Flint is the scout hired to guide McKeen's wagon train to their destination. He is in front of the train when he spots a war party of Cree. Carefully pacing them to see where they are going he saves a young boy covered with mud. He takes the young boy down the river and over the falls trying to shake the war party. Only when the mud is washed off, does he discover the boy is a beautiful, but injured young woman. Joleen's knowledge of the area is a great help to Flint in shaking the war party. Joleen is barely conscious and burning with fever. He is closer to the Fort than to the wagon train, so Flint takes her to the women at the Fort for medical attention.

Joleen is shocked and frightened when she discovers she is somehow in 1713 and not in the power of a back-to-nature cult or re-enactment group. The trip west helps her accept the reality of the time travel and give her time to accept her marriage to Flint. As the weeks pass, she and Flint fall in love. Their travel adventures are fascinating. When the Cree capture Flint, it was Jo who went to his rescue demonstrating her strength, woodcraft and devotion to her husband.

Joleen accepted the time travel thing better and more successfully than I feel I would have. She had the training from her grandfather who taught her about folk medicine, tracking, and survival cooking so that going back to 1713 was not too traumatic for her. She did have to learn how to drive oxen. She had a loving heart so that she could add to the Flint family when the opportunity arose. She was just tough enough to survive horrible events. Flint was a strong, brave man who did whatever it took to get the job done, yet tender and loving with her. When she was sick, he took care of her. To try to save her reputation, he told the women of the Fort he had cut her hair due to the fever. When there was a threat, he stayed right by her side. He fought to protect her. He planned for their family and even used the information of the future she had told him. He always called her Darlin' because she was his darling.

Jewel Adams' Darlin is a very fun book to read and hard to put down. The historical portions are fascinating like the auction of brides from England or the treaty between the Cree and the French. But most interesting is the relationship between Joleen and Flint. Trust, friendship, passion, devotion, and protection...all of these feelings and more became the bedrock of the solid marriage they established and the dynasty they began in Ms. Adams' Darlin. I believe that all who enjoy time travel and historical romances will enjoy this book; I loved it.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual

Reviewer: Yvonne M.
November 11, 2005