As book two in the Pathfinder series, this novel picks up almost where the first one left off. I loved the human relationships in this story and how they wove together – Anna and William and Two Hawks; Lydia and Reginald and Stone Thrower and Good Voice.
Hearts are Divided
Loyalties Will Be Tested
The Fates of Two Families Hang in the Balance
Twenty years past, in 1757, a young Redcoat, Reginald Aubrey stole a newborn boy—the lighter-skinned of Oneida twins— during the devastating fall of Fort William Henry and raised him as his own.
No one connected to Reginald escaped unscathed from this crime. Not his adopted daughter Anna. Not Stone Thrower, the Native American father determined to get his son back. Not Two Hawks, William’s twin brother separated since birth, living in the shadow of his absence and hoping to build a future with Anna. Nor Lydia, who longs for Reginald to be free from his self-imposed emotional prison and embrace God’s forgiveness— and her love.
Now William, whose identity has been shattered after discovering the truth of his birth, hides in the ranks of an increasingly aggressive British army. The Redcoats prepare to attack frontier New York and the Continentals, aided by Oneida warriors including Two Hawks, rally to defend it. As the Revolutionary War penetrates the Mohawk Valley, two families separated by culture, united by love and faith, must find a way to reclaim the son marching toward them in the ranks of their enemies.
The author, Lori Benton, has done an amazing job with the historical research and voice of the different people types. She also depicts the many battle scenes between the British and their Indian alliances versus the “rebels” and their Indian alliances. What a brutal and chaotic time! Unfortunately, I had a hard time keeping track of the many different Native American, British and American leaders and warriors. And I do recommend reading book 1 first.
Much of the book is told from the view point of either Two Hawks or Anna. Two Hawks has been raised by his Native American parents who long to know his twin, raised as a white man. And Two Hawks, in an attempt to find his twin has met and fallen in love with Anna, William’s adopted sister. But how can Two Hawks make that work? At one point he thinks about asking another Indian, “…how did a man live in two worlds without being torn apart in his soul? How did he find a path to the heart of a white man whose daughter he loved and wanted to make his wife?”
I also loved how in this novel both the Indian and the white man struggle with their relationships with God – and how their faiths become stronger through the struggle. I enjoyed reading A Flight of Arrows and I think it will be really appealing to those who enjoy reading about the Revolutionary war and/or the Native American Indian! (I wish my mother-in-law could still read because this is the type of book she would have loved and read over and over!) I received this book from Blogging for Books in return for my honest opinion.
Lori Benton was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American history going back three hundred years. Her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history. When she isn’t writing, reading, or researching, Lori enjoys exploring the Oregon wilderness with her husband. She is the author of Burning Sky, recipient of three Christy Awards, and The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/authors/163736/lori-benton/
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