I remember reading Civil War romances when I first started reading romances as a teenager, but they seem to be out of fashion now. (American romances in general, actually, except possibly Westerns.) It’s always surprising to me that American romances aren’t more popular with American readers, especially when historical sites and nonfiction continue to be so popular.
The Prisoner by Cheryl Reavis
(1992, Civil War) 7/1/12
Grade: 2.5
When Union soldier John Howe escapes from his NC prison in the middle of the Civil War, Confederate Amanda Douglas is forced to go along with him as he escapes back to Washington. But once they arrive in the North, everything changes, and Amanda finds herself out of place, and yearning to be back home – despite the unhappy life she led there.
I was intrigued to read a book set during the Civil War, and was hoping this one would be great. Unfortunately, it was not. The first part of the book was a road romance, and even though it felt disjointed and rushed, it seemed to fit the story. But it never improved. Individual scenes were sometimes quite good, but the storyline just felt thrown together, with decisions made for no apparent reason and plot points thrown in and out at random. This was one of those books where all the problems could have been solved if the hero and heroine just talked to each other, and it left me feeling very frustrated.
I started to wonder if it was my fault that I haven’t enjoyed the last few books I read, but there were definitely a lot of flaws in this book. So many things left unexplained…
Karen Wheless
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