Theater manager Matthew Scott is abducted and conscripted into the Confederate army because of his Copperhead senator father’s political leanings. Injured at Malvern Hill, Matthew is taken by the Union army to Shirley Plantation in Virginia where he is tended by seamstress Angelina Rose, a beautiful woman who unbeknownst to him is a freed slave. Given an opportunity to leave the South and start a … start a new life for herself, Angelina remained for the sake of her sister’s orphaned twins who are still enslaved. Matthew must use his acting skills to remain safe, not realizing Angelina is merely playing the role of being a member of the Carter family, owners of the plantation. Will Matthew’s return to Shirley Plantation settle a mystery concerning his father’s past? And will he and Angelina find the family they long for?
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I really enjoyed this story. I loved that Matthew was able to learn a bit about his family’s past that had been hidden from him. I also loved that Angelina, instead of following her desires, listened to God’s leading even when it didn’t make a lot of sense. I really liked that the author was able to show Angelina what would have happened had she not followed God’s leading. I would recommend this book.
God’s Appointed Time
Inspirational story that unveils history in a most intriguing way and encourages trust and faith in the Lord! The storytelling is enchanting with an unexpected twist.
A really compelling Civil War romance
Audiobook version: 5 stars overall, 5 stars story, 5 narration
This is the first book by Carrie Fancett Pagels that I have experienced, and it really blew me away with both the unique storyline of the African-American experience and the diligent historical research. This 2.5-hour audiobook novella is a clean (just kissing) Christian historical romance set in Virginia during the Civil War. The location is Shirley Plantation, which is a real place with a detailed, published history, according to the notes at the end of the audiobook. In addition, most of the minor characters were real people, and the details of the Civil War in the book really happened. Angelina and Matthew were very likable and admirable people. Their romance was light, but the entire story was very compelling. I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who likes unusual historical romance, Christian romance, or Civil War romance.
One really wonderful and unique aspect of this story is providing the perspective of people in the South who looked white but were slaves. Of course, the institution of slavery was horrifying, but I learned something from this book that I hadn’t realized before. Evidently, by the Civil War, there had been so many generations of nonconsensual or consensual sex between white people and slaves that there were a significant number of slaves who were only 1/4 to 1/16 African American. Since the cruel condition of slavery was automatically transferred to the children of slaves, some of the slaves looked as white as their owners. I won’t go into specifics about which characters in the book were in this situation so that I don’t give any spoilers.
The Christian aspect of the story is really strong. There is a lot of praying, quoting of Bible verses, and thinking about God by multiple characters. I am not very religious. If this novella had been longer, the Christian aspect might have been too intense for me. As it was, it seemed appropriate for these historical characters and I loved the audiobook as a whole.
The solo narrator Cecily White did a fantastic job. She showed an admirable repertoire of authentic accents from Virginia, Ohio, and South Carolina. She is remarkably skilled at both men’s and women’s voices. Her pacing wonderfully conveyed the dangerously tense situation of two armies taking over the plantation at different times and the uncertain destinies of the characters. I would love to listen to more from this very talented narrator.
I requested and received a free audiobook copy via #AudiobookObsession, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
#AudiobookObsession Reviewer