I always find the first book of a series a bit difficult to get totally absorbed by. This story started with the youngest of the Stewart daughters, Crickett. Crickett, is essentially a tom boy who is looking to please her father by being the son he has always wanted. However, Creed a Texas Ranger stirs feelings that Crickett has no idea how to handle, nor will she ask her only parent why she gets butterflies when Creed is around. Both Creed and Crickett are in the middle of a Comanche war with the "White Eyes" and Creed must do everything possible to protect Crickett, but at the same time Crickett does not feel she needs protecting and is very disobedient when it comes to what she is supposed to do. I found at times Crickett was annoying because she did everything in her power to defy everyone and not listen to reason. Thankfully by the end of the book she realizes her stubborn streak isn't always the best route to go. This was my first Johnston book and it was definitely enjoyable. Johnston did a great job transitioning to the next book. It left me on the edge to open the second book immediately.
I think I like her modern day books better but this was a hard book to put down too. There was a lot of intense drama with the Indian attacks taking place in 1840 Texas. It was also really interesting to learn some things about Texas history that I didn't know. I had no idea they first tried to become a soveriegn nation. There were some really graphic parts during the Comanche attacks, especially when Amy was brutally raped by many of them. Part of me wanted to just shake Cricket throughout the
