3.5 stars

I'm lucky with my current phase of Indian romances that they are all being so different in story. This one is also unlike another I have read. Instead of a woman being taken to a tribe, the Indian male has left his tribe as a child to protect his life and been raised in the white world. To fulfill a promise to his father, who has now died, he is supposed to return and lead the tribe as chief. He feels caught between two worlds, and during his journey, rescues a woman he falls in love with through the desert track. His other brother who was banned back to his original tribe is trying to kill him, and they must hide and face the dangers of the desert during the journey. It is here they fall in love but they cannot be together as it is a rule of the tribe that no other outsiders may marry into it after the other chief's betrayal by his wife.

All of this is intriguing and much of the book is them exploring each other (not sexually) without the presence of anyone else. There is less action/tenseness in this one and the ending was not the usual. I won't spoil it but everything of course ends up okay at the end. Tykota is an interesting man and there were humorous scenes with his potential jealousy that just turned out cute. The heroine, Makinna, is stubborn but sweet, likeable but a bit generic. The issue with her sister was an added bonus when they reunite, and I dug how things went for her.

At 389 pages, a little more tension would have been suitable to make it more enchanting, it's a bit of a calm ride, but overall it's worth reading for fans of this type. ( )