Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Sisters of Shiloh
Sisters of Shiloh
Sisters of Shiloh
Audiobook7 hours

Sisters of Shiloh

Written by Kathy Hepinstall and Becky Hepinstall

Narrated by Xe Sands

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Joseph and his cousin Thomas are struggling to survive in the Confederate Army. But even as they face the horrors of war, they have a secret which could free them: they're sisters, Josephine and Libby. Libby's husband, joined the army not long after their wedding and died in the Battle of Antietam. Libby finds his body on the unimaginably bloody field, Josephine already-suspiciously at his side. Libby, mad with sorrow, decides to disguise herself as a man, and she sets off to kill twenty-one Yankees, one for each year of her husbands life. Josephine, disguised as Joseph, goes along with her sister. As Libby proves herself as a competent soldier, Arden begins to appear to her in dreams, driving her on and whispering accusations about Josephine. Josephine then finds herself caught in another kind of danger: she's falling in love for the first time, but she is desperately afraid of revealing herself to the object of her desire.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 3, 2015
ISBN9781622315994
Sisters of Shiloh

Related to Sisters of Shiloh

Related audiobooks

Literary Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Sisters of Shiloh

Rating: 3.6894736800000003 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

95 ratings43 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a book about the lengths people go for love. In this case that involves both sibling love and romantic love. The backdrop is the Civil War in the south. This book is written with really dense language, but it fits the narrative and is very descriptive in a positive way. The story of two sisters risking their lives to join the Confederate Army as men was intriguing and held my interest throughout. I thought the authors did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life, especially Wesley and Josephine. I did find it hard to sympathize with the character of Libby for most of the book, but I understood her more toward the end. Also, the authors really evoked the horror of war. This book was a quick, but satisfying read. I would recommend it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Libby and Josephine are sisters living in the south around the time of the Civil War. Libby fell in love with their neighbor, Arden and they married. Shortly thereafter Arden joined the Rebels and left for battle. Libby moved back home but she missed her husband. Eventually Libby talked her sister, Josephine, into traveling with her to find Arden. Since it was not safe for them to travel as women they both disguised themselves as men. They were able to find Arden after a particularly fierce battle. Josephine got to him first and knew that he was not going to make it much longer. At first Arden wanted to see his wife, but by the time Libby arrived, Arden was dead. Libby suspected that Josephine had killed Arden since she has always hated him foir taking away her sister. The sisters are discovered, but since they were dressed as men, they ended up as part of the rebel army. They story recounts their time in the service. I found the book to be well written and easy to read. *Library Thing Win
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was granted access to the digital review copy of Sisters of Shiloh in Edelweiss by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

    This is not the first work of historical fiction about women serving in the Civil War but it has the twist of two sisters joining forces to write riveting war scenes about two sisters, disguised as men and joining the Confederacy.

    Libby, the younger sister, recently widowed, vows revenge for the death of her husband, Arden. Josephine, believing that she must protect her sister at all cost, reluctantly joins her in enlisting in the Confederacy as "Thomas and Joseph".

    The Beale sisters endure eight months of hell in the Stonewall Brigade and the descriptions of the war itself place you on the battlefield with them. Libby/Thomas is obsessed with the loss of Arden and relives scenes from their short marriage over and over in her mind. Eventually those memories slips into madness with her ghostly, Arden, directing her revenge for his death. She, in effect, becomes Arden in manner and speech.

    Josephine/Joseph sees her sole role in the war as protecting Libby/Thomas from herself and the dangers of war. She secretly tries to stay true to herself as a woman while outwardly projecting the manly image necessary to remain disguised.
    To fail at the subterfuge would cost her the close relationship with her sister.

    The battle scenes are very descriptive. It seems somewhat impossible that the two sisters can live so close to the bloodshed yet despite their inept battle skills emerge unharmed. Like a tornado that rips through a neighborhood mysteriously bypassing some homes there must be instances of blind luck in war.

    Josephine/Joseph feeling isolated and emotionally alone in battles not of her choosing finds a friend in a fellow soldier. She finds herself falling in love with him and despairs that she can't reveal herself as woman to him.

