Best American Patriotic Historical Romances

 

 

So you want to get in the mood to celebrate America’s Independence? And you want to do it with a hunky hero and a worthy heroine set in times when America’s future was on the line? Well, here’s the list you’ll want to pick from—all good ones!

Some are a part of a trilogy or a series…and I do recommend you read all of them, as they are all good even though not all may be listed here. I have rated these 4 or 5 stars.

The War of Independence/Revolutionary War:

Caroline, Touch the Sun and Spring Fires, from the Beauvisage series by Cynthia Wright

Devon and the sequel The Black Angel by Cordia Byers

Love a Rebel, Love a Rogue by Shirl Henke

Love Among the Rabble by Lauren Laviolette

Love Not a Rebel, 3^rd in the North American Woman trilogy by Heather Graham

Master of My Dreams and Captain of My Heart by Danelle Harmon

Mood Indigo by Parris Afton Bond

Passion’s Ransom by Betina Krahn

Ride out the Storm by Aleen Malcolm

Scarlett Ribbons by Judith E. French

Silver Storm, from the Raveneau series by Cynthia Wright

The Paradise Bargain by Betina Krahn (Whiskey Rebellion)

Under Crimson Sails by Lynna Lawton (post Revolutionary War)

Velvet Chains by Constance O’Banyon

The War of 1812:

Lord of the Sea by Danelle Harmon

Masque of Jade by Emma Merritt

Midnight Masquerade by Shirlee Busbee

My Love, My Enemy by Jan Cox Speas

The Captain’s Captive by Christine Dorsey

The Windflower by Laura London (aka Sharon and Tom Curtis)

The Underground Railroad:

Passion’s Joy by Jennifer Horsman

The Civil War:

An Outlaw in Wonderland by Lori Austin

Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen Woodiwiss

Beauty and the Bounty Hunter by Lori Austin (post Civil War)

Bonds of Love by Lisa Gregory

Dark Stranger and Rides a Hero (first two books in the Slater Brothers Civil War trilogy;    the third, Apache Summer, takes place after the war in Texas) by Heather Graham

Master of Paradise by Virginia Henley

Midnight Confessions by Candice Proctor

One Wore Blue, And One Word Gray, And One Rode West, Cameron, Civil War trilogy by Heather Graham

Rebel, Surrender, Glory and Triumph (from the Old Florida's McKenzies series) by Heather Graham

Sing My Name by Ellen O’Connell

Straight for the Heart by Marsha Canham

Surrender in Moonlight by Jennifer Blake

The Black Swan and Moss Rose, duology by Day Taylor

Tomorrow the Glory by Shannon Drake

When the Splendor Falls by Laurie McBain

WWI:

While not an American romance as such, I also commend to you the following poignant story of the brave Australians who fought (and died) in World War I, and the love between an Australian nurse and an English officer serving in the Australian Army: A Rose in No-Man’s Land by Margaret Tanner

And, if you want to read a seafaring adventure that is ribboned with references to the War of 1812, you might enjoy my own novel Wind Raven!

New Review: Aleen Malcolm’s RIDE OUT THE STORM – Intricately Woven Tale From the Highlands of Scotland to the New World!

This is the continuation of the love story of Sir Alex Sinclair and Cameron, the wild Scottish lass he was forced to marry in book 1, THE TAMING. While the author catches you up, and you can read this as a stand alone, I do recommend you begin with book 1. It was a very worthy post Culloden story of a proud Scot and his young Scottish bride.

Set in 1762, RIDE OUT THE STORM begins as Alex and Cameron, now wed, are traveling back to his ancestral hall, Glen Aucht. 15-year-old Cameron is feeling unprepared to assume the role as his lady. Worse, when they arrive, the English redcoats have taken over and Alex has been recalled to service. The surly English colonel in charge has taken over the estate perpetuating all sorts of crimes on the people and the servants--a very worthy cast of secondary characters--who have resorted to stealth to protect the young women.

Cameron’s origins hide a secret. She knows she has a twin brother she has not seen since she was eight, and she wants to find him. She believes he is on the isle of Rona, but learns he has left Scotland for the New World. Alex and his errant bride are separated as she defies him and they are swept from the Highlands they love to the wilderness of the New World near Ft. Detroit, the St. Lawrence River and Nova Scotia. Alex will serve as a British scout, hoping to regain his lands in Scotland, and Cameron is on the run searching for her brother.

