My Valentine to You – Another 5-Star Review!
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I just received another 5-star review for my new novel, A Rebel Among Us. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this book! So far, it is doing really great in the ratings. Please let me know if you’re interested in reading it and writing a review, too, and I will be happy to send you an e-book. Thanks for your support! (The review is as follows:)
There are romance novels and there are romantic novels. Romance novels are generally erotic, predictable, and formula-driven. JDR Hawkins (A Beautiful Glittering Lie and A Beckoning Hellfire) brings us in her latest work, A Rebel Among Us, a true romantic novel that is none of those things.
The Civil War is nearly two bloody years from its end. The Battle of Gettysburg has just been fought and has ended badly for Confederate cavalryman, David Summers, and his comrades in arms. Severely wounded and separated from his unit, David is carried by his faithful horse, Renegade, to a Pennsylvania farmhouse miles away from the scene of the carnage. There he is taken in by a late-teenage orphan, Anna Brady, and her younger sisters.
What happens next is a tale of extraordinary compassion that takes place during an era filled with violence, distrust, and bitterness. The story is beautifully written with plot line that is, at the same time, believable but yet filled with intrigue, conspiracy, and necessary deceit. The dialogue flows naturally as does the depiction of normal life on the farm during anything but normal times. We meet Patrick, the caring and helpful Irish bachelor who works a hire on a neighboring farm. We also meet Maggie Brady, the middle sister, torn between her love for her sister and her bitter feelings towards the South. There is Abigail, the child sister – caught in the middle of all of it but too young to really understand any.
I have read numerous Civil War novels and even written one myself. I can truly say that nothing I have either read or written has pulled me into the place and the moment in the way that Julie Hawkins’ story did.
You do not have to be a Civil War ‘enthusiast’ or even a history buff to enjoy this truly enchanting work. I highly recommend it and rate it a well-deserved five stars. I recommend also reading the first two books in the Renegade series before reading this one. I have yet to read A Beautiful Glittering Lie but I already know that it will not disappoint. I am also anxiously awaiting the fourth book in the series.
Greg Seeley
(Thank you, Mr. Greg Seeley!)
J.D.R. Hawkins 