Customer Reviews

Against The Odds (Zebra Historical Romance)

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During the final days of the Civil War, as the country began sending soliers home and deplorable prison conditions became known in such pits as Georgia's Andersonville, author Gwyneth Atlee recreates those painful moments in stark relief, allowing a touching story of love and survival to overcome almost insurmountable odds.

As Union soldier Gabe Davis journeys north aboard the Sultana, he doesn't know the ship is a time bomb just waiting to go off. Looking forward to returning to Ohio and dreaming of moving on to Oregon, Gabe carries the burden of horrific memories and accusation of desertion. Despite his feelings of unworthiness, however, he can't resist the pull of the beautiful southern woman he rescues from rowdy soldiers.

Yvette Augeron flees New Orleans with an accusation of murder and proof she did no wrong, if only she can make it to St. Louis and her uncle agrees to intervene. Unfortunately, the true killer, a Union soldier who also murdered her sister, follows Yvette aboard the Saltana. Yvette repays her debt of gratitude to Gabe when she listens to his tragic story of hostility and accusations of cowardice. In those quite moments aboard the Sultana, Gabe and Yvette find acceptance and redemption. Then their world explodes in fire, freezing water, and a killer's diabolical machinations.

Gwyneth Atlee delivers another powerfully dazzling read in AGAINST THE ODDS. History books largely ignore the tragic sinking of the Sultana in the wake of Lincoln's assignation, yet Atlee brings the exposition vividly to life with commanding characterizations and a gripping plot. Even the secondary characters, from the soldier with a leg beset with gangrene and the drowning of a kitten, touch the heart with their eloquent rendering. AGAINST THE ODDS is impossible to put down and impossible to forget. Very highly recommended.

...one you won't be able to put down!

Gabe Davis has had enough of the war. He wants to put his nightmares behind him and go home. Making his way north up the Mississippi on the Sultana, he meets Yvette Augeron. She's been accused of murder--a murder she didn't commit. She's being tracked by the real murderer who is eager to see her silenced...permanently. This scarred and unlikely couple--one from the North, one from the South--find that they have more in common than they could imagine...they have love.

Set in the aftermath of the Civil War, Gwyneth Atlee tells the story of two people haunted by their pasts..two people who find love in the midst of the United States greatest maritime disaster, the sinking of the Sultana. The author's ability to blend a fictional story into real historic circumstances so masterfully makes her consistently a pleasure to read!

Description from back of book:

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a shattered America begins to heal. Three Union soldiers - once prisoners of war - head home aboard the steamboat Sultana. For these brothers-in-arms, the war may be over...but the fight for the women they cherish has just begun.

Returning to his Ohio home, Gabe Davis is haunted by the guilt of a shattering secret. Though he feels unworthy of love, he cannot deny his attraction to Yvette Augeron, the New Orleans beauty who has blustered her way onto the Sultana. But just as passion draws the unlikely pair together, the fateful explosion of the Sultana tears Yvette from his arms. Gabe doesn't know if she's dead or alive, until she risks her own safety to find him. Yet this brave act of sacrifice will plunge her into mortal danger, for Yvette has a murderous enemy. Now Gabe will battle against the odds to save the woman destined to be his wife.

* Wow! I can't believe how high this book is rated. I was so looking forward to a great read but what I found was far less. O.K., it's based on a true event, which makes it interesting, but the romance was too slow & light for my liking. The characters never really grew on me & the villain was so very annoying. How much the guy though about the bad things he'd done you kept getting the impression that he was sorry for the things he'd done but as soon as you'd start thinking that he'd grin or something & tell himself he was doing what he had to do. And, I was so bored with him reflecting back to what his grandfather said about him going to be "the finest Russell ever". Each character in this book reflected back to one thing in their past over & over. It just seemed so repetitive to me. The so-called climax in this book was not exciting & it was very predictable. Then top all that off I felt the book was unfinished. Throughout the book you see Gabe thinking about his return home & wondering how his family will react to what he did during the war but the book ends & we never saw him return home. I thought there would at least be a epilogue showing several years into the future or something but there wasn't even that. My advice would probably be to skip this book but I'm going to read the 2nd book (the last book) in this series Trust to Chance so you may want to see what my review about that book is.

The Civil War had ended. Union soldier, Gabriel Davis, had been returning to his home in Ohio. He was traveling on a steamboat called The Sultana. The boat was extremely over crowded and the boiler was only patched together. He had his own worries and never dreamed he would be helping a young lady with her troubles.

Yvette Augeron was on the run. She needed to reach her uncle, an attorney, who was the only one she believed could help her. Union Captain Darien Russell accused Yvette of murdering her sister, Marie, and Lieutenant Simonton. In truth, Darien had murdered them and framed Yvette. Darien was determined to see Yvette hang. However, he had to catch her first! She had proof of his guilt in robbing wealthy Creole families and killing the two people because they knew the truth. Darien followed her on board the Sultana and slowly began hunting her.

***** This book sure is titled correctly! It caught me quickly and held on tightly! Excellent in historical details surrounding the Sultana and the plight of many Union prisoners-of-war as they returned to the North. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and highly recommend it! *****

In the final days of the Civil War, thin and weary Union soldiers were heading home from the horrors of Andersonville and Cahaba Prisons. Because of greed and corruption, more than two thousand were crowded onto a doomed steamboat with a poorly patched boiler.

By focusing on a young soldier and a fugitive New Orleans beauty, AGAINST THE ODDS takes the reader on the Sultana's final journey. Atlee's tale of divided loyalties, courage, and romance is compelling, moving, and ultimately satisfying.

A truly gifted storyteller, Atlee is quickly gaining a sterling reputation for turning out fascinating and unusual historical romances. However, "Against The Odds" is not simply a romance, but a well-researched and presented history lesson conveying endless sensitivity and humanity. Sharon Chance Galligar, Bookbrowser.com