The plot is intricate, the characters well developed and the story intriguing with some exciting, if not disturbing, action scenes. The pace is a bit slower that your typical romance, especially in the beginning, but it picks up to move along at a good clip. I loved Cameron’s free spirit and her courage and Alex’s persistence in claiming his bride, though during their separation, he was not faithful.

Malcolm captures the frustration and anger of the Scots and the Indians at the cruel treatment they receive from the English. The story has a very satisfying feel and is obviously based on much research into the history of the period.

I do recommend it!

The Cameron trilogy:

The Taming
Ride Out the Storm
The Daughters of Cameron

New Review: Shirlee Busbee’s MIDNIGHT MASQUERADE – Love in Louisiana in 1814 as the Battle of New Orleans Approaches!

I love Shirlee Busbee’s romances because I know I’m going to diving into a deep story, one with rich details in the descriptions of places, people, food and history, woven together like a tapestry, providing a great background for her captivating love stories. This one is no different. Her seventh novel, it tells an intriguing tale of love in the time of the War of 1812 (referred to by its opponents as “Madison’s War”).

Set in Louisiana, beginning in the spring of 1814, this is the story of Melissa Seymour, whose greatest concern is surviving until her trust funds come in, which will only happen when her younger brother, 19-year-old Zachary turns 21—or she marries. Her uncle, who stands to benefit, urges her to marry, and yet Lissa is “unmoved by the most ardent admirer.”

To discourage the men who flock about her, Melissa disguises herself as a dowdy shrew. Her gift is horses and she has one stallion, Folly, who is magnificent and wins all his races. His prize money is keeping her and Zachary’s home of Willowglen afloat. Then enters one arrogant, wealthy bachelor, Dominic Slade of New Orleans, who wants to buy Folly and start a stud farm on his new estate close to Willowglen. Through a bizarre set of circumstances, they are caught together in his hotel room and forced to wed.

Busbee sets forth a shotgun marriage that grew into love against a backdrop of English spies in Louisiana seeking out Loyalists who can be counted on for the Battle of New Orleans that is coming.

Among the secondary characters is Jason Savage, the hero in Busbee’s GYPSY LADY. While the pace is a bit slower than more modern historical romances, fans of Busbee will not be disappointed.

Note: Shirlee Busbee will be a guest on my blog next month for an interview and a great GIVEAWAY!

New Review: Marsha Canham’s STRAIGHT FOR THE HEART – Great Post Civil War Romance!

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As far as I'm concerned, this is one of Marsha Canham's best novels and that's saying something. While my favorite setting for a historical romance might not be the post Civil War South (Mississippi), but because it was written by Canham, I decided to take a gamble. It was worth it.

This is the story of proud Southerners and Yankees trying to pick up the pieces after the Civil War. It is also the story of the Courtland family and what the war did to them, and of two beautiful blonde, blue-eyed twin sisters so alike no one could tell them apart save for the heart-shaped gold lockets they wore with their individual initials on them. While looking alike, they are so different that one's good heart was like a beacon while the other's bad heart was selfish...she was bad to the bone.

eBook Cover

And, it's the story of love, Amanda's and Michael's, begun on a riverboat, the Mississippi Queen, with high stakes gambling, and a love that had to wait until the war was over.

Canham's writing is at its best here...she paints beautiful word pictures, she develops deep characters who make you cry and laugh, and her plot has twists that will make you wished you'd taken notes.

It all comes out right in the end and it is done so well.

New Review: Ellen O’Connell’s SING MY NAME – A Tender, Superb Post Civil War Love Story

It’s 1867 and the Civil War is over. Young Matt Slade, the son of Texas settlers, fought for the South in some of the bloodiest battles—and he survived. Because he’s good at surviving. When two shady bounty hunters seize him for a crime he didn’t commit, he determines he’ll survive so they won’t take him dead, as in “dead or alive.”

While being transported with a group of calvary escorting some women to Fort Grissom, he encounters Sarah Hammond, the young daughter of passionate Massachusetts’s abolitionists, who is on her way to join her fiancé, a Yankee major, a man she does not love. Abhorring the abuse of Matt by the bounty hunters, Sarah intervenes to assure Matt is properly fed and no longer beaten. Shortly after, Comanches attack. Matt and Sarah survive only because of Matt’s resourcefulness. To get to the fort, they must depend on each other—and they grow close.

