In April 1860, Dr. Ryder Cole returns home from his studies, sure of his abilities and on fire to serve his country and preserve the Union. A panther attack threatens to cut his life short until a young woman with a rife and a sure-shot eye appears out of the mist. Then she disappears, re-turning as Tom Boyde, his comrade throughout America’s Civil War, and as Diana, met in a Washington D.C. … whore house. The seven Aprils from 1860 to 1866 tell their tale of love and war, sex and friendship. And the price of crossing gender lines.
Editorial Reviews
“Eileen Charbonneau pens an emotion-filled tale. Through her story of love, comradeship and struggle through the Civil War, Seven Aprils illuminates women’s hidden role in history by a mas-ter at bringing the past to life. Not to be missed!” –
Joanne Pence, USA Today bestselling author
“This epic story offers a tale of love and hope, forged and tempered by the fury of the American Civil War. Seven Aprils is certain to enthrall readers.”
—Jenna Kernan Publishers Weekly Bestselling author of Winter Woman
“Eileen Charbonneau’s latest novel, Seven Aprils, moves with the subtle sweep of her best fiction and confirms her place in the literary tradition of Willa Cather.” — Robert Crooke, author of American Family and The Chastened Heart
“Seven Aprils is full of rollicking adventure, steamy romance, great historical content, and even a little espionage. A true page turner, Seven Aprils keeps the reader riveted to the very end.” Eileen O’Finlan, Author of Kelegeen
“Eileen Charbonneau has written a beautiful story of friendship becoming love against the background of the Civil War. The writing is both lush and terse and is a brilliant story. I didn’t want Seven Aprils to end.” —Janet Lane Walters, author of The Amber Chronicles
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Seven Aprils by Eileen Charbonneau tells the tale of a spirited and resilient young woman whose deadly aim with a rifle, physical strength, and native intelligence come in darn handy when she unwittingly embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Out of necessity, Tess becomes Tom and her life is never the same again. While in her male persona, a charade she must continue to survive, she begins to fall for the doctor who teaches her medicine and recruits her to assist in the Union Army’s newly formed medical corps, putting her on the frontlines of some of the most horrific battles of the Civil War. To complicate matters further, Tess/Tom also becomes Diana, the woman with whom the doctor falls in love, not knowing she is really the person he knows as Tom Boyde. This novel is full of rollicking adventure, steamy romance, great historical content, and even a little espionage. A true page turner, Seven Aprils keeps the reader riveted to the very end.” —Eileen O’Finlan, Author of Kelegeen
In the opening scene, we meet a troubled young woman named Tess. She’s wading in a creek, enjoying a rare moment alone. Her solitude is interrupted by a commotion across a stone wall. A panther attack brought a man and his horse to the ground and was moving in for the kill. Fortunately for the man, Tess and her Springfield rifle came to the rescue. The panther was known in the area as Old Pitch. The man, a young doctor, named Ryder Cole, and the woman Tess couldn’t be more different, as this quote indicates: “He covered her work roughened hand with his fine-boned one.”
Tess’s family depends on her hