Defiant Heart by Tracey Bateman

Fannie Caldwell has been trapped in a life of servitude to an abusive master and for three years she has plotted to escape with her younger brother and sister. Blake Tanner's wagon train is Fannie's chance but convincing Blake to allow an unmarried women on the train proves to be an impossible task. Refusing to give in Fannie takes an incredible risk to protect her siblings but her past life threatens to endanger them all.

Tracey Bateman's first Westward Heart novel, kicking of the new Avon Inspire range is a lovely read. Fannie is down to earth and her desperate struggle to convince the most mule-headed man she has ever met, that she has a place in the wagon train is amusing and inspiring. Faith, hope and love meet together in this engaging story.

Readers of historical novels will enjoy Defiant Heart and Fannie and Blake's journey and look forward to the sequel ~ a story of the emotionally scarred Toni and Sam Two Feathers, secretly devoted to a woman beyond his reach.