Finally at the fort, Sarah's fiancé learns that she has fallen in love with “Rebel trash," and he takes his revenge on the young lovers. And a fierce revenge it is. It will be 1875 before the story is over…

O’Connell has a way of putting you right in the action, of making you feel the emotion and of understanding what led the hero and heroine to be who they are. The tender budding love between Matt and Sarah is the genuine thing. But they will have many hurdles to cross before they can be together. Along the way, O’Connell will make you laugh and she’ll make you cry.

This is a story of sacrificial love and standing up to bias that says a fallen woman and a gunslinger aren’t worthy citizens (“What did you do with a man who loved you too much to love you?”). I absolutely love her writing! Simply put, O’Connell tells GREAT stories and she does it very well.

New Review: Emma Merritt’s MASQUE of JADE – Love and Spies During the War of 1812 in New Orleans!

Set in 1813 in New Orleans when America was at war with England, this is the story of Laura Talbot-Harrow, who left her family’s estate in England for America nine years earlier when her mother disgraced the family by having an affair with another man, which caused Laura’s fiancé to break their engagement. Since then, Laura has wanted no relationship with any man, but instead finds her joy in running her stepmother’s plantation. That is, until she meets the wealthy gambler Clay Sutherland from Virginia who ruthlessly pursues her.

Laura’s father and stepmother want her to marry a certain nobleman from a Creole French family. Laura doesn’t love him; she loves Clay. But she would not marry Clay because he is not acceptable to her Creole society.

You had to love Clay, the honorable Virginian with a mysterious past…a past that has caught up with him, just like the war that’s coming to New Orleans.

There is a lot of action in this one as Napoleon and his supporters engage in stealth to establish New Orleans as a second base of operations; spies and treachery abound. There’s also a sultry voodoo queen who sees Laura as competition for Clay’s affections and will stop at nothing to see Laura dead. Laura’s sister Judith, who was left in England long ago, travels to New Orleans and joins the family, bringing more tension into Laura’s life.

I enjoyed this romp through the War of 1812 from the perspective of the English, Americans and Creole French living in New Orleans. I think you will, too.

The sequel to this story, MASQUE OF SAPPHIRE, is foreshadowed in JADE and tells the story of Laura’s sister, Judith. It was written by Emma Merritt’s sister, Deana James.

New Review: Lisa Gregory’s BONDS OF LOVE – Exciting Civil War Bodice Ripper!

What can I say about this book? It’s a well-written page-turner, a bodice ripper and Lisa Gregory’s (aka Candace Camp’s) first novel, published in 1978. Set during the Civil War, it tells the story of Katherine Devereaux, the only daughter of a wealthy Boston shipbuilder, who is abducted by one of the Confederate prisoners working in her father’s shipyard.

Katherine is witty, independent and capable, and when we first meet her in Boston, she is intent on marrying a Union naval officer, Lt. William Perkins. But that plan would soon change.

Captain Matthew Hampton is arrogant and selfish. He desired the haughty Miss Devereaux from the moment he laid eyes on her. And since he takes what he wants, when he escapes with a ship and his men, he kidnaps Katherine and takes her to sea, and then to England. In Katherine’s own words, “He stole me! He raped me! And now he refuses to release me, locks me in here like a dog in its kennel.”

When she does escape him in England, it is to a terrible fate. I kept thinking all the while it is Hampton who is responsible for ALL her misfortune since he abducted her in the first place. For me, it was sort of a “loved her, hated him” story. When he finally comes to realize he loves her, he just couldn’t grovel enough to compensate for what Katherine experienced. I just could not like him, no matter how contrite he became. To my mind the real hero here was the constant Lt. Perkins, who still wanted Katherine even after all she had experienced.

For all that, if you’re looking for a good bodice ripper with a very worthy heroine, I recommend it.

New Review: Lori Austin’s AN OUTLAW IN WONDERLAND – Sizzling Civil War Love Story with Some Unusual Aspects

Austin writes very well and her books are a pleasure to read. The characters are always well developed and their emotions clear. This story is more unusual than the first in the series. It takes place during and after the Civil War and for part of the time we are in a Confederate prison. And, the hero and heroine are separated for years, which may not appeal to all readers. Still, it’s a captivating story.