    As a librarian, I was drawn to the use of literature as a source of relief from the war by the Confederate soldiers. In this story, the five part English translation of the 1862 French novel, Les Miserables, seemed necessary to their mental health. For those readers wanting to know more about the importance of this work to both sides of the Civil War please Google the following: "In Camp, Reading ‘Les Miserables’" by Louis P. Masur.

    I enjoyed the book and recommend it to readers of historical fiction and women's issues.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a quite well-written quick read about two young women surviving the civil war and handling tragedy in whatever ways they could. Once the first few pages dealing with the reason for the women's masquerade as soldiers is over, the plot really picks up and the reader gets an interesting ride through a dangerous atmosphere of death and dying, love and madness. There's a lot to like in this, but if the first few pages tell you anything it's that the characters will not be very deep, and the relationships between them even less so. There is nothing new in terms of original characters or even plot, but the story clips along quite well in a dramatic, not melodramatic fashion, and it makes a good light read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Novels set in the time period of the Civil War are hit or miss with me, and this one was a hit! I'm sure Xe Sands narration skills helped the enjoyment for me as I find myself enjoying almost any book she is reading to me. I must say that I also find it interesting that two sisters wrote this book together, that happens to be about two sisters.Libby and Josephine grew up in a good home with all their needs provided for. Libby has always been a gentle soul while Josephine seemed to handle some of the hardships of life better. When Libby's husband dies in a battle, Libby's grief pushes her mind to a scary place. Not only does she talk Josephine into the two of them disguising themselves as men to join the army, but she even acts like a man at times when it is not needed.The lives of the two sisters take a dramatic turn after joining the army. They have to be secretive with all their actions, lest their secret is discovered. When Josephine finds herself becoming attracted to a fellow soldier, Libby finds herself getting angry with Josephine's carelessness. It comes down to Josephine making a decision and having to choose between her only sister or the only love she has experienced in her young life.As I indicated earlier, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this novel. With themes of mental illness, familial obligations, and love, you may enjoy it as much as I did. I don't hesitate in recommending this novel for either personal leisure or as a book club discussion.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Libby's life and sanity falls apart when her husband is killed in the Battle of Sharpsburg. Her sister Josephine's falls apart when she joins the Confederate Army to protect her sister Libby. Disguised as male cousins, they march across the countryside...Libby determined to kill 21 soldiers to avenge her fallen husband, Josephine to protect her sister. Along the way, these sisters and soldiers will discover the atrocities of war, the joys and sorrows of humanity, and the bond of everlasting love.This was a very good book that brought a female perspective of war, love, and family and makes one realize that war is not only fought on the battlefield, but in the mind and the heart as well.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    *I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.*A tale of two sisters who join the Confederate Army, Libby to avenge her husband's death and Josephine to protect Libby from her own grief. Careless to the danger to herself, Libby is determined to kill a Yankee for every year of her husband's life, and Josephine is desperate to stop her sister from this self-destructive path. An enjoyable read, although not always plausible - I thought Josephine's romance with Wesley was unlikely, but still worth the time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    ARC; historical fiction set during the civil war in Virginia. When her husband is killed in the early days of the way, Libby changes herself into Thomas to join the confederate army. Sister Josephine won't let her go by herself, so she turns into Joseph and they join up together. Interesting picture of a year in the civil war from a soldier's perspective. A bit of poetic license with some of the facts (I lived in that area, so I know not all of the info was as presented). But a very good tale overall
