An Unconditional Freedom/ Alyssa Cole/ 320 pgs

I loved the first book in this Civil War historical romance series and this one does not disappoint either. Cole does such a good job of developing characters with interesting backgrounds and most of all, heart. Janeta is the daughter of a Cuban father and a black, former slave mother. Her father is rich and, after the death of his first wife, married Janeta's mother. Janeta was never allowed to see herself as black or as even remotely related to the slaves. When Union soldiers imprison her father (the family moved to Florida a few years ago) her Confederate boyfriend convinces her to spy for the South in order to win her father's freedom. Janeta infiltrates the Loyal League and is partnered with Daniel. Daniel grew up in Massachusetts a free black man. At one time he was studying to be a lawyer but he was tricked by some southerners and kidnapped into slavery. He suffered brutally, both physically and mentally, from this experience and does not have a good opinion of himself. As you can see, both Janeta and Daniel have a lot of issues to work through. This is, rightly, a slow burn romance but watching these two become friends and figure out who they are on the inside is a joy. There isn't much action in this story until the end, but I don't think you'll regret taking this journey with Janeta and Daniel.

Carnton Plantation Ghost Stories / Lochlainn Seabrook / 249 pages

Carnton Plantation is in Franklin, Tennessee and was built in the early 1800s.  It was the sight of the Civil War battle, the Battle of Franklin II on November 30, 1864.  It is considered Tennessee's most haunted Civil War house.  The author is a descendant of the McGavock family, the original owners of the plantation. He is a former tour guide and author of several Civil War books and magazine articles.  The book is filled with many stories and photographs of the house.  The Southern slant on the Civil War that comes out in the author's writing was amusing and interesting.  I had heard of Carnton Plantation before I read this book.  Next time I travel through Tennessee I plan to stop there and take a tour.

The Disagreement/Nick Taylor/360 pages

An engrossing novel about a young man who didn't fight in the American Civil War. Most Civil War novels seem to center around either soldiers during the Civil War or the women folk they left behind. But this novel covers men of soldier age who went to college instead and how the war affected them.

Synopsis 
John Muro is the son of a successful Virginia woolery owner. When Virginia joins its Southern counterparts in voting to secede from the union, Muro's life is changed forever. His father gifts him with the opportunity to study medicine at the University of Virginia. John goers through the passage rites of most young man -- love, social affairs, and studies -- cocooned at the university as the war rages on. But the impacts of the war are felt on John, his family, and friends as he works at a hospital where he saves the life of a Union officer and they become friends.  Eventually, the war envelopes the university and John is forced to make decisions that will forever impact his life.

Analysis
This is the author's debut novel and it is wonderful. Unlike too many Civil War novels with wooden stereotyped characters, Taylor's characters have real depth and become like personal acquaintances to the reader. The plot is written from the viewpoint of Muro as he looks backward on the events of his life. This allows the author to give context to many of the events that occur in the book that would otherwise be lost. While obviously historical fiction, the prose can also be considered literary. The book is an easy read with a plot line that flows nicely, but the strength of the novel is its poignant depiction of the emotions and inner workings of its characters. The wonders of young love are experienced by the reader just as poignantly as the shock of wartime injury and destruction. The novel also deals deftly with social issues of the time -- slavery, social class and gender relationships.

I recommend this book for all readers high school and up, especially those interested in the homefront during the Civil War. While pleasingly light on sexual content and gore, the subject matter in the book may still be too adult for many children younger than ninth grade. A nice addition to the Civil War fiction canon
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THE OUTCASTS: A NOVEL / Kathleen Kent / 326 Pages

For those who enjoy a literary Western with a bit of a twist. THE OUTCASTS takes place five years after the Civil War and is told in alternating chapters, following the stories of Lucinda Carter and Nate Cannon. Both are traveling eastward from Texas towards an inevitable meeting in New Orleans.

Lucinda is a 'sporting girl' who suffers from epileptic fits, trying to escape her past so she can spend the rest of her life with her lover. She is also hunting for a lost treasure of gold. Nate is a newly assigned Texas policeman with a strong belief in justice and loyalty. He is determined to hunt down a vicious child killer named McGill.

As their stories move closer together there will be violence, betrayal, and a chance, just a chance, for all debts to be paid in full.

Rhett Butler's People / Donald McCaig / 476 pages

This is the authorized sequel to Gone With the Wind. I found it to be enjoyable and lively. It explains more of the backgrounds of several characters from the original book, mainly Rhett Butler. It made some of the characters more real by giving more details about how they happened to be in certain situations described briefly in the original. It covers the time period of when Rhett Butler was about 12 through a few years after the conclusion of the original book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves the first book!

Gone With the Wind / Margaret Mitchell / 884 Pages

I have always thought that this book would be hard to read, with long, drawn-out descriptions that were tearfully boring... At least, that's what I was told. 

I found this book to be one of the very best that I have EVER read.  It was amazing, beautiful, and fast-paced.  I have never before read a book in which the characters were so well-developed.  It was hard to believe that Miss Scarlett O'Hara and Mr. Rhett Butler were fictional because you could feel their emotions leap off the page and into your heart as if everything they were feeling and doing and saying had actually occured.  The dialogue was very well-written and a delight to follow, and while there were lengthy descriptions of the goings-on of the war in the state of Georgia and the occasional paragraph that described the character's surroundings, I felt that they added to the credibility of the story, making everything seem so much more real and believable than if they weren't there.  It helped to explain why certain characters did and said the things that they did.  Even though the book is covering more than a decade of time, it didn't feel lengthy.  It was fast-paced and I couldn't put it down. I was sad that it came to an end as fast as it did, and am disappointed that Ms. Mitchell never got around to writing a sequel, because the story was so engrossing that I feel I need to know what happened after the last words. Perhaps I will get around to reading the sequel written by Alexandra Ripley, but I feel that I may be disappointed after how much I loved the original.

Overall, this book was beautifully written, full of character, feeling, intense emotions, and a believable historical background.  I would highlt recommend it to any of my friends who were looking for a historical "romance" that was different from the rest. 

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