By Kelly Bridgewater
Amid war and the
fading dream of the Confederacy, a wounded soldier and a destitute widow
discover the true meaning of Christmas - and of sacrificial love.
Recently widowed,
Aletta Prescott struggles to hold life together for herself and her six-year
old son. With the bank threatening to evict, she discovers an advertisement for
the Women's Relief Society auction and applies for a position - only to
discover it's been filled. Then a chance meeting with a wounded soldier offers
another opportunity - and friendship. But can Aletta trust this man?
Captain Jake Winston,
a revered Confederate sharpshooter, suffered a head wound at the Battle of
Chickamauga. When doctors deliver their diagnosis, Jake fears losing not only
his greatest skill but his very identity. As he heals, Jake is ordered to
assist with a local Women's Relief Society auction. He respectfully
objects. Kowtowing to a bunch of "crinolines" isn't his idea of
soldiering. But orders are orders, and he soon discovers this group of ladies -
one, in particular - is far more than he bargained for.
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| From Amazon |
My Thoughts:
I'm not a big fan of Civil War stories. I have a hard time
enjoying those type of stories, but . . . Tamera Alexander does such a great
job at recreating this time period and bringing me into the story that I have a
hard time not enjoying her writings. I have enjoyed her Belle Meade and her
Belmont Mansion series, so I'm excited that she has decided to do another
series in Tennessee around another popular plantation. With any historical
novel, I want to be transported to that time period without feeling like I'm
reading a history book and have characters that have something unique.
Alexander's writing is wonderful. Like I mentioned earlier,
she does a wonderful job at bringing the home of Carnton come to life and the
time period. She pays attention to the tiniest details like remembering what
the women would be doing to raise money or knit items that could be used for
the soldiers who are still in action during the Civil War. Alexander is
sympathic toward the cause and shows the hurts and cares of the individual
women who are left at home, trying to survive while worrying about their men
who are off fighting.
The plot is unique because it shows the affect that the
Civil War had on the women who were home still trying to hold it together. I
enjoy how in each of the novels that I have read by Alexander she shows that
the slaves were humans too with feelings and family. They were just as
important as the whites and still were the backbone of our country alongside
the whites. The story moves along at a rapid pace and kept my attention.
The romance was a little hasty in my taste. Aletta and Jake
have only known each other for a month, and they fall in love so quickly. I
know that this was a novella to wet the appetite of the reader. In her much
longer novels, Alexander does take more time to develop her romances, so I let
it slide for this novella.
Overall, I enjoyed the pre-novella for her Carnton series. I
enjoyed the fast pace of the setting and the wonderful characters. I highly
recommend this story, and eagerly await the series to begin next year.
I received a complimentary copy of Christmas at Carnton by Tamera Alexander from Thomas Nelson Publishing,
but the opinions stated are all my own.
My Rating:
4.5 out of 5 stars
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