Unwilling Warrior: Seasons of Redemption, Book Onevolume 1

There is nothing I like better than a good historical book. I love to read about the Civil War and that era. Unwilling Warrior did just that, a great book, I met Valerie Fontaine and Benjamin McCabe. These two fall in love but face strong obstacles during their romance. Valerie and Benjamin learn to lean the Lord," Psa.55:22, and find that God does indeed sustain them through loss and uncertainty as well as treachery & deceit from the wicked James & designing Catherine. Although the War Between the States makes it unsafe to travel, following the death of her mother, Valerie Fontaine leaves her Virginia boarding school to come home to New Orleans. However, her father lets her know that she is unwelcome. Her father decides to marry Valerie off to neighbor James Ladden who she despises. She prefers his guest combat photographer Benjamin McCabe who is in town searching for his missing brother Luke who vanished during the Battle of Bull Run. Will Valerie have to marry James? Does Luke find his brother or was he lost in the war between the states? Thanks to Rebecca at Glass Roads for this copy to review

There is nothing I love better than to snug into my favorite chair and be transported to another time, another place and be "caught up" in the lives of people who become like family to me. Andrea's book, Unwilling Warrior did just that! I was carried to the South during the Civil War where I met Valerie Fontaine and Benjamin McCabe. These two fall in love but face strong obstacles during their romance. Yankee vs Rebel intrigue, grieving & unreasonable relatives & more, leave you wondering "What next?" However, Valerie and Benjamin learn to "Cast [their] burden upon the Lord," Psa.55:22, and find that God does indeed sustain them through loss and uncertainty as well as treachery & deceit from the wicked James & designing Catherine. Each character in Andrea's book is believable and "real." It is obvious that Civil War history and photography during that time period were well researched. These, combined with excellent story-telling made me sorry when "The End" was reached-and anxious for the second book in the Seasons of Redemption series. When it comes out you will find me once again in my favorite chair renewing my friendship with the McCabe family and being encouraged by the evidence of God's power and care in our lives.

Although the War Between the States makes it unsafe to travel, following the death of her mother, Valerie Fontaine leaves her Virginia boarding school to come home to New Orleans. However, her father makes it clear she is unwelcome. Her dad decides to marry Valerie off perhaps to neighbor James Ladden who she despises. She prefers his guest combat photographer Benjamin McCabe who is in town searching for his missing brother Luke who vanished during the Battle of Bull Run. He is nice to her and falls in love with her. When her dad is arrested, he sends her to his home promising he will follow her once he finds Luke. However, she finds his home unwelcoming while her beloved continues his search for his younger brother. The first Season of Redemption, Unwilling Warriors is a strong inspirational with a message that God is there for those who are there for the Lord even at the darkest loneliest moments. The story line transports readers to the Civil War in which many people feel God abandoned them, but those who find their way back or who have never lost their way will find the Lord helping them with their grief, sorrow and remorse. With a strong cast especially the heroine and a wonderful sense of time and place, Andrea Kuhn Boeshaar provides an insightful opening tale as Valerie logically knows how untrue her feelings are yet still feels abandoned by her father, her beloved and even God. Harriet Klausner

Unwilling Warrior is a Civil War romance. Valerie returns home to New Orleans from her young women's school in Virginia after her mother's death only find that her father doesn't want her there. His house guest is a young man who is a photographer photographing the Confederate army and battles while he searches for his younger brother. It is a delightful book full of anxious moments, good character development, surprises, spys, personal dramas, and realistic descriptions of areas as well as the lives of those who weren't actually involved in the fighting. A reminder that life continues and God keeps working things out for those who follow him no matter what the political agendas of the times. It is the first in a series and promises future intriguing stories for the family of characters. Special thanks to Anna Coelho Silva | Publicity Coordinator, Book Group | Strang Communications for sending me a review copy for the FIRST blog tour. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

I would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank you" to Andrea Boeshaar and her publisher for sending me a copy of "An Unwilling Warrior" to review for them. I have always been grateful for this generosity, and I am trying to improve at being consistent in taking the time to thank these wonderfully giving individuals in a public forum. I really appreciate your time, effort and expense in making a reviewer copy available to me. I have only just begun to read this novel, and my heart and imagination are already captured by the time and place and characters. Valerie Fontaine has returned to New Orleans from her studies in Virginia after the death of her mother makes her long for home. The war between the states is well underway, and it is too dangerous for her to return east, so she remains in Louisiana and in the company of a guest of her father, Benjamin McCabe. He is a war photographer who has become separated from his brother, a preacher, during the battle of Bull Run. Benjamin must find his brother and protect Valerie, and their future together, in the face of war in this vividly created world that I constantly have to remind myself is fictional. Andrea Boeshaar has done a brilliant job of painting this war-torn southern landscape in "An Unwilling Warrior". I am having a difficult time putting this book down to get some sleep. I highly recommend that you read this book over a weekend when you might be able to sacrifice some shut-eye.