Rating: 
Summary: Can't wait to read more books by this author!
Review: I loved this book! Wasn't sure about the format in the beginning but wow.. the book just took off! I loved and cheered for Alice. What do you know Sandra Dallas is from Colorado!! My hometown. I loved how much time she was able to cover using the letter format. I can't give this book enough praise! Def a book to be read and passed on!!!
Rating:
Summary: An Honest and Wonderful Read!
Review: I so enjoyed this book. It was my first of Dallas's books and I just couldn't wait to read more. It was such a satisfying and engrossing story. The historical background was facinating as I love to learn about the civil war. The main character, Alice, was so honest one couldn't help but love her. A story of integrity and friendship, love and tolerance. Very genuine and beautiful. I love the tender and ever-changing relationship between Alice and her mother-in-law. Although some may feel there are too many events in some of Dallas's books to make them believable I disagree. That is what makes them so entertaining and delightful. This book is one of my all time favorites, and I read a lot! A true love story of dedication and sacrifice. Wonderful--I will be sharing it with all my reading buddies.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to her usual standard
Review: I was so thrilled when I saw that Sandra Dallas had a new book out, having enjoyed all three of her previous novels. What a disappointment this one turned out to be! It was as though she wanted to publish another book without having to go to much work so she just rehashed her previous books.The best part of the book was the quilting information interspersed thoughout. Don't make the mistake I did and buy this in hardback...borrow it from the library for a light, marginally entertaining afternoon read when you have nothing better to do.
Rating:
Summary: If you like historical fiction, you've got to read this!
Review: Once again, Dallas has done a great job fleshing out realistic and memorable characters, from naive, optimistic Alice to her bristly mother-in-law to uneducated, determined Annie, whose path crosses that of the Bullocks when the war devastates her home. The story pulls you in thoroughly, and won't let go until you've read to the end.
Rating: 
Summary: The women left behind during the Civil War
Review: Sandra Dallas appears to be one of the more outstanding historical women's fiction novelists. The evidence was _ The diary of Mattie Spenser_ which satisfied the longing for a good western women's novel for me. I crave the minute details of their daily life back then, and she never failed to weave them into her plot. As easily as she is able to reveal the realities of daily living in her novels, it was just as delightful to learn about quilting which had historical significance at the time. _Alice's Tulips_ is an entertaining read; one that packs a punch with a surprising ending. The story takes place during the Civil War, and Alice is a new bride brought to live on a Iowan farm with her new husband and his mother. Her life is ultimately challenged when her husband leaves to join the Union effort, and she is left with her crotchety mother in law. Hardly more than a child herself, her mother in law may have felt just as irritated to be saddled with the likes of her new daughter in law. Basically sweet and too trusting, Alice finds herself the object of unwanted attention by a dear friend's outlaw brother in law. At first, she was flattered by his attentions, being young and lonely without her husband. She finds herself having to rebut his advances and becomes the object of town gossip and speculation. Alice soon learns that life on the farm is difficult. Her mother in law is stern and unforgiving, the farm is falling apart, there is little food to eat, squatters are living on her property, her horse is failing and she is constantly being chastised. She misses her husband desperately and fears he may never return from the war. Her only happiness is when she takes up her needle; not to inject herself, but to sew and quilt. This pastime was one of her several antidotes for those lonely nighttime hours stuck inside the small house. The other pasttime was writing her sister, Lizzie, which is how the story is told to the reader. These letters over the years were surprisingly revealing of a young woman determined to survive the war with her husband beside her.
