Overview

Talk of impending war is a steady drumbeat throughout North Carolina, though Joetta McBride pays it little heed. She and her husband, Ennis, have built a modest but happy life for themselves, raising two sons, fifteen-year-old Henry, and eleven-year-old Robert, on their small subsistence farm. They do not support the Confederacy’s position on slavery, but Joetta considers her family to be neutral, believing this is simply not their fight.

Her opinion is not favored by many in their community, including Joetta’s own father-in-law, Rudean. A staunch Confederate supporter, he fills his grandsons’ heads with stories about the glory of battle and the Southern cause until one night Henry runs off to join the war. At Joetta’s frantic insistence, Ennis leaves to find their son and bring him home.

But soon weeks pass with no word from father or son and Joetta is battered by the strain of running a farm with so little help. As the country becomes further entangled in the ramifications of war, Joetta finds herself increasingly at odds with those around her—until one act of kindness brings her family to the edge of even greater disaster.

Review

Joetta and her husband have carved a nice life out of their farm and family. But when the Civil War breaks out, their lives change drastically.

It has been quite a while since I have read a book set in this time period. This used to be my JAM! No idea why I got away from it. But, this book has reeled me back in. This story is a bit of a different take on the Civil War. Most of the novels are about slavery, starvation and the war. This book is more about how someone was treated in the south if they did not choose a side.

Joetta is very staunch in her beliefs. And she pays for it in more ways than one. She loses her son, her crops and her friends. She hangs in there through all the drama but it takes a toll.

This story will have your emotions all over the place. One minute you are near tears, the next you are terrified. But the love of family shines through!

The narrator, Tiffany Morgan, is great! Her pacing is perfect!

Need a tale you will not soon forget…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

This book release January 23, 2024.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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