N R. (Moonpie) reviewed A Thousand Shall Fall (Shenandoah Valley Saga, Bk 1) on + 1170 more book reviews
Instead of "good to the last drop" like some coffees, this book was good to the last word! This is incredible historical romance! The author did such an astonishing job of incorporating Civil War history into her novel that you didn't even realize you were being entertained and getting a history lesson too! I have learned many things I did not know in Civil War novels I have read and this one added a whole boatload more!
Merely 19 years old, Carrie Ann Bell found herself in the middle of the war, with her father gone, working at a horrid job to help support her mother (who for some reason despises her), and a two sisters, yet never forgetting her dream of becoming a journalist. When her younger sister runs off with a peddler, it is up to her to try to find her and bring her home. Her confederate friends have told her about the wicked Yankees. This does not deter her in the least. She comes up with a plan to disguise herself as a Union soldier, walk through the enemy territory where there is active battle ensuing and into the area she thinks her sister has gone. Carrie Ann has no doubt it will go off without a hitch, but it doesn't. She is captured by the Union army and taken to their camp.
There she meets the handsome, military hero, Colonel Peyton Collier. He becomes her friend and protector. She finds that the Yankees are not the demons she has heard about, but good, brave men. She begins to help at their make shift hospital caring for the many wounded. To protect her and enable her to continue to search for her sister, he moves her to live with his widowed aunt as a companion. She learns those she thought were enemies were her friends and that friends from her past may very well be her enemies.
I love Carrie's courage and tenacity in dealing with whatever was thrown at her. I attributed to the strength of youth but also her outstanding character. The story is filled with faith, humor, romance, suspense, and surprises. The practice of Civil War medicine was an exhausting gruesome job. Not only with the sheer numbers of severely injured men but also the lack of supplies and proper conditions in which to care for them. The author brings this to life vividly. It was a war not where the soldiers went off and fought, but it was staged right where people lived. Who could you trust? What would happen next in your city or home? Would you or someone you loved become a fatality of the war? These questions and more haunted every American during this time. Through this novel I experienced the tension, hardship, insecurity, and uncertainty of this horrendous time. I applaud you Ms. Boeshaar a job well done and anxiously await your next book!
I received a copy of this book free from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Merely 19 years old, Carrie Ann Bell found herself in the middle of the war, with her father gone, working at a horrid job to help support her mother (who for some reason despises her), and a two sisters, yet never forgetting her dream of becoming a journalist. When her younger sister runs off with a peddler, it is up to her to try to find her and bring her home. Her confederate friends have told her about the wicked Yankees. This does not deter her in the least. She comes up with a plan to disguise herself as a Union soldier, walk through the enemy territory where there is active battle ensuing and into the area she thinks her sister has gone. Carrie Ann has no doubt it will go off without a hitch, but it doesn't. She is captured by the Union army and taken to their camp.
There she meets the handsome, military hero, Colonel Peyton Collier. He becomes her friend and protector. She finds that the Yankees are not the demons she has heard about, but good, brave men. She begins to help at their make shift hospital caring for the many wounded. To protect her and enable her to continue to search for her sister, he moves her to live with his widowed aunt as a companion. She learns those she thought were enemies were her friends and that friends from her past may very well be her enemies.
I love Carrie's courage and tenacity in dealing with whatever was thrown at her. I attributed to the strength of youth but also her outstanding character. The story is filled with faith, humor, romance, suspense, and surprises. The practice of Civil War medicine was an exhausting gruesome job. Not only with the sheer numbers of severely injured men but also the lack of supplies and proper conditions in which to care for them. The author brings this to life vividly. It was a war not where the soldiers went off and fought, but it was staged right where people lived. Who could you trust? What would happen next in your city or home? Would you or someone you loved become a fatality of the war? These questions and more haunted every American during this time. Through this novel I experienced the tension, hardship, insecurity, and uncertainty of this horrendous time. I applaud you Ms. Boeshaar a job well done and anxiously await your next book!
I received a copy of this book free from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
