4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Follow-Up to Opening Appomattox Saga Book, August 10, 2011
In the first title in the Appomattox Saga series, A COVENANT OF LOVE, which told the story of the 21 years Clay Rocklin of Richmond, Virginia, spent destroying and rebuilding his life before Fort Sumter, Clay's son, Dent Rocklin, a newly enlisted Confederate officer, and his cousin Deborah Steel, a member of the northern branch of the Rocklin family and the abolitionist daughter of an abolitionist preacher, fell in love. Dent swore that the war wouldn't separate them long. Sure of a quick victory, as many on both sides were an the spring of 1861, Dent vowed to come to Washington to claim Deborah as soon as he'd finished defeating the Union Army. Meanhwhil, though, as this book opens, there is a battle to fight, volunteers to recruit, and social events in Richmond to cheer the new Confederate troops before they go off to their first taste of war.
At a recruiting rally at her uncle Stephen's factory, Deborah encourages a young man named Noel to enlist in the Union Army. Noel's big concern is what will happen to his mother and siblings, who can't count on support from his drunkard father. Deborah offers the family personal aid in Noel's absence.
At the same time, down in Richmond, Dent atends a ball at which he agrees to dance with wallflower Raimie Reed, a young woman whose criticism of the Confederate cause offends Dent but who nevertheless soon intrigues him. To give part of the reason why she catches his attention would ruin the effect of the scene.
In July, the Battle of Bull Run holds suprises for both Dent and Deborah and brings their separate plot threads twisting closer together, as each fights to pull something good out of the battle's consequences. In the background, the plot concerning Dent's father, Clay, continues through this book, as he struggles with competing feelings: a lack of belief in the Confederate cause and the strong desire to reconcile with the sons now serving in the southern army who still resent his long absence while they were growing up. As for clay's married life, it will take several more books to unfold, which is one thing that kept me reading further in the series. I would definitely recommend this book and the next two, WHERE HONOR DWELLS and LAND OF THE SHADOW, which had real character growth and tense plots that kept me up late more than one night.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A book!, August 17, 2000
This review is from: Gate of His Enemies (The Appomattox Saga, Book 2) (Paperback)
This book was a great book to read all at once. I found it hard to put down becuase the plot line that was great.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT BOOK, April 26, 2000
This review is from: Gate of His Enemies (The Appomattox Saga, Book 2) (Paperback)
I really enjoyed it. It is a great book I couldn't put it down.
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