Twelve years pass from start to finish before it is finally the time for Colt and Sunny to be together each having to go through their own personal hell before being able to find the happiness they deserve together. I could have done with more of a HEA after all of the turmoil but still a good read.

THUNDER ON THE PLAINS spans twelve years in the mid to late 1800's and is filled with businessmen, heiress Sunny Landers and government officials interested in expanding the railroad into the settling of the American West and takes us through many states to do so. The Civil War is fought during this time period and Abraham Lincoln is assassinated adding realism to the storyline.

Bittner's THUNDER ON THE PLAINS was an emotional roller coaster ride as I got to know the characters through their pasts and their present with some inkling of what the future would hold. Colt, who is half Indian and half white, plays a major role in the story since he's the scout that takes Bo Landers and his son, Stuart, and daughter, Sunny, out west with him to plan for his dream of extending the railroad to the west. They don't travel as most do to the frontier with only what they absolutely need but bring china, mattresses and other comforts from home even when traveling by wagons. Each night when camp is set up they dine with tablecloths and china - not very practical. Colt and Sunny are attracted to each other and try to keep apart, especially with strong hints from her dad, so they can at least remain friends since they come from two different worlds. But their attraction, friendship and love is woven throughout the story as are the Landers along with oldest son, Vince, and their wives and children and others we meet along the way including Blaine O'Brien another businessman that plans to make Sunny his wife. I didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling from him whenever he was front and center and came to dislike him and how he treated others - that he always wanted what was best and convenient for him and never put others first unless there was something in it for him.

There are a lot of twists and turns to the story as we travel from Chicago, to New York, Omaha and Utah and many other states in between. Blaine was not very likable in his actions and his treatment of others especially Sunny who he treated as a possession and Colt, who he despised for his friendship with Sunny and how she acted around him and also that he was a half breed and should know his place. The prologue set the stage and we get to know Sunny very well throughout especially with the story separated into four parts. Though only fifteen when they she and Colt meet he's already twenty and has had a hard life while she's lived in the lap of luxury. There are a lot of hardships throughout but also Indians, battles, the war, family and friends, business associates, dreams, the railroad, politics, hatred, tears, laughter, fear, hurt, anger, violence, friendship and love. The settling of the west is taking place right before our eyes and the descriptions of the land, the trains, the homes, the towns, made me feel like I was there they were so vivid. There was a happily ever ending that took me by surprise but left me wanting more. There was closure but the book ended too abruptly for me.

Bittner is a fairly new to me author only having read OUTLAW HEARTS previously. I will be adding her books to my always growing TBR pile and I look forward to reading book 2 in the OUTLAW HEARTS series, DO NOT FORSAKE ME, which was published in July. The settling of the American West is one of my favorite periods of history and I'm happy that Bittner stays true to a lot of the history in her telling of the story.

I rated the book 4.5 stars but rounded to 5 stars on this and other sites.

DNF. I could not get into the world or even the characters in this story. Plus, it didn't help that I was not a fan of Sunny at all. =0/ Sorry!