Acoma: A Novel of Conquest

This is my first written book review. I picked up this novel, Acoma: A Novel of Conquest, by Lana M. Harrigan, at the library because I am interested in the Acoma history. I have visited there twice, and I have historical ties to the area. Plus I love historical fiction as a genre. This is the author's first novel and it shows. Her writing starts off strong, but gets lazy towards the end of the book. I am not a fan of romance novels, and this felt far more like a romance novel than historical fiction. I thought "Novel of Conquest" would mean conquest of the land; I didn't interpet the title to mean sexual conquest. However I must give Mrs. Harrigan credit for her vivid descriptions of the Acoma mesa (for the very little time she spends there.) The author must hate the catholic church because she paints a horrible and abusive profile of their presence in Nuevo Mexico. The heroine has a heart for Christianity and God, but few others "religious" characters in the book are sympathetic at all. At the end she leaves the reader feeling that all sins, while forgiven by God (maybe) will come back to haunt you, even to the point of death. Hmm. Unfortuantely I cannot recommend this novel to anyone.