After losing her husband and only child to the ravages of the Civil War, twenty-five-year-old Portia McAllister is drowning in grief. When she sees an ad for a live-in tutor in another town, she leaves everything behind in hopes of making a fresh start. But as a Confederate widow in a Union household, she is met with resentment from her new charge and her employer, war veteran Beau Stanford.
Despite their differences, she and Beau find common ground and the stirrings of a second chance at love—until his late wife’s cousin, Lydia, arrives with her sights set on him. Burdened with a farm on the brink of bankruptcy, Beau is tempted by Lydia’s hefty dowry, though Portia has captured his heart.
In another time and another place, his choice would be easy. But love seems impossible amid the simmering chaos of Reconstruction that could boil over at any moment into an all-out battle for survival. Will Beau and Portia find their way into each other’s arms, or will they be swept away by raging forces beyond their control?
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Sexual Content - 2/5
2/5
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Violence - 2/5
2/5
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Language - 1/5
1/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 3/5
3/5
Summary
This book hooked me with the Prologue and kept me hooked until the very last page. The storyline and the historical references were excellent. While I did not get drawn into the book, I felt as though I had a front row seat to watch the action develop.
Violence The violence was significant to the historical period and was not overdone. War violence, slave violence, child abuse and lynching are discussed.
Language While I prefer books without crude language, I was not offended with the few uses within the story.
Sexual The romance scenes were for the most part sweet. There are two episodes of attempted rape described and minor discussion of rape and adultery.
Drug & Alcohol One character has a morphine addiction as a result of war injuries and consumption of alcohol is described on several occasions.