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I couldn't put this book down! The first page is a flash forward, and I couldn't help getting swept up in the lives of the two sisters and impatiently awaiting the moment the book caught up to the first page. I loved the conviction of both sisters - one fighting to avenge her dead husband, the other to protect her sister. The depiction of the Civil War was pretty spot on, and I loved how certain parts were depicted in all the gruesome horror of war while others were glossed over to keep the reader from feeling too miserable while reading. It is a great read for anyone who loves an empowered heroine (or two!) and a mix of great research and suspenseful fiction.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Sisters of Shiloh by Kathy and Becky Hepinstall starts with a flash forward with Libby meeting her dead husband, Arden, in the woods. She and her sister were fighting for the South in the American Civil War as men.I had read about this little known fact of women fighting as men in the Civil before but I could not imagine how they carried it off. The two sister authors have their characters, Libby and Josephine cut their hair, don soldier clothes and practice the mannerisms of men. Then you understand how it would be possible.Besides that demonstration,the sister authors mix a story of one sister, Libby, who is losing her mind with grief over her husband. She vows to take vengeance on the Yankees by killing one for each of the years that he lived. Her sister, Josephine, didn’t want to go to war but she knew that her sister had never been the same since her bout with black water fever, so she accompanied Libby with the idea of protecting her.The battle scenes are very gritty and bring the experience of war to life with the sounds, smells and the strange things that happen. Things like men dying without a scratch on them and the aftermath of the battle with amputated limbs flying through windows. All the hospital scenes are perfect in detail as I have read nonfiction accounts of the medical treatment of the soldiers. The lack of food, good shoes and warm clothes are also very vividly pictured in this story.The sister Libby makes this story dark, she cannot adjust to a life without Arden and the ghost that she replaces him with is uncaring and vicious. Josephine’s love is so forgiving and understanding that it stands in direct contrast to her sister. She falls for Wesley who is war weary and wants to just leave the war and never return. I would really welcome more stories backed up by historical research of the Civil War by the Hepinstall sisters. I really enjoyed reading this story and appreciate the heavy load of research that went into it to make the story historically accurate.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I got this copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*Some spoilers ahead*I've always been interested in the Civil War, especially women from that time. This book just could not hold my interest. I was not able to get a good sense of who the characters were as individuals, especially Lilly. She seemed like her entire viewpoint on everything was molded by what her husband, Arden told her to think. The writing itself was bland and dry to me. I'm not really sure how I felt about Josephine. I was really hoping that Lilly would have been able to become her own person once Arden was gone to fight in the war but his letters continued to sway her, even to the point where she verbally attacked someone who had a different viewpoint on the war. Even after Arden's death, he is still pulling Lilly along this crazy line. It was rather annoying. I'm really glad I got this for free and didn't pay for this book. Not a book for me at all.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Xe Sands narration was wonderful she had distinct voices for both of these women and she was able to give emotion to what these women were going through in a wonderful way especially with Libby towards the end.These two sisters are really as different as can be, yet are so close that they both dress up as men and enter the fray of war. Libby decides first to do it; she is going to kill 21 men one for every year her dear husband was alive but killing someone isn’t as mindless as the soldiers would like you to think. Josephine can’t let her sister go off on her own so also dresses as a man and goes off to war. Although Libby does become a very good soldier Josephine ends up with feelings for a fellow soldier but he thinks she is a man and doesn’t want or can’t return those feelings.The characters aren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked I would have liked to know what their life was like before this , were they strong women before they joined were they spoiled society girls, farm girls I never really got a feel of where they came from, or who they were outside of the world of war. And as Libby starts to lose her grip on reality and Josephine is pining for a fellow soldier who is confused about his own attraction to another man, the ending for me is where the story kind of falls apart it felt rushed and unfinished to me.This was a pretty good story but maybe I read this too soon after finishing a similar book (Neverhome) maybe I should have put more time in-between.All in all this isn’t a bad book it’s a good story I just wish there had been more character development.3 stars
