Monday, November 23, 2015

Painted Girl: A Kiowa in Love by RA Winter

Painted Girl is the second novel in RA Winter's Kiowa in Love series, and it does not disappoint.  This novel follows Sarah, or Painted Girl, and she learns to accept herself for who she is and learn to love a man for who he is; faults and all.

Sarah wants to marry Jack RedHorse, but of course Grandfather has other plans
While Painted Girl finds herself through her pottery and work with clay, RedHorse goes off to become great warrior, and Grandfather must come to terms with the circumstances of his own past to move forward to the future of the tribe. Painted Girl and RedHorse need to discover their Inner Indian, and Grandfather thinks he knows how to help them along their journey, and to each other. But as always, his plans don’t work out the way he expected.

One thing I love about RA is that her novels focus on the actual relationship building in romance.  She tells of the struggles and heartaches some couples are faced with as they learn to not only love one another, but love themselves.  That is what Painted Girl and RedHorse must do before they can properly love one another.  RA Winter shows the reality of a relationship rather than the physical aspect of it.  “It is good to know your heritage so well. You need to know where you are from before you go somewhere.” This line spoken by Grandfather is a strong example of one theme found in the series: honoring one’s heritage.  This is what the series is all about: honoring oneself, like I said loving yourself before you can love someone else.

This story is as much about Grandfather as it is about Painted Girl and RedHorse.  He struggles with his own background and knowing where he comes from.  I love Grandfather and enjoyed seeing a lot more of him in this novel, which is something I hope continues throughout the series.  We learn more about his thought process and where he wants the tribe to be.  We see his fears and insecurities as well.  I love that RA includes these elements into her stories.  Just a fantastic read, check it out.

I have a more detailed review on OnlineBookClub if you want to read more.  I give this novel a rating of a 5 out 5 and cannot wait for another novel

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