Rating:
Summary: The women left behind during the Civil War
Review: Sandra Dallas appears to be one of the more outstanding historical women's fiction novelists. The evidence was _ The diary of Mattie Spenser_ which satisfied the longing for a good western women's novel for me. I crave the minute details of their daily life back then, and she never failed to weave them into her plot. As easily as she is able to reveal the realities of daily living in her novels, it was just as delightful to learn about quilting which had historical significance at the time. _Alice's Tulips_ is an entertaining read; one that packs a punch with a surprising ending. The story takes place during the Civil War, and Alice is a new bride brought to live on a Iowan farm with her new husband and his mother. Her life is ultimately challenged when her husband leaves to join the Union effort, and she is left with her crotchety mother in law. Hardly more than a child herself, her mother in law may have felt just as irritated to be saddled with the likes of her new daughter in law. Basically sweet and too trusting, Alice finds herself the object of unwanted attention by a dear friend's outlaw brother in law. At first, she was flattered by his attentions, being young and lonely without her husband. She finds herself having to rebut his advances and becomes the object of town gossip and speculation. Alice soon learns that life on the farm is difficult. Her mother in law is stern and unforgiving, the farm is falling apart, there is little food to eat, squatters are living on her property, her horse is failing and she is constantly being chastised. She misses her husband desperately and fears he may never return from the war. Her only happiness is when she takes up her needle; not to inject herself, but to sew and quilt. This pastime was one of her several antidotes for those lonely nighttime hours stuck inside the small house. The other pasttime was writing her sister, Lizzie, which is how the story is told to the reader. These letters over the years were surprisingly revealing of a young woman determined to survive the war with her husband beside her.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant Read
Review: Sandra Dallas' story of a young bride during the civil war is quite interesting. Alice tells of her trials and triumphs through letters to her sister Lizzie back home. Some parts of the story are only hinted at, but some are described in great detail. Alice struggles through loneliness, poverty, weather hardships, and even being treated as an outcast by her peers. The best part of Alice's story is how she relates to other characters in the book, who also become endearing to the reader. Lizzie's life is also revealed to us as a secondary story by way of Alice's comments and advice in reply to her letters (which are unseen by the reader). I very much enjoyed Dallas' way of weaving quilting metaphors into the story. It's caused me to want to pick up the hobby again! If you enjoy this book, you may want to read another of Dallas' books "The Diary of Mattie Spenser", as well as "These Is My Words" by Nancy Turner.
Rating:
Summary: Written in letter form....
Review: This book follows three years in the life of one woman, married young and left with her mother-in-law as her huband goes off to fight in the Civil War. Naive at the beginning, and a voracious flirt, she soon learns the consequences of her actions. Though I really enjoyed this book, at times I found Alice to be so extremely naive that it was almost unbelievable. To be living in such a rough/hard time, it was amazing that she could remain with such an innocent attitude for so long. What really saved this book was the twist at the end....a man is found murdered and several women claim to have done it. It was a real twist to learn what really happened!
Rating:
Summary: What a find!
Review: This book is really captivating. I have to admit I did just what you are not supposed to do. I saw the cover and became intrigued.
After reading the first chapter or letter in the store I thought " Well I guess I better pay for this and get home and read the rest." I devoured it and immedietly got online to find out what else Sandra Dallas had written. I was not disappointed in them either. What a treasure! I could not wait to pass it on for someone else to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: I WISH I COULD RANK IT HIGHER!
Review: This book was positively AMAZING! Alice, the main characer, has an attitude of the "Northern" Scarlett O'hara. I love that attitude! Meaning, it's VERY flirtatious, gets into romantic pickles, and uses the funniest phrases and things like "Charlie is as independent as a hog on ice." The story goes as a newly wed who has just had her husband, Charlie, enlist in the Union army, and is left behind on a farm with his sour old mother. Alice gets bored of seeing only women, and flirts alot toward the handsome Mr. Smead, who takes it for more than she intended. He tries to take advantage of her and things like that(which makes her hate him more than anything) and unfortunately gets his way. Alice goes through a hard life during those two and a half years, including the accusation of murder, frostbite, and a whole lot more to keep your nose caught between the pages. This book was definately my favorite - I couldn't love a story better! It has romance, funny phrases, and will most definately make you laugh until your stomach hurts! Even under the humor, sweet and sad things are also folded between the remarkable pages of ALICE'S TULIPS!
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