The story begins in Gettysburg in 1863 when Ethan Marsh, a Union doctor, is asked to be a spy in a confederate hospital for the Intelligence Service. Hoping to end the war sooner, Ethan accepts the his job in Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, caring not what uniform the boys wear whose lives he saves. He dons the disguise of an Irishman, adopting his father’s accent, and takes along his 17-year-old brother, Mikey, a tracker.

In Chimborazo, Ethan meets Annabeth (“Beth”) Phelan, who volunteers to bring comfort and food to the Confederate soldiers. Ethan soon recognizes Beth has talent as a nurse and requests she be assigned to him. Though it will brand her as his whore, Beth accepts the job because she loves the challenge of the work. As they work together to save lives, Ethan and Beth fall in love. When Beth learns Ethan is a spy for the enemy, she becomes a Confederate spy to expose him.

The plot has many twists and turns and Ethan and Annabeth each have secrets they keep to themselves and lies they must tell. I loved Ethan—a man every woman would.

You may wonder about the cover. I did. After all, Annabeth always wears skirts and does not carry a gun. Nor is she an “outlaw.” I kept thinking they got the wrong cover on this book. However midway through the story, when the war ends, much changes and Beth becomes a very different heroine. And Wonderland, should you ask, is an outlaw’s hideaway.

This is book 2 in Austin’s Once Upon a Time in the West series. The first actually begins after the second and the two are entwined in a very clever way, but each can be read as a stand alone. The third is the story of Annabeth’s brother, Luke.

BEAUTY AND THE BOUNTY HUNTER
AN OUTLAW IN WONDERLAND
THE LONE WARRIOR

New Review: Jan Cox Speas’s MY LOVE, MY ENEMY – Exciting Story Brings the War of 1812 to life!

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Set in 1813 in Baltimore, London, France and in the Atlantic, this is the story of an American girl and a British viscount. It is one of the wonderful historical romances that comprise the legacy of Jan Cox Speas.

Of the seven daughters born to Samuel Bradley, gentleman of the Chesapeake, Catherine Page (“Page”) was a rebel who tried the patience of Duncan MacDougall who worked for her father. But even he could not foresee that the bored 18 year old, wanting to spend her birthday money for some new frippery, would stow away on the small sloop Duncan sailed across the Bay to Annapolis to pick up her father’s Madeira. Once there, she manages to get into further trouble when she rescues a British gentleman from a local mob who want to hang him as a spy. When she and Duncan sail back to get the British man and his servant to safety, they run right into a British warship.

Taken aboard the English frigate, Page learns that the British gentleman she rescued is Jocelyn Trevor, Viscount Hazard of London.

Lord Hazard claimed to be in America to visit his sister though Page questions that. (He was an officer on Wellington’s staff, and it seemed odd that he’d be allowed to leave the Spanish front for family business.) In fact, he is the spy the mob in Annapolis accused him of being, though Page doesn’t know it. But since Page and Duncan MacDougall end up on a British warship because of him, Hazard vows he will see her safely back to her father.

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This story reminded me of the statement of Bilbo in Lord of the Rings when he says to his nephew, “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” Page steps out of her door and is swept away on one adventure after another as she gets caught up in the War of 1812 and the life of one particular British lord.

Speas allows us to see the conflicting emotions of those on both sides of the war. Lord Hazard is shamed by the British atrocities at Hampton, and Page experiences gracious treatment at the hands of the British officers when aboard their ship. Though there were several reasons America declared war on Britain, Speas deals specifically with the impressment of merchant sailors into the Royal Navy—sailors who considered themselves Americans. We also get to witness America’s clever privateers at work with the character Mason.

I love that Speas incorporates her extensive research of the history into this endearing and charming love story. It’s a bit lighter than her others but still quite wonderful!

New Review: Cindy Nord’s NO GREATER GLORY – Civil War Romance Rich in Historic Detail

A well-researched debut novel with considerable detail of the various battles around Virginia, this is a romance for those who like to become very involved in the Civil War.

Set from 1862 to 1865, it tells the story of Emaline McDaniels, a widow trying to hold onto her Virginia plantation, Shapinsay. Then Colonel Reece Cutteridge, a Union officer, shows up to requisition her home and her livestock to winter and feed his troops. Despite her disdain for the Union, Emaline finds herself assisting the Union doctor and nursing the colonel’s men, all the while fighting an attraction to their commander. Reece, who lost his wife and child, resists Emaline, too, but quickly finds himself falling in love with her. Separated by war, they will find themselves brought together by fate.