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I once had a wonderful American History teacher, who talked about women who disguised themselves as men in order to fight alongside their husbands, brothers, fathers, friends, on both sides of the Civil War. These women entered the war for many various reasons, some out of conviction, others out of a fierce need to protect or be near their male counterparts. So I was very glad to be selected to win a copy of Sisters of Shiloh from LibraryThing, a historical fiction piece that features sisters Josephine and Libby, who join the Rebel fighters after Libby's young husband Arden is killed in battle. Libby is determined to avenge her husband's death by killing at least 21 Yankees, (one for each year of her husband's life) and Josephine is just as determined to convince her sister to quit this insanity and go home, also to try to keep her sister alive. This book appears well researched, and the historical setting is detailed and realistic. The violence of war is felt, the fears, and the pain are all here. But the greatest emphasis of this story is the relationships, between the two sisters, between Libby and her dead husband, and between these two women, who are seen as young naïve men by their fellow soldiers, and those other soldiers. This is the second book I have read by Kathy Hepinstall, and I have found both to be compelling and engaging.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I received this book as an Early Reviewer. More than a 3 and less than a 4 is the real score. It's funny isn't it how sometimes you end up reading books that are similar very close together in time for some random reason? I also just recently read The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell for a challenge I am doing this year which I had had sitting on my Kindle for a while, and then this giveaway came along. Both novels involved women masquerading as men, one set just prior to the Civil War, and this one in the thick of it. This was the better of the two as far as my tastes go, and I think a little better written as well. I got a feeling at the beginning that I was going to be upset and dislike Josephine, and I knew I didn't care for Arden, but it came around, and only stuck to Arden, as I expect any other reader will understand. Good if you like Civil War, historically juicy with detail, and strong women. Also, mental illness or ghosts, depending on your own beliefs. I had not realized that Blue Asylum was written by KH as well. It is on my list and I look forward to it more now.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really liked this book!!! It was so unique and different than anything I have ever read before, so that was absolutely refreshing!!! As a woman, I love books that empower women and make them the hero of the story and in this case, they were absolutely both heros. Good read!!!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    War is brutal. War is cruel. War destroys families and friendships. War pits brother against brother, sister against sister, father against son and daughter. Yet, we keep on fighting, killing, and dying.From the opening sentence of Authors Kathy & Becky Hepinstall’s new historical fiction novel, SISTERS OF SHILOH, to the final sentence of the story, I was enchanted. First of all, the Civil War Era is my favorite time period in history. When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I’m so glad I did. It was all I had hoped for, and more. Second, the characters are mystical and magical, yet real with their good points and their faults.The story begins with Libby, the pretty daughter, talking to Arden, her dead husband, then moves to 1855, Winchester, Virginia, where we learn about Libby and her older sister, Josephine, the pale sister with the chipped tooth. The sisters are best friends, until Libby falls in love with Arden, the new boy next door, leaving Josephine with no place to belong and a bit resentful of Libby’s new best friend. Time passes. Libby and Arden marry. Arden joins the Confederate Army. Their happy lives no longer exist. The authors take the reader on a journey with the soldiers, showing the ugly side of war. The cold the soldiers endure, the hopeful spirit of the men and also the fear and sometimes resignation of the inevitable: death. Descriptive scenes of battle, of happier times, and of friendships formed and lost may bring tears to your eyes. They did mine, because though this is a fictional book the events portrayed actually happened. SISTER OF SHILOH tells the story of brave men and women that gave their all for what they believed in, and their lives were changed forever. If you enjoy historical fiction, the Civil War Era especially, you have to read SISTER OF SHILOH. As best as I can tell, the authors research is spot on, as they tell the story of America, perhaps of your own ancestors. This novel is a must addition for school libraries, as well as your personal library.The publisher sent me an ARC for my honest review. Thank you, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.###
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm a historical fiction fan, and this book met my expectations. Two sisters, Libby and Josephine, disguise themselves as soldiers. Libby is avenging her husband's death, and the writing is so descriptive and captivating readers will feel that they are in the midst of these battles. Although the characters are forced and contrived, the historical aspects and writing overcame these shortfalls. This is a great book for historical fiction fans.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Two sisters enter the fighting of the Civil War disguised as male cousins in "The Sisters of Shiloh" by Kathy and Becky Hepinstall. One joins up to avenge the death of her husband on the battlefield and the other to watch over her sister. Civil War novels often offer a sanitized picture of the fight, but the Hepinstalls have created a story that contains some of the grit.....the hunger, the fleas, the exhaustion, and the horror of battle wounds...beside an engaging tale of love between sisters, of soldiers banding together, and of love found. While I would not expect to see "The Sisters of Shiloh" on the best seller shelf of my bookstore, it definitely has a place at all parks and museums among the other Civil War books. I received a copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I received this book as an ARC from librarything.com. Some elements I really enjoyed, but I had a hard time with Libby. She never rang true to me, I kept saying in my mind, "Oh, come on." I never had a problem with them passing as men, but Libby's obsession seemed overwrought.I enjoyed the description of the life of the soldiers when not fighting and the fact they were reading "Les Miserables" was interesting.