Spirit Helper guides an abused mixed-blood Sioux woman and a disillusioned Montana cowboy down a cautious path to find true love, when a cocky bronc rider and a headstrong cowgirl let their guards down to experience the softer side of one another, and when a broken-hearted bayou belle falls in love with a man who harbors a terrible secret, they unwittingly become the stepping stones of a greater purpose.

My Review:

This story is a very unique perspective on life and love, as compared to your stereotypical romance novel. The main elements are still there, but the story is told in a very different, yet extremely captivating, light.

Lonefeather has a very down to earth style of writing. Lonefeather has a unique way of putting things that really highlight the important parts of scenes. It helps to focus the reader on details that may otherwise seem minute, but are actually important in the overall flow of the story. His very detailed and accurate descriptions paint an extremely clear picture as to the characters, their actions, and surroundings. Everything was so real and realistic that it didn’t take an overactive imagination to immerse yourself in this world, you just walk right into it naturally. I laughed so hard at some of the situations in this novel. Not only were they comical, but they were such real life situations that I could picture myself in them.

It is very refreshing to see how an author can incorporate so many different aspects of life into one novel, and do it correctly. Lonefeather uses the correct terminology in everything that he writes about. This includes ranching, forestry, medicine, and many other things. I also love the native lore that is weaved throughout the storyline as well as the fact that these were real native legends, not fictional stories. It gives a very solid basis for the story as a whole. Also, even though a great deal of time passes between the beginning and end of this novel, nothing is ever skimmed over. The passage of time is marked clearly so as not to muddy the story, but everything in the storyline remains clear and fluent.

The characters in this novel were phenomenal. Every one of them was very well developed. They were also individuals. Characters did not meld into each other. When couples appeared, the partners did not lose the characteristics that made them individuals, but rather, remained true to themselves. It was very nice to see this, rather than the stereotypical ‘couple’ that becomes in essence one person by the end of the story. I appreciate the fact that the characters in the novel stayed true to the drawl that Lonefeather first wrote for them. I also enjoyed the fact that characters had their own dialects, which were spot on from the region where they grew up.

This was an extremely unique and entertaining novel. I really appreciated the time and effort that went into the accuracy behind the captivating storyline.

Now c'mon y'all, head on over 'n buy yerselves a copy online here today!