Nord describes what it was like to hold a plantation on the edge of war with intruding soldiers, deserters and miscreants all trying to steal what is not theirs. And in the midst of all that, a love between two people on opposite sides. Reece is a strong, capable leader of men. Emaline is a sympathetic Southern woman. Though some parts of the book seemed more like historical fiction than romance, the love story taking a back seat to the war, history fans will love it!

New Review: Parris Afton Bonds’ MOOD INDIGO – Wonderful Story from Pre-Revolutionary War America, Rich in Historic Detail!

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The story begins in England in 1774, the year after the Boston tea party, and soon moves to America, and tells of a highborn English lady who gives up her pampered life among the aristocracy and the dictates of her overbearing father to become an indentured servant and follow the man she loves.

Lady Jane Lennox, daughter of Lord Wychwood, laughed when a Hindu fortune teller told her she’d meet a stranger who is a marked man. And she wondered when that same fortune teller told her Captain Terrence MacKenzie of the Royal Dragoons, who she had loved since she was young though he was bastard born, would be waiting for her at the end of a long road.

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At a dinner party in London, Jane learns Terrence has been sent to Canada and that her powerful father has no intention of allowing her to follow him. At that same party, she meets an insolent colonial, Ethan Gordon, owner of a Virginia indigo plantation, who she spars with over dinner—a Quaker marked by a burn on his face.

Rich with period descriptions, details and locations (Williamsburg, the Green Dragon Tavern, and so many more), Bonds has woven a meticulously researched tale that will please the serious historical romance reader. There’s mystery, treachery and unwilling love with an engaging cast of characters (both real and fictional)—all set in a time when the winds of revolution were rising. Ethan is now one of my favorite heroes and the love scenes and the ending were oh, so sweet.

I highly recommend it! A keeper!

A NEW NAME FOR THE BLOG!

Regan's Romance Reviews now has a new name--HISTORICAL ROMANCE REVIEW! It made sense to be clear about the romance genre I read and review, both for my followers and the authors whose books I review and promote and who appear here as my guests.

So, in future, my followers will be seeing my posts in their email with the new title. Nothing else will change. This will always be the place for you to find great reads--the keepers!

I hope you agree the change makes total sense!

Regan

And the Winners are...

Hello, all!

I am pleased to announce the lucky commenters who won Judith E. French's book SCARLET RIBBONS....(drum roll):

           Janice Hougland, Parris Afton Bonds and Anna Bowling!

Congratulations and thanks so much for commenting--you all had some interesting things to say about setting a novel in the time of America's Revolutionary War!

I'll be sending your emails to Judith so she can get you your book!

Favorite Author and My Guest Today: JUDITH E. FRENCH!

Today I am pleased to have as my guest Judith E. French, winner of the 1999 Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and the author of more than fifty novels. Her novels, known for strong heroines and authentic research, have sold worldwide.

Judith has been writing professionally since she was seventeen. A country girl and an acknowledged tomboy, Judith grew up on a farm, with loving parents and grandparents. She had a Tom Sawyer childhood, full of ponies, fireflies, and puppies. Books were always a passion of hers, and her fondest memories include afternoons spent reading or listening to her granddad tell ghost stories.

Judith lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in a restored 18th Century farmhouse on the Delaware-Maryland border that has been in her family since a female ancestor received the land grant from William Penn. Judith is descended from early Chesapeake Bay settlers and Lenape Indians. She has a strong family heritage of oral story telling, a tradition continued in the success of her oldest daughter, bestselling novelist Colleen Faulkner. Two of Judith's grandchildren are aspiring novelists.

Note: Judith has graciously agreed to gift the eBook of SCARLET RIBBONS to three lucky commenters, so be sure we have your email!

The American Revolution as a Setting for Historical Romances, by Judith E. French

I have always wondered why the American Revolution is considered a poor choice for historical writers. Why should Great Britain's wars be of greater interest to romance readers? And why has American history been told through men's eyes? What of the wives, sweethearts, mothers, daughters, and sisters who lived through those turbulent times? Why are their stories pushed to the far corners of the stage and often forgotten?

