cover image Twin Willows

Twin Willows

Kay Cornelius. HarperCollins Publishers, $5.99 (378pp) ISBN 978-0-06-101376-8

In this post-Revolutionary War story, the identical twin daughters of a fiery Scotsman and a beautiful Delaware woman are separated at birth. Anna grows up in Philadelphia, while Willow is raised in a Shawnee village. Once Anna finishes her studies, she joins her father in Kentucky, where he settled after the war. Meanwhile, Willow is anxious to leave her village because of an ardent suitor who won't take no for an answer. She's on her way to a sister village in Kentucky when she comes upon the Shawnee warrior White Eagle and it's love at first sight. They marry quickly, but their happiness is cut short by the ongoing war between the Indians and the whites. During an Indian raid, Anna is mistaken for Willow and ends up with the Shawnee; Willow, in turn, is mistaken for Anna and is left behind with the whites. And so begins the chain of events that draws the two sisters together at last. Unfortunately, despite the clever premise, Cornelius's newest (after Love's Gentle Journey) contains little conflict or believable romance. (Feb.)