Customer Reviews

Bittersweet

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Having never heard of this author, but searching for civil war historicals, I came across this wonderful book. Set in the waning days of the civil war, an honorable, dedicated, war-weary confederate doctor heads home to his wife and child, only to find she has gone off with another man taking his child with her. In his search for them, he runs into the widow of a man whose life he saved and who needs his help but refuses to accept his help. I love the characters and the story line but mostly I'm touched by the hardship and sacrifice that people went through and the continued hardship needed to start their lives over after the horrible trauma that befell them. It's a well written, sensitive love story with witty dialogue.

Call it coincidence, fate, or luck, but in this life, Dr. Spencer Hardin and Laura Taylor are met to be together:
* First occurrence: near Franklin, Tennessee in December of 1864, the skilled surgeon saves the leg of Jesse Taylor (Laura's husband).
* The second occurrence: North Carolina, May of 1865, and the good doctor is returning home to Georgia, where his wife and son wait. Struck down by murderous thieves, Jesse Taylor finds the doctor lying in the dirt. Taylor carries Hardin home and Laura comes face to face with her destiny.
* The third and final occurrence: September 1865, Nebraska Territory, Laura and Hardin cross paths again, but this time they are the lone survivors of the "till death do us part" vows. Whoa, I suppose stranger things have happened!

Anita Mills, again, writes a touching and insightful story and her portrayal of the horrors of war is staggering. This author has an ability to express human emotions. The reader suffers with Laura as she recalls her painful childhood poverty and degradation. Spencer Hardin's feeling of helplessness as a civil war field doctor is amazingly. This may not be Anita Mills' finest hour, but she is still an expert with a writer's pen.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Loved Bittersweet, Anita Mills. From the start to the end it was a real exciting, love story. I loved the book.