Maryland's Eastern Shore

My mother's family settled on the Eastern Shore of the hauntingly beautiful Chesapeake Bay Region of Maryland in the 1660's. As a child, I listened to stories of redcoats, smugglers, courageous and clever women, horse thieves, crafty clerics, and pirates. Those fascinating tales led me to a passion for history, and when I began to write seriously, I wanted to tell the true experiences of these unique women and the bold men that they loved.

In dusty libraries, in shaded graveyards, and from oral accounts, I learned that the area known as Delmarva--Delaware, Maryland, and the Eastern Counties of Virginia--was known as the Breadbasket of the Revolution. It was from these farms, these rivers, these forests and kitchen gardens that Washington's starving soldiers were kept alive during the terrible winter at Valley Forge. And when everyone believed the colonials struggle was lost, it was the wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters who made the sacrifice to produce and smuggle those vital supplies through the British lines.

Revolutionary War battle

In 1777, most men between the ages of 20 and 60 were away from their homes fighting for one side or another. Deserters from the Continentals and the British army roamed at will, robbing isolated farms. Ragged bands of rebel vigilantes and Tory raiders threatened the lives and possessions of loyal citizens and those who supported the young American nation alike. Women, children, and the elderly were often victims of the unrest and lawlessness, and Hessian mercenaries made little difference between Tories and rebel sympathizers when it came to seizing livestock, foodstuffs, slaves, or valuables. For the women left alone, it was a perilous time, as dangerous as the conditions of those refugees and civilians we witness in far parts of the world on the evening news.

Gen. Washington addresses his troops on the Delaware

I have to believe that the Delmarva women in 1777 were not much different than today's women. Most must have been frightened and opposed to the war. Some may have been loyal to England's monarch and the mother country, while others, whose husbands and sons had marched away to follow Washington, probably were ardent patriots. But I can't imagine that many of those women would have chosen to see war come to their quiet villages, farms, and plantations. Most women, whatever the color of their skin or origin, instinctively prefer compromise to violence. They want a secure peace to raise their children, operate their small shops, worship as they wish, and interact with friends and family without fear. Most women would not choose to have their homes, their communities, and their loved ones in danger of being lost. Few today or in the 18th century would wish to see their men at risk of injury, imprisonment, or death.

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In Scarlet Ribbons, I decided to tell the story of these women through the eyes of Sarah Turner, a young mother who operated a country tavern and ferry crossing. On Delmarva, such a woman would not have been unusual. Here, in Maryland, it was common for women to own their own businesses and manage their own affairs. In sharp contrast to the laws of New England or to England, Maryland women had rights. I gave my Sarah Turner a young child, and I gave her a rocky past. I thought that it would be logical that Sarah would be opposed to the rebellion and sought only to survive and provide for her son, something many readers can understand and sympathize with.

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Yet, I'd started with the idea of writing a romance between a practical, conservative woman and a brave, idealistic man who had joined the Revolution in an effort to create a new form of government, a man who would risk all for honor and a noble cause. My Sarah had never known romantic love, and she had reason to doubt and fear putting herself in a position where a man could have the power to hurt her or her child again. So what would make a sensible, intelligent woman like Sarah throw caution to the wind and take up Forrest Iron's cause? What would make ordinary women from every level of society defy the might of the British military? What or who would change Sarah from a pacifist to someone willing to share in the danger of the American fight for independence?

My task as a writer was to make Sarah's journey realistic and believable to readers while keeping the romance front and center. It is up to you to decide if I succeeded. But regardless of your opinion of Sarah and Forrest's love story, I hope that I've made you think about the sacrifices women like Sarah made so that we might enjoy the benefits of life in a free society today. And I hope that those of you who do like Scarlet Ribbons will go to your favorite e-books site and leave a review. Your opinion does influence the future of publishing and of historical romance in today's market.

Many thanks to Regan for inviting me to share a few thoughts with you today. Wishing you happy reading because readers really do have more fun!

New Review: Judith E. French’s SCARLET RIBBONS – Brings the Revolutionary War to life!

Set in Maryland in 1777, scarlet ribbons tells the story of Sarah Turner, originally from England who, through a series of misfortunes, is now innkeeper of King’s Landing, and wed to a man serving the loyalists. Then one day to her inn comes Forest Irons, a Rebel spy sent to watch the goings on at the inn for General Washington. Forest dons the disguise of a beard and an eye patch and poses as a man in need of work, a man with no loyalties. Sarah needs help at the inn and for her young son, so she hires him, never knowing he is an enemy and never telling him her husband lies in an unmarked grave nearby.

