** spoiler alert ** 2.5 stars really.

I'll give this book and author one good point: they know how to tell a moving romance. Two scarred and flawed individuals find each other and come out the better for it. With backgrounds filled with enough tragedy for a multitude, Otakatay and Nora bring each other the love, respect, and healing that they both so desperately need. More than once while reading, I had a tear in my eye and a quivering smile.

I also liked how the author was able to keep the suspense and action constantly moving forward, almost at break neck speeds at times. There weren't too many scenes that slowed things down with needless exposition or mired in eye-rolling melodrama, a pitfall so many romances fall into. And what scenes that there were that might fall into this category are all towards the beginning. Once things really get rolling, it's like a runaway train, full steam ahead and no stops till the epilogue. The climax showdown at the end was especially intense. There was nail biting and Kindle clawing aplenty in the Gruwell household while reading this. :)

However, this book had some major problems that really detracts from enjoyment. Biggest issue, decisions that come out of left field and leave the reader going, "WTF are you thinking, Nora?!?? Really?!?!". The decision about where these two finally were going to settle down was the biggest problem. After what happens to Nora in this town, she decides to settle here?!?! Excuse me!!! It's like the events in the book never happened or had absolutely no consequences. Then, there's the decisions she makes at the beginning. The events of the past taught Nora absolutely nothing, it seems. She's extremely la-de-da and immature in her actions and thoughts; it all just drove me up a wall for a good portion of the beginning. And while she improves some throughout the actions of the rest of the book, I still felt a bit cold towards her character.

Then let's talk about the other characters in this book. Extremely one-dimensional, not even two-dimensional here... Cookie cutter actions and lines that make me cringe just remembering. During the mini-climax in the town, the sudden turn of some of these people just astounds me. In the blink of an eye, most of the characterization (what little bit that was there) prior to this point was overturned and people were turned into mouth foaming lunatics intent on destruction and death. I mean come on.... Maybe if this book had been set a hundred years earlier, but in 1888?!?! Really?!?! *sigh*

Overall, while this book had some tender romantic moments and enough action to keep me reading, it's not one of the stand outs in the romance category. Definitely not one I'll be re-reading, but at least I can say I finished it. It wasn't abandoned and added to that shelf. What that says for the quality of the book, I can't say. Try for yourself and see if you like. Just keep an open mind and give some leeway where characterization and thought processes are concerned. ( )

Lakota Honor is an exciting read filled with romance, drama, action, and elements of the paranormal.

It’s the late 1800s, and Otakatay is a bounty hunter, a slayer of men and women. Embittered by the past, he’s ruthless and unforgiving. Now his conscience haunts him day and night, and he believes himself to be evil, to be death itself.

Black-haired, blue-eyed beauty Nora Rushton is a healer, a gift that her father considers a curse and tries to keep secret from everyone around them. To protect her from those who would accuse her of witchcraft as they did her mother, he keeps her locked up in the house all day. But Nora feels like a bird in a cage and she wants to be free.

Then one day, in a twist of fate, she meets Otakatay, and she’s instantly mesmerized by his looks and aura of danger, need, and hunger. Though he won’t admit it at first, he’s also taken by Nora’s kind blue eyes – – but he warns her that she better stay away from him if she knows what’s good for her. Also on the scene is Elwood Calhoun, a rich miner who will stop at nothing to possess Nora.

But then, the man who has been paying money to Otakatay to kill people has one last job for him, and this time he has put a price on Nora’s head…

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this historical western romance. Nora is a very sympathetic heroine with a warm heart yet willful, feisty personality. Otakatay is the ultimate tortured soul, a man sunk in darkness and trying to find the light.

At first his past crimes put me off, but the author did a good job in revealing his feelings and showing his deep remorse, which eventually redeem him. It was interesting to watch his character arc evolve and change throughout the story.

There are quite a number of exciting action segments and the sensual scenes are written in good taste. I also enjoyed the ending, which revealed some unexpected story twists.

Recommended for fans of historical and western romances. ( )

Lakota Honor by Kat Flannery will hold your attention from beginning to end. Her ability to intertwine good and evil within the confines of the Indian and white worlds is nothing less than inspired. Nora and Hawk come together in a very different, magical way; she as a healer and he as a killer. The ancillary characters are well drawn. You either like them or hate them. You might also wonder about some of them as the story progresses.
Nora is kept away from society by a well-meaning, albeit good-for-nothing, father. Hawk is kept from society by his own thoughts of inadequacy as he does not fit in either the Lakota or white world. Their journeys to their personal and mental freedom move along different, but parallel paths. They both want the same thing, but have to go through their individual torment to reach a mutual happiness. They eventually realize a personal attraction to each other:

“He wouldn’t allow the white man to take Nora’s life. She was pure and innocent. A gem he’d not only had the pleasure to see but also to touch.”(Hawk)

“I kissed him. She touched her lips, still wet from his. She cared for him. Her stomach flipped and she peeked at the doorway. He aroused sensations within her she’d never felt before, making her hungry for his touch. How did this happen? She barely knew him. But as she licked her lips, remembering their kiss, warmth spread over her to linger in her most private place.” (Nora)

Reading Lakota Honor will be a great experience for you. The resolution to this story is one that you may or may not foresee, but either way, it is a resolution that will satisfy you.
Kat Flannery’s love of history shows in her novels. She is an avid reader of historical, suspense, paranormal, and romance. When not researching for her next book, Kat can be found running her three sons to hockey and lacrosse. She has her Certificate in Freelance and Business Writing. A member of many writing groups, Kat enjoys promoting other authors on her blog. She’s been published in numerous periodicals. Her debut novel Chasing Clovers has been on Amazon's Bestsellers list many times. Lakota Honor is Kat’s second book and she is hard at work on her next. ( )