Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Confederate Lieutenant Anderson Blanks has grown weary of the War Between the States. He is all too aware of the tenuous thread that ties him to this earth ~ as he writes a letter home to his sister, he realizes he may be among the dead by the time she receives the missive. His melancholy mood is shared by other soldiers in the campsite; in the cool Virginia night, the pickets claim to hear ghosts in the woods, and their own talk spooks them.

Andy knows the “ghost” is nothing more than a wounded soldier left on the battlefield, dying in the darkness. With compassion, Andy takes the picket’s lantern and canteen in the hopes of easing the soldier’s pain. After a tense confrontation with the soldier, Andy is shocked to discover none other than Samuel Talley, a young man Andy’s father had chased from their plantation when the romantic relationship between the two boys came to light. The last time the two had seen each other, Sam had been heading west to seek his fortune, and had promised to send for Andy when he could.

Then the war broke out, and Andy had enlisted in the Confederate Army to help ease the financial burden at home. Apparently Sam had similar ideas ~ he now wears the blue coat of a Union solider.

Sam is severely wounded and infection has begun to set in. Andy can’t sneak him into his own camp for treatment because all Union soldiers are taken prisoner. But Andy’s Confederate uniform prevents him from seeking help from the nearby Union camp, as well. It’s up to Andy to tend his lover’s wound and get Sam the help he needs before it’s too late ... and before Andy’s compatriots discover Sam’s presence ...

BOOK REVIEW:
The blurb is very in depth about the plot of the story so you know what you’re getting with this historical. It’s heavily romantic and dramatic with a wounded Sam and Andy frantically trying to save his lover before Sam dies or either one of them is taken prisoner. The tension and angst run high within this story but romance lovers will adore the relationship between Sam and Andy while being satisfied with a happy ending worth the struggle and heart ache the men have been through. Once again, Snyder has penned a cleanly written story with engaging characters and a descriptive setting, injecting intensity and emotion into the prose. A little heavy on the star crossed lovers theme, but the opposing sides of the civil war make the tension and drama understandable.

The story is told in third person point of view from Andy’s perspective thus giving a more defined glimpse into his personality. Although it’s been three years since Sam was driven away from Andy’s home, Andy still grieves for his lost lover and dreams of the day they can be together. Within the time he’s been in the war, he has grown and matured, aged from the senseless violence and hardship of battle. Andy now simply wants to be with Sam and is willing to make sacrifices he wouldn’t have before to ensure their future.

Although Sam is technically the younger of the two men, he displays much more maturity and self confidence than Andy. As much of the drama in the story revolves around Andy’s frantic actions to save Sam, Sam’s personality is seen through Andy’s eyes colored by love and loyalty. Sam clearly has never given up his own dream of being with Andy and the impression is quite clear these two were buying time until they could afford to be with each other. Sam has hints of anger and bitterness given the past but wants to be with Andy so forgives past problems easily.

Any additional problems of being homosexual during the time period and so on are ignored in favor of the conflict created by the war and situation. While this may be slightly unrealistic, the focus on the characters, their relationship, and the war time setting work well in giving a romantic, satisfying love story with just enough tension and conflict. Just as some coincidences were slightly too easy and convenient for the men, though I found I didn’t mind such details. The characters and their plight are engaging and appealing, allowing you to root for their success and end up happy certain coincidences occurred in their favor.

Surprisingly enough there are no sex scenes, which I actually didn’t realize until I started writing the review due to the high level of intimacy and emotion between the men. There are memories about their time together but no explicit scenes which would have taken away from the heavy romantic tone of the book. Despite being a historical, the theme and prose will appeal to a wide variety of romance fans with a good amount of angst and conflict but never exaggerated or overwhelming. Andy describes his love affair with Sam the best when saying:

“'I mean love,' Andy replied. 'I mean someone who sets your heart on fire and consumes your soul. I mean someone you’d not only die for, but someone you can’t live without. That kind of love. Do you know it?'”

If you enjoy reading about that kind of love, be sure to pick up this story. You won’t be disappointed.

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