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    There have been a number of books recently about women fighting as men during the Civil War including Laird Hunt's Neverhome and Karen Abbott's nonfiction Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy. In Sisters of Shiloh, Libby's husband dies fighting for the Confederacy and Libby falls into a deep depression. Eventually she decides to avenge his death by going off to war masquerading as a man. Worried about Libby, her sister Josephine ends up going along. Sisters of Shiloh effectively illuminates the hardships that the soldiers faced, the horrific battles they went through, and the PTSD they faced afterward (though, of course, it wasn't called that at the time). Recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book “Sisters of Shiloh” fits the category of historical fiction which is one of my favorite reads. It tells the story of two sisters who pose as male soldiers during the Civil War. Concerned for her husband Libby searches a battle site and sister Josephine in support helps with the search. His death leads Libby to madness and vengeance; she becomes a soldier of the Confederate Army to kill one Yankee for every year of his young life. Josephine joins her in attempt to protect her.The story is written with a smooth prose and descriptive style that makes it a pleasure to read. The sisters find the harshness of war, deprivation, starvation only to grow apart. Josephine finds love and with time Libby finds sanity and deals better with her grief.I enjoyed the story and read it in one sitting. I will be looking for more to read from these authors. Thank you for providing this advanced reading copy
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sisters of Shiloh is well written story of 2 sisters who disguise themselves as men to join the Confederate army. The historical aspect was well written – you can feel all the terror of the Civil War. Unlike battle scenes, characters lacked realism. They feel flat and hard to sympathize. Overall, it’s a quick and easy read.I received this book from the publisher as a member of the Early Reviewers in return for my honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It may have been uncommon, but it was certainly not unheard of for women to disguise themselves as men during the Civil War years so that they might join the fight on one side or the other. Sisters of Shiloh, co-authored by sisters Kathy and Becky Hepinstall, tells the story of two fictional Virginia women who do exactly that.Growing up in Winchester, Josephine and Libby were everything to each other. Josephine, a year older than Libby, was the plain one, a shy little girl who was never quite at ease in the company of strangers. Libby, on the other hand, was a pretty child so at ease in the world that her older sister easily faded into the background. It was inevitable that someone would come between the sisters - and that someone came along in the person of Arden, the little boy who invaded the sisters' orchard hideaway when Josephine was thirteen and Libby twelve.When, despite the pleas of Libby for him not to do it, the newly wed Arden sneaks away to join the Confederate army, Libby finding it impossible to wait at home alone, decides to catch up with him. Josephine, ever her sister's protector, joins her, but by the time they find Arden at Antietam it is too late to save him from his fate. Libby, though, is not ready to quit the fight; she wants vengeance and vows to kill with her own hands one Yankee soldier for every one of the twenty-one years Arden lived before dying to a Yankee bullet. As members of Jackson's famous Stonewall Brigade, she will get her chance to do exactly that - but only if she and Josephine can make their fellow soldiers believe that they are men - and if Libby does not first slip into madness. More and more often as the war grinds on, Arden comes to Libby in the dark of night, and what he hints about her sister is not pretty. He urges Libby to keep killing Yankees but seems equally concerned about making her understand what really happened between him and Josephine on the day he died at Antietam. Sisters of Shiloh tells the story of two remarkable women who refuse to accept the roles and places assigned to them by the mores of their time. Instead, they do what their hearts tell them is right: they take full control of their own lives and experience the defining events of their generation. Libby and Josephine may be fictional characters, but it is important to remember that there were scores of real women who did the same thing during America's Civil War. How they pulled it off is hard to imagine, but novels like Sisters of Shiloh offer a glimpse into their world and into their heads.