A Flight of Arrows by Lori Benton

Hearts are divided. Loyalties will be tested. The fates of two families hang in the balance.

Twenty years past, in 1757, a young Redcoat, Reginald Aubrey stole a newborn boy—the lighter-skinned of Oneida twins—during the devastating fall of Fort William Henry and raised him as his own.

No one connected to Reginald escaped unscathed from this crime. Not his adopted daughter Anna. Not Stone Thrower, the Native American father determined to get his son back. Not Two Hawks, William’s twin brother separated since birth, living in the shadow of his absence and hoping to build a future with Anna. Nor Lydia, who longs for Reginald to be free from his self-imposed emotional prison and embrace God’s forgiveness—and her love.

Now William, whose identity has been shattered after discovering the truth of his birth, hides in the ranks of an increasingly aggressive British army. The Redcoats prepare to attack frontier New York and the Continentals, aided by Oneida warriors including Two Hawks, rally to defend it. As the Revolutionary War penetrates the Mohawk Valley, two families separated by culture, united by love and faith, must find a way to reclaim the son marching toward them in the ranks of their enemies.

 

A Flight of Arrows is the second book in Lori Benton’s The Pathfinders series, coming after The Wood’s Edge. I read The Wood’s Edge awhile back and REALLY loved it, so I’ve been looking forward to reading A Flight of Arrows for quite some time. Honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t read it before now. I guess because I wasn’t really reading much of anything since school had been keeping me busy, and then when I did start reading again it was mostly books I own that have been waiting on my shelves…needless to say, I’ve read it now. And I really loved it. I have been longing to find the resolution to this story for so long, and now that I know it, I’m not sure I’m so happy with the way everything turned out. Don’t get me wrong, I loved this book and I am so glad I finally know what happened, but the happy ending to the story didn’t come without some not-so-happy parts, and I’m just still really sad about them.

Something that I forgot since I first read The Wood’s Edge is just how full of drama this series is! Now the first novel in this series might not have had as much going on as this second installment, but I can most definitely tell you that as I was reading this one, I couldn’t put it down because there was always something crazy going on! There were so many plot twists, and almost all of them were completely unexpected, so I felt like I was on the edge of my seat all the way through this novel. While that is definitely a good thing—it’s always good for a story to keep you interested—I almost felt as if there might be a little too much going on at times.

I really loved how Lori developed each character fully; even though there were quite a few different perspectives focused on throughout this book, I never felt like it was too many or that I was being pulled in too many different directions. Each character’s part of the story was told in their perspective just when it needed to be, and I feel like that helped me to understand what was going on throughout the book all that much better. I was able to follow all of the many plot twists more closely because I was able to follow them through the eyes of those who were affected by them most. And I really commend Lori for that.

All in all, if you couldn’t already tell, I really enjoyed this book. I loved finally getting to know the conclusion of the series, I loved once again being transported into the world of the rebels and the Indians, and I loved getting to be swept away by such a heartwarming story. I highly recommend this novel, for all the reasons I have mentioned and for many more, and I can say that it has easily earned all five bookshelves. I can definitely say that this is a book to add to your to-read shelf, though I also suggest reading The Wood’s Edge first, otherwise you will have NO idea what’s going on. Either way, read both, because they are fantastic!

Happy reading!

To see where I’m linking up, check out my Where I Party page.

All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Lori Benton and WaterBrook Publishing.