Smoke on the Wind by Syvila Weatherford

An exceptional sequel to Blessings from the Four Winds, which asks timeless questions about our sense of belonging and the many risks we take for family, Smoke on the Wind by Syvila Weatherford is a riveting trip into the past.

Life on the Applegate Ranch settles into some kind of normalcy for the new couple, but with a baby on the way, and shared feelings of separation from sacred traditions, emotions are running high. As the country continues to rapidly evolve, conflicts bubble over into everyday life, and Niabi makes the decision to bring her family back together in Indian Territory, no matter the danger.

Whether depicting the harsh unknown of No Man’s Land, a fire and brimstone sermon, sharp gossip in social parlors, or the passionate tumble of a forbidden couple, the writing has a visceral quality that seems to reach through time. Shining a bold light on the murky reality of the years following the American Civil War, this series refreshingly focuses on the experiences of marginalized people during that uncertain time, offering a revelatory perspective that goes deeper than your average history book, while still feeling like true history.

The journalistic style of narration and the transparency of characters’ internal thoughts sometimes leave little space for a reader’s imagination, and the dialogue can come off as stiff and unnatural, but Weatherford patiently expands this romance-laced series with well-researched nuance and three-dimensional characters, painting a vivid historical portrait of the Reconstruction era.