Book Review: The Major’s Daughter

By Regina Jennings
Bethany House, 2019
336 pages

Amazon Description:

Caroline Adams returns to Indian Territory after tiring of confining society life. She wants adventure, and when she and her friend Amber come across swaggering outlaw Frisco Smith, they find his dreams for the new territory are very persuasive. With the much-anticipated land run pending, they may just join the rush. 

Growing up parentless, all Frisco Smith wanted was a place to call his own. It’s no wonder that he fought to open the Unassigned Lands. After years of sneaking across the border, he’s even managed to put in a dugout house on a hidden piece of property he’s poised to claim. 

When the gun sounds, everyone’s best plans are thrown out the window in the chaos of the run. Caroline and Frisco soon find themselves battling over a claim–and both dig in their heels. Settling the rightful ownership will bring these two closer than they ever expected and change their ideas of what a true home looks like.

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Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this fabulous book to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One of my favorite historical fiction authors is Regina Jennings. All her books are filled with humor and romance and entertaining antics, and The Major’s Daughter is no exception. This book is the third in her Fort Reno Series, and I enjoyed the first two so much that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one.

The setting for The Major’s Daughter is the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, an exciting piece of history that I knew next to nothing about. Basically, on April 22 of that year, thousands of people lined up and waited for noon, when they all took off into what had previously been Indian inhabited territory to stake claims on the land there. In this story, Caroline Adams and Frisco Smith are two such people, and they cross paths on the homestead Frisco had scouted out years before when Caroline gets to it first.

This is a delightful example of the enemies to lovers trope. Caroline is determined to prove that she can make her own way in the world without the help of her father, the major at the nearby fort. And while Frisco is loathe to kick her off his spot, he does want his claim back. The two butt heads and there is plenty of witty banter between them. I do love some clever dialogue.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is Frisco’s story of being an orphan and the impact that has on his relationships and the way he views himself. He carries a bag that he hasn’t all the way unpacked since he got it as a child, waiting his entire life to find a place that is truly ‘home’. Although he is charming, clever, and fair, he wonders if there is place for him as a respected member of the community. The story explores what ‘home’ really means to both him and Caroline, and of course they discover that their ideals are not that different.

While their romance was somewhat predictable, I will say the last 40 pages or so held a few surprises I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed The Major’s Daughter every bit as much as I expected to, and highly recommend it. Actually I recommend Regina Jennings and all her titles.

Who is one of your favorite authors?