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sisters of Shiloh by Kathy and Becky Hepinstall is the story of two sisters, Josephine and Libby, who masquerade as men to join the Confederate army. They do this because Libby’s husband is killed fighting in the war. She swears to avenge his death by joining the army and killing one Yankee for each of his years of life. Josephine, worried about her sister, goes with her to protect her. This is a story of love – between Libby and her husband, and between the two sisters. It is written very well – and seems to be historically accurate. I did have trouble getting into it – and then thought it did drag in some places. The descriptions of the girls’ lives as soldiers was very well written. However, I don’t feel that I got to know them very well. I would have liked more character development. I received an ARC copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was very easy to get into but very hard to read at times because it was written so well. One really felt like they were observing a Civil War battle and marching from one campsite to another. The authors did an outstanding job of making you believe that the sisters, Libby and Josephine were really men as they disguised themselves as men and entered the Rebel army to avenge Libby's dead soldier husband. But the love between these two sisters held everything together. The twists at the end needed more details, especially at the very end. Overall I would recommend this book but would let the reader know that it did describe battles as bloody as they really were.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sisters of Shiloh is the story of two sisters Josephine and Libby who are very close until a boy moves into the neighborhood and Josephine falls in love with Arden and ignores her sister. Arden goes off to fight in the Civil War and soon his wife decides that she needs to be near him. Her sister decides that she needs to go to protect her sister. So the two sisters study the mannerisms of men and become Joseph and Thomas and become soldiers fighting in the battles. The war scenes are graphic and Josephine is haunted by the ghost of her dead husband. I thought that the book was well researched and well written. I would have liked more character development of the two main characters and the ending was a a bit confusing and rushed. Overall it was a very good book and I would highly recommend it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This beautifully written and captivating novel explores the depths of love between sisters. Having a younger sister that I am very close with myself, I was easily able to identify with the characters, particularly that of Josephine. Her devotion to her sister through all her trials and tribulations is endearing and inspirational. And I am always a fan of tales about strong women. Would gladly read this one again - 5 stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As a life-long resident of the American south, I thought the author did a good job of writing about the impact of war on this region of the country. People died of starvation, their homes and farms were destroyed, families were torn apart as evidenced by this book. The cover is beautiful and evokes the beauty and elegance of the Old South, at least the façade of the south. As we all know there was ugliness beneath this façade. The sisters of the story seemed genuine and their bravery was amazing. I enjoyed this book and easily rate it four stars.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I received this book from Librarything in exchange for my honest review.Sisters of Shiloh by Kathy Hepinstall is about the love of two sisters. The younger sister falls in love with a man who, frankly, I did not like. He joins the Confederate Army and dies in battle. So his wife joins the army as a man and her sister follows. Libby is determined to kill a Union soldier for every year he was alive. Her sister Josephine tries to protect her sister who is slowly going mad. In the meantime Josephine finds a love of her own and discovers her own strengths and weaknesses. I enjoyed this unique yet tragic twist of a love story. I did find some slow moments and was sometimes annoyed with the constant prescience of a ghost (you will see) as I din not particularly like him to begin with. Overall 3 stars.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Young Joseph and Thomas join the confederate army to fight the Union but they have a secret…Their real names are Josephine and Libby, sisters concealing their true identities for the cake of fighting for the cause. When Libby’s husband dies at the bloodiest battle of the war—Antietam—she swears vengeance and sneaks off to join Stonewall Jackson’s brigade. Josephine, fearful for her grief-stricken sister, takes off and joins her sister’s side… their lives will never be the same.As a Civil War buff I was a bit disappointed, while the historical aspect was well written, I felt the character development was a bit lackluster. The opening story of Libby and her husband, Arden, was flat and pithy therefore I could not truly feel her grief or connect with her character’s need for vengeance. I would say the same about the relationship between the sisters, I know there is a bond but never felt it was as close and it should have been—at least on Josephine’s side as she sacrificed so much for her ungrateful sister. Overall, it was a quick read that kept my attention throughout but it felt rushed from beginning to end.