Beloved Enemy

Rating:
Summary: How could she fall in love with a Yankee?
Review: Julia Chandler was a sheltered bookworm who never rocked the boat like her feisty younger sister, Carolyn. Julia was mostly content to bury herself in books and lose herself in dreams of becoming a teacher and what might have been had the Civil War not happened. With her sweetheart, Frank, killed at Manassas two years ago, Julia's scheming mother has decided that Julia will marry her cousin Payton. Although Julia's mother is fond of Payton, Julia thinks Payton is a toad and is only after her inheritance. Determined to refuse marriage to Payton, Julia and her sister sneak uninvited into a masquerade ball where Julia wants to find a Yankee to ruin her - although she doesn't exactly know what that means.

Robert Montgomery is a bitter major in the United States Army. After being shot in the hand at Gettysburg, his fickle fiancée broke their engagement because he had lost the use of the wounded hand. Now he trusts no woman, but he can't help but be entranced by the lovely Julia. He can't help but be drawn to her, especially after the rather inebriated young woman asks him to have his dastardly way with her. Ever the gentleman, Rob declines, but he is determined to see her again - even after he learns she is loyal to the Confederacy. Can love triumph in the midst of war?

This book was excellent! If I could give it 10 stars, I would. Ms. Schaller obviously did her research on the Civil War, and perfectly blended real historical figures with the fictional characters in the book. I loved Julia because she was so determined and intelligent. I also loved the character of Rob because he was brave and devoted. There were some twists and turns in this book, so you were never really sure what would happen next! There was something for everyone in this book - romance, political turmoil, war, intrigue, misunderstandings, social scandal, espionage, and a host of other things that blended into an awesome story.

I didn't discover this until after I read the book, but Mary Schaller has also used the penname "Tori Phillips" and wrote several books for Harlequin set in the medieval era. So if you are a fan of Tori Phillips, you'll probably love this book too, even though it is set in a different time period. I love books set in the Civil War era, although Harlequin really doesn't seem to publish many of them. I wish they published more, especially if they were as well written as this one! This is easily one of the best romance novels I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Five stars! Are you kidding me?
Review: The other review covered the plot & characters so thoroughly I'll pass on that...and you, dear reader, should pass on reading this book!

This author's style of writing just plodded the plot along, like a donkey moving on down the road. For a story involving prison escapes; spying, and a Romeo-Juliet love story, it was so dull! I was shocked to learn from the author's information that she'd won a prize for her writing. I'd lost interest in the outcome of this book by the half-way point. I give this book its star for the Shakespeare quotations the hero/heroine spoke to each other...and for the beginning of their romance. The plot was certainly inventive but the author lacked the verve to make it exciting. The parents were cartoonish, semi-evil characters with no development; the so-called fiance Payton was the same. And, excuse me, after her two hateful parents tried to force the heroine into a marriage with a completely reprehensible man, forcing her to leave her home to escape this fate, she writes to her father at the end than she wants to come back for a VISIT?!!? That strains credibility. But quite a bit of this book did that!

Unless you're a serious collector of Civil War romances and must own every one ever written, forget about this one. Sheesh! I can't believe there's a five-star review of this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Five stars! Are you kidding me?
Review: The other review covered the plot & characters so thoroughly I'll pass on that...and you, dear reader, should pass on reading this book!

This author's style of writing just plodded the plot along, like a donkey moving on down the road. For a story involving prison escapes; spying, and a Romeo-Juliet love story, it was so dull! I was shocked to learn from the author's information that she'd won a prize for her writing. I'd lost interest in the outcome of this book by the half-way point. I give this book its star for the Shakespeare quotations the hero/heroine spoke to each other...and for the beginning of their romance. The plot was certainly inventive but the author lacked the verve to make it exciting. The parents were cartoonish, semi-evil characters with no development; the so-called fiance Payton was the same. And, excuse me, after her two hateful parents tried to force the heroine into a marriage with a completely reprehensible man, forcing her to leave her home to escape this fate, she writes to her father at the end than she wants to come back for a VISIT?!!? That strains credibility. But quite a bit of this book did that!

Unless you're a serious collector of Civil War romances and must own every one ever written, forget about this one. Sheesh! I can't believe there's a five-star review of this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Very unusual.....kind of a regency - cw historical in one...
Review: This book has much to recommend it. Mostly the incredible research that the author has done which lends itself to obvious authenticity. This starts as a 300 page 'harlequin' that usually, to me, means little depth. But I love civil war era stuff so I read it anyway. We have the typical injured yankee and
devoted reb belle.....and the belle trying to get out of an arranged marriage which leads to a prank where she meets our embittered hero. Pretty standard stuff. There aren't any hot love scenes, just tender words and emotions conveyed through sharkespeares sonnets and a few embraces. The 'hero' volunteers to get arrested so he can lead a bunch of officers out of libby prison...and the reality of the nightmare of that prison are fairly vivid. You'll either like this story or dislike it a lot, I guess but I enjoyed the change of pace. The author did a really good job fitting in historical info in a easy read.