Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite

“And the blood doth seethe with fever

For Love’s savage sister, Lust…”

—Anonymous

Rosalind Collins, 18-years-old, mourning the death of her aunt, leaves Boston and heads out by herself on a journey to Upper Michigan to find her father whom she has not seen since she was but a child. It was a trip discouraged by others; the war was on, pirates roamed the Lakes, Rebel soldiers were heading for Canada.

After what was an uneventful trip, one that had pitfalls along the way, the meeting of a hated Rebel ,she arrives at her father’s home only to find she has a half sister, just a month younger than her, who is a half breed--a Savage, of all things. Not what she expected to come home to.

To even more complicate matters, the Rebel she met has been hired by her father and shows up at the same time. Using an assumed name, she still knows who he is. Shall she give his secret away? What is it that makes her attracted to this man? He seems to be playing two sisters.

Meanwhile, her half sister is struggling with her own identity. Is she white or Chippewa?

She is in love with Black Water, but when an undercover Union officer arrives on the scene, she has a fast attraction to him.

Will her father find out the truth about the man he hired? Will the sisters find true love with the right man? Will they ever acknowledge each other as sisters or will jealousy prove which one really is the “Savage Sister”?

This is another great novel by Jane Toombs. She has fast become a favorite of mine with her historical novels.