Penniless, her parents and brother dead, Sophia Whitfield struggles to save her beloved childhood home during the Civil War. Another bluecoat is staggering down the hill, but before Sophia allows him to rob and pilfer like the others, she shoots him. How is she to know it is Gavin, the dark knight of her youth, carrying secrets too horrific to imagine and a passion that ignites her deepest desires?
As Sophia gradually learns Gavin’s secrets-and enjoys his talents in the bedroom-she discovers how to finally know her own heart. Can she save the Land of Falling Stars, or will she lose it all to the horrors of the War and Reconstruction? And will the Southern lady and the Yankee soldier be able to recapture the bliss of their youth – this time in each other’s arms?
Sophia, Gavin and Jesse had been friends since childhood, getting into trouble here and there – basically wherever they could find it. Jesse and Sophia were promised to each other in marriage at the time of their births but as they grew older Gavin discovered that he loved Sophia with all of his heart. Being Jesse’s best friend was a huge problem so he chose to love her from afar and never tell her of his feelings for her.
When Gavin returns to Sophia’s home after being discharged from the service, and being shot by Sophia when he comes back to her, he is distraught. He’s hiding the fact that Jesse’s death is on his hands and he just wants to deliver a letter to Sophia that Jesse had given him and be on his way. He wants to die. But seeing Sophia again has ignited his desire and love for her to a level that he just can’t ignore it any longer. Though he knows that as soon as she finds out about Jesse she will hate him he can’t seem to leave her side. Sophia does end up hating him, but not for the reasons that Gavin originally thought. And when they are forced together on a long journey their love and hate walk side by side.
Sophia and Gavin were an extremely volatile couple IMHO. They loved passionately but they hated passionately as well. Sometimes this was taken to the very extreme and would border on unrealistic but then would be pulled back before it went too far. I really liked Gavin a lot for many different reasons: his undying love for Sophia, the sacrifices he made for her over the course of the book, his protectiveness. Sophia I didn’t care for quite as much. She seemed more than bratty and couldn’t, until the very end of the book, quite make up her mind what it was she wanted. I really couldn’t connect with her at all.
Despite the ups and downs of the book I found it a pleasant way to spend an evening. I usually enjoy Civil War romances and this was no different. The author made everything feel real and authentic when describing places or even what the city looked like after having been attacked. I will be reading more by this author in the future.
Rating: 3 out of 5
What a well-written review! Thank you so much. You’re not the first reader who has made similar comments about Sophia. It was my intention that her indecision and at times inability to handle situations pull emotion from readers. Be it good or bad, getting readers to love or hate characters is a GOOD thing. I like to make my characters more like real-life people, flawed, inadequate, and even extreme in their actions and words. If an author can draw these feelings from readers, I think she/he has done their job.
You have a very nice blog and again, thank you for hosting me. I enjoyed it very much.
Keta Diablo
Thank, Tracy. I’ve been looking forward to your thoughts on this book. I think I will give this a try and see how Sophia comes across to me.
I’ve been admiring this cover for a while. A thing a change from England based historicals is nice once in a while. I’ll have to look this one up. Great review.
So, they fight like cat and dogs and then have hot sex to make up?
I think this sounds very fun, and super emotional! Thanks for the review. Oh, like Barbara, I am loving the cover, too.
Hmmm, I haven’t read many books set during the Civil War except for Jake’s North and South trilogy.
This one sounds interesting, but the heroine seems meh….
Keta – thanks for stopping by. And thanks for asking me to review one of your books.
Amy – let me know your thoughts after you read the book!
Barbara – it is a pretty good cover. The book WAS a nice change from the historicals set in England. I picked up another off my shelf recently but then didn’t end up reading it by Pamela Clare – it was set in America during the 1730’s-60′. I’ve heard it’s a good trilogy.
Kb – You got it sister! lol He was mad as hell but that didn’t stop him from wanting to throw her down and do her. 🙂
CJ – Definitely emotional.
Nath – Wow – that’s one big trilogy!
Great review, Tracy!
I just have to comment on the cover. Her booby is TOTALLY NEKID.
/Bevis and Butthead moment.
Lmao @ Kati’s comment….Beavis and butthead moment. I soo could picture them two laughing aobut her exposed boobie!
lol you two are crazy! 🙂 Yes I was a little wide-eyed at the cover when I first saw it too…as I said on Sunday – the cleverly place lock of hair that just happened to fall on her breasticle.
Great review Tracy. I’ve been wondering about this one after I saw the cover – rather eye-catching *g*
Hey, thanks everyone for commenting. I so appreciate it. You have it right, Gavin and Sophia fight like hell, their relationsihp is very volatile based on outside situations that arise. And, yes, all he and she can think about is you know what even while she hates him.
Sometimes when reading a book, people need to keep in mind what era it was. Women in 1865 acted and behaved very differently than we would. They were pampered, coddled as children, especially if they grew up in the South. Think Scarlett O’Hara (one of my favorite characters). She was gorgeous, could bring a man to his knees with the rise of one eye-brow. We hated her, we felt sorry for her at the end, and yet we loved her strength. She could be mean, and she was a tortured creature. Why? Because the life she knew was torn apart when the war came, and the only way she could survive was to fight back with by using her beauty, her smarts.
In some ways, Sophia is like Scarlett, you hate her and you want to slap her into oblivion at times. If you read Land of Fallnig Stars, I thank you, and I would like you to enter Sophia’s mind as you read. How would you react under the same tragic situations, and how would you fight back? Remember the era and try to place yourself there. You are a very coddled woman, who was never exposed to any sort of controversy, angst or the powerful love of a man who has waited a lifetime to have her look at him the way she’s always looked at his best friend, Jesse.
Thanks again for the review and I’m so happy with all the comments. Disliking a character brings controversy and that’s a good thing!
Best, Keta Diablo
LOL, yeah 🙂 Well, I’ve been addicted to the tv series since I was young (like 5 years old… don’t ask me why ^_^;); however, I couldn’t get my hands on all of the episodes… so when I start reading, I read the trilogy. North and South and Love and War were the best… Heaven and Hell, meh.