[4VR]∎ [PDF] Keowee Valley Katherine Scott Crawford 9781611941722 Books

Keowee Valley Katherine Scott Crawford 9781611941722 Books

Download As PDF : Keowee Valley Katherine Scott Crawford 9781611941722 Books

Keowee Valley Katherine Scott Crawford 9781611941722 Books

What a first novel for this young author. The descriptions of the mountains , and valleys, the vast shimmering foliage of the wilderness woods was captivating. Great historical fiction. It's plain she has spent hours on her research and even more hours in the mountains she loves and describes so well. The frontier backwoods was an extremely dangerous place during the revolution where neighbor exacted revenge on neighbor without much fear of being brought to justice. Families were split apart as many of the settlers recipients of land grants from the crown especially in eastern Georgia from Augusta to Savannah were caught in the middle with competing loyalties. One of the reasons this novel strikes my chords is my seven times removed great uncle was a loyalist because of a land grant from the crown. He was in the loyalist army and was killed in one of the skirmishes near 96 leading up to the decisive battle of Cowpens. My direct descendant the brother was also banished to Florida for suspect loyalties but in the end was enlisted in the Georgia militia. {I figure they were hedging their bets in order to be on the winning side.] historical fiction is particularly demanding since it requires accuracy regarding dates facts native peoples, animals flora fauna and etc. Then comes the fiction story to be wound in those wild settings is a hard work but one of love I am sure for the author.
Now for the but. When Quinn and Jack go back to Charlestown my kindle showed in the neighborhood of 85 percent complete. No way I figured would she be going back to her settlement. And here was the thing for me. It was almost as if going to Italy was the easy secure way out. Oh yes they were in danger and her grandfather had the money and concerned about her welfare secured a place for her entourage on a ship bound for Italy if she wanted to or not. I might add that she wasn't the only colonialist to do that. Italy was well toured by expats during the revolution. But what of the welfare of the settlement she started then left behind. I can picture Quinn and Jack attempting to find a place for themselves in Italy but after a short time a yearning for the wild beauty they left behind and the welfare of the settlement draw them back to be engulfed in the disputes and hard loyalties that have to be made. I sense a follow up novel. At any rate I loved this book and will honor any thing Ms. Crawford writes with my full attention. Marshall L Dell


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Keowee Valley Katherine Scott Crawford 9781611941722 Books Reviews

I've just finished Keowee Valley, and I can say truthfully that I would definitely read it again! If you like historical fiction, being grounded in a sense of place, compelling characters, a unique, thrilling story, and upon finishing the book want more and more.....then you will LOVE Keowee Valley.
I was taken almost immediately by the female protagonist, Quincy. She is gutsy and bold and longs for adventure away from the confines of society. The introduction of Jackson Wolf...well, it is spellbinding.
These two characters, along with Ridge Runner, Fire Eater, and Rebekah create a unique, rich story that keeps the reader turning pages and hungry for more. The depiction of life on the wild frontier gave me pause more than once, and the sense of place in the Valley is so richly detailed that I felt as if I were truly there and,like the main character, never wanted to leave.
If there isn't a sequel, I will be very disappointed!!

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On the surface, Keowee Valley, the debut novel of Katherine Scott Crawford, has all the right ingredients of a corset-ripping romance. There's a voluptuous blonde heroine with a heart of gold, a muscular tomahawk-wielding hero that no woman can tame, and simmering sexual tension all in an exotic setting on the verge of cultural transformation. If judged on the basic tenets of a romance, Keowee Valley is a satisfying read yet this novel is much richer, much deeper than its cover suggests.

Quincy McFadden is a 25 year-old Scottish immigrant residing in Charlestown, South Carolina, 1768. She is compelled to rescue her cousin, Owen from the Shawnee Indians that roam the southern Appalachian Mountains. Yet she also desires freedom and hopes to trade goods with the Cherokee for her own parcel of land in the Blue Ridge Mountains that mark the rocky confluence of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Quincy has a dream of her own homestead, far from government intrusion and the culture of a woman's expectations; she's a pilgrim running from the politics of oppression created by earlier pilgrims. With a family protector along as guide, they make their way from city lights to the rugged country side where she spies her first Indian and finds herself fascinated.
"Both men were shirtless but the younger...looked somehow wilder in his deerskin leggings, a dangerously long knife tied with a leather strap to his waist. His black hair was shorn into a single, spiky line that became a long tail at his nape...I stood transfixed...I'd never seen men who looked as they did. Their skin looked the color of burnt cedar that gleamed in the sunlight. They were tall and leanly muscled, and for the most part, strikingly handsome."