With treachery, intrigue, and bad guys aplenty, French weaves a well-written tale of love in the time of war. The story reflects extensive research as she puts you in the scene with conflicting loyalties as some Americans supported England’s reign and others wanted their new country free from England’s tyranny. Forest is a worthy hero, bound by his dream of a free America to the Rebel cause, yet finds himself falling in love with a courageous woman who is loyal to the Crown. Sarah is one smart, clever heroine who will have you cheering.

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If you want to experience our nation at war in the time of its early beginnings, this is a great romance to read. While there are no battles, you’ll see what went on in the early days of the war between Maryland and the Rebels winter camp in Pennsylvania.

Note: Judith will be a guest on my blog on Wednesday, July 9th, and she’ll be giving away three copies of Scarlet Ribbons, so come on back!

New Review: Kathleen Woodiwiss’ ASHES IN THE WIND – Captivating Civil War Romance!

When Kathleen Woodiwiss did historical romance well, there was no one better--and such a novel is ASHES IN THE WIND. To my thinking, it's up there with her best (THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER, THE WOLF AND THE DOVE and SHANNA).

It is a compelling tale of a young Southern woman from Louisiana who loses everything in the Civil War. The Yankees take her family and her home and finally, even her identity. Disguised as a boy for her safety, 17-year old Alaina MacGaren thinks to seek refuge in her uncle's home in New Orleans. But before she can reach him she encounters a group of soldiers who harass her. A young Yankee surgeon, Captain Cole Latimer from Minnesota, rescues her. He is a man of honor and great medical talent who is respectful of Southerners.

Cole takes "Al" the boy (Alaina's new identity) under his wing and gives "him" a job at the Yankee army hospital in New Orleans Al returns the favor and saves the doctor's life one night when he is drunk, set upon by thieves and tossed into the Mississippi River. In the process of caring for Cole in her uncle's home, much happens, and a great mix-up occurs that casts a shadow on the rest of the story.

It is a magnificent love story, well told with great plot twists and accurate history of the era, woven in so that you understand what is going on in the Civil War. Her characters are richly drawn. You will feel you are living it as you celebrate Alaina's strength and intelligence. She plays many parts and Woodiwiss does them all so well.

You won't regret reading this one--it's a keeper!

New Review: Cordia Byers’ LOVESTORM – A Bond Servant in the Colonies Falls for her Master—an Exciting Read!

Set in 1750, beginning in England but quickly moving to the American colony of South Carolina, this is the story of Storm Kingsley, confined to Newgate Prison because she was taken with her mother, a prostitute falsely accused of murder. Storm was transported to the colonies to be sold as a bond slave. She was labeled as a prostitute though she was innocent. Storm blames it all on her father, Lyle Ashfort, the son of an earl who married her mother and then sailed away to America, never knowing the wife he left destitute carried his child.

The ship that carries Storm to America is captained by Thor Wakefield who owns a plantation in South Carolina as well as several ships. A self-made man who was spurned by his mother when she left his father, Thor has no desire to marry though he knows he will one day need an heir for the fortune he has worked hard to accumulate. On the voyage, Thor uses his possession of Storm’s mother’s Bible to lure her to his cabin where he seduces the innocent girl. Then, rather than turning her over to be sold as an indentured servant, he decides to keep her papers. He makes her his housekeeper by day and his whore by night (apparently unconcerned she will get pregnant).

Storm both loves and hates Thor but resigns herself to her fate when she discovers the man on whom she wants vengeance for her mother, Lyle Ashfort, owns the plantation next door.

This is a well-written page-turner, and while not a bodice ripper in my mind, there is a lot of seduction. Storm doesn’t seem to be able to reject Thor’s attentions once he touches her. But the rest of the time, she has nothing but disdain for the man. Thor continues to think the worst of her no matter what she does or how good she is; and she seems unable to organize an escape. She blames herself for all of Thor’s problems. Heck, she blames herself for everyone’s problems. Add to that so truly despicable villains who plot everyone’s demise and, well, you can see where you end up. Byers does a good job of keeping up the tension while serving up an intriguing tale.