Hearts Divided (The Quaker And The Confederate)

Hearts Divided (The Quaker and the Confederate)

ReviewWilla Mae Tyler and Surry Lion have been secret friends since they were seven--secret because it was pre-Civil War Virginia, and Willa is white and Surry is a black slave. But as the war begins and Surry is brutalized by a vicious overseer, the girls go their separate ways--Surry to freedom in the North and Willa into the Confederate Army disguised as a boy. Then willa meets Quaker Levi Clement, pacifist and mill owner, and all their lives will never be the same. VERDICT Compelling characters and descriptive historical detail draw readers into this soul-wrenching drama, leaving them looking forward to the next installment in "The Quaker and the Confederate" duet, with HEARTS PERSUADED coming in September. Sundell (MEGGIE'S REMAINS) divides her time between Colorado and California. --Library JournalVirginia during the Civil War.The American Civil War caused any number of problems, besides battle, to the citizens of Virginia. Parts of the state were anti-slavery, other parts, die-hard Confederates, and it's this conflict that is the backbone of this novel.Willa and Surry have grown up near each other, but they might as well be miles apart. Willa's family owns a small farm, and Surry is the daughter of slaves at a large plantation nearby. They become friends as children, and that friendship will survive and be tested as war clouds form over their homeland. Also nearby is Levi Clement, a hyoung Quaker who is steadfast in his belief of non-violence and that slavery is evil. He is bethrothed to Comfort Clarke, but as war erupts in his state, the life he had planned is quickly changing.Willa has learned that despite her hatred of slavery, defending Virginia is more important. When her brothers march off to war, she runs away shortly afterwards and disguises herself as a boy to join the Confederate Army. Her experiences rae not what she expected, but she will not let the fact that she is a woman stop her from protecting her beliefs. Meanwhile, Surry and her siblings are left to try and escape the tyranny and attempt to use the Underground Railroad to move north to freedome. All the while each young woman prays for the safety of the other.Levi's beliefs are stretched to the limit as war escalates and the southern army takes over his father's mill, and soon the very church where they worship. When he spies a young soldier at the church, he's sure it is a woman, but what would a woman be doing at war?HEARTS DIVIDED, The Quaker and the Confederate, is the first book in a two part Civil War series. Well researched and with interesting characters, this is a book that will be enjoyed by all who are interested in this sad part of our country's history. --Romance Reviews Today"There is no period in time so poignant as the American Civil War--yet love always shines through. What a beautiful book about PEOPLE!" --Author Heather Graham"Trapped in one of our nation's most terrible conflicts, two unlikely people find each other. Their love story against the background of the Civil War, is one you'll remember long after you read the final page. Joanne Sundell presents us with another superb set of novels." --Author Alice DuncanSet in Virginia, tells the story of three children, Willa, Surrey, and Levi, who face a different future than they envisioned as the Civil War breaks out.From the AuthorThis historical romance, HEARTS DIVIDED (book one in The Quaker and the Confederate duet) would not have been possible without all of the historians, novelists, Civil War buffs, and internet academics, who've so ably and meticulously researched, then set pen to paper, chronicling this turbulent time in our nation's history. Beyond these resources, I had the opportunity to visit and collect invaluable archival data from rich-in-history Virginia and West Virginia bookshops and historical museums. Born and raised in Virginia, I learned early-on that the ground I trod was hallowed, the battle cries across fields such a