Eventually Quincy makes her trade and settles into the Blue Ridge where she soon meets the man that will find Owen as well as her heart, Jack Wolf. Although at their first meeting, Jack ends up on the wrong end of Quincy's pistols, her pounding heart is fascinated
"I could see beneath the battered hat he wore that his eyes were green as the moss growing on the boulders in the creek...He shifted to remove his hat and my eyes went to that arresting face, with its long, aquiline nose and hooded eyes. Surely he was Indian, I thought, though his hair was the color of a well-worn leather saddle, the tips dipped in white paint."
It's obvious from this moment that Jack and Quincy are destined for one another's arms. Jack is a half-breed, part Irish, part Cherokee, educated by a Scottish missionary and a Cherokee tribe, with a wit as sharp as his tomahawk. As he and Quincy verbally joust, first over the search for Owen then over their simmering desire for one another, Miss Crawford's skill and love of language shines forth. Throughout Keowee Valley, Miss Crawford gives life to Charlestown businessmen, English soldiers, early American settlers and most daunting, the Cherokee nation. Quincy and Jack spar in a cleverly crafted half-Scotch, half-English dialect that's peppered with Cherokee and filled with tension, nuance and playfulness.
As I read Keowee Valley I sunk into its stunning vistas, cool mountain streams, and spit-roasted wild game. Miss Crawford's vivid characters and striking scenery soared from the pages; gunpowder stung my nose, raindrops splashed across my face and the crispness of the mountain air revived me. In one of my favorite scenes Jack and Quincy hike behind a waterfall as Jack speaks of the ancient Cherokee spirits that inhabit such a place. I've hiked that trail myself, stood on the same mossy rocks, squished through the same mud and also found myself pondering ancient Cherokee spirits. It is a breathtakingly beautiful area where little Cherokee influence (save for the casino that draws gamblers into the town of Cherokee) remains.
If there is a downside to Keowee Valley, it is in Quincy's ability to see the future. She has been gifted "The Sight" and the scenes of her visions add a slight awkwardness to a fine novel.

At its heart, Keowee Valley is an exquisitely crafted love letter to a land and culture swallowed up by an encroaching civilization and inescapable change.
What a first novel for this young author. The descriptions of the mountains , and valleys, the vast shimmering foliage of the wilderness woods was captivating. Great historical fiction. It's plain she has spent hours on her research and even more hours in the mountains she loves and describes so well. The frontier backwoods was an extremely dangerous place during the revolution where neighbor exacted revenge on neighbor without much fear of being brought to justice. Families were split apart as many of the settlers recipients of land grants from the crown especially in eastern Georgia from Augusta to Savannah were caught in the middle with competing loyalties. One of the reasons this novel strikes my chords is my seven times removed great uncle was a loyalist because of a land grant from the crown. He was in the loyalist army and was killed in one of the skirmishes near 96 leading up to the decisive battle of Cowpens. My direct descendant the brother was also banished to Florida for suspect loyalties but in the end was enlisted in the Georgia militia. {I figure they were hedging their bets in order to be on the winning side.] historical fiction is particularly demanding since it requires accuracy regarding dates facts native peoples, animals flora fauna and etc. Then comes the fiction story to be wound in those wild settings is a hard work but one of love I am sure for the author.
Now for the but. When Quinn and Jack go back to Charlestown my kindle showed in the neighborhood of 85 percent complete. No way I figured would she be going back to her settlement. And here was the thing for me. It was almost as if going to Italy was the easy secure way out. Oh yes they were in danger and her grandfather had the money and concerned about her welfare secured a place for her entourage on a ship bound for Italy if she wanted to or not. I might add that she wasn't the only colonialist to do that. Italy was well toured by expats during the revolution. But what of the welfare of the settlement she started then left behind. I can picture Quinn and Jack attempting to find a place for themselves in Italy but after a short time a yearning for the wild beauty they left behind and the welfare of the settlement draw them back to be engulfed in the disputes and hard loyalties that have to be made. I sense a follow up novel. At any rate I loved this book and will honor any thing Ms. Crawford writes with my full attention. Marshall L Dell