The Lieutenant's Bargain
by Regina Jennings
Series: Fort Reno #2
Published by Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date December 4, 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction, Western, Action/Adventure, Christian Fiction, Clean Romance
Setting: Oklahoma Gilded Age – US – 1875 – 1900
Main Character Ages: 18-24
Written for: Adults
Pages: 331
Synopsis:
Hattie Walker dreams of becoming a painter, while her parents want her to settle down. As a compromise, they give her two months to head to Denver and place her works in an exhibition or give up the dream forever. Her journey is derailed when a gunman attacks her stagecoach, leaving her to be rescued by a group of Arapaho . . . but she's too terrified to recognize them as friendly.
Confirmed bachelor Lieutenant Jack Hennessey has long worked with the tribe and is tasked with trying to convince them that the mission school at Fort Reno can help their children. When a message arrives about a recovered survivor, Jack heads out to take her home--and plead his case once more.
He's stunned to run into Hattie Walker, the girl who shattered his heart--but quickly realizes he has a chance to impress her. When his plan gets tangled through translation, Jack and Hattie end up in a mess that puts her dreams in peril--and tests Jack's resolve to remain single.
I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers, Netgalley for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
Also in this series: Holding the Fort 
The Lieutenant’s Bargain is the second of Regina Jennings’ books I have read. What I have found each time is that reading her stories leaves me anxious to read more. Her imaginative, quirky, adventurous writing with such charming characters is very appealing.
After her stagecoach is robbed, leaving Hattie as the only witness of the murders, she flees into the wilderness. When she is rescued by friendly Arapaho, she mistakenly believes they are going to kill her. Her attempts to escape and reactions to the food they try to feed her are hilarious and even funnier is the name they bestow on her as a result.
Jack, the boy-now-lieutenant, who had been so in love with her when they were in school together, has no idea Hattie is the one going to take off the local tribe’s hands. While he understands some of the Arapaho language, there is much he doesn’t know and his attempts at impressing her don’t turn out quite like he planned.
The interactions between Hattie and Jack are so comical! They are also tender and sweet as he is the only one who is able to make her feel secure after her trauma. I loved the way Jack appeared so in control and fastidious, and yet his house was a bit of a disaster with books piled up everywhere. When Hattie attempted to help him straighten up (without his knowledge, of course!), the results were hilarious. Who but an artist would ever think to organize books like that?
In addition to the great story and personal interactions, the book is also carefully researched and has so many details about the interactions between the “Indians” and the settlers in the Oklahoma Territory. The details of the missionary school and the tenuous relations with the tribes were not only fascinating and illuminating, they were also woven into the story very naturally.
Historical fiction readers who enjoy humor, adventure, and spiritual lessons should put this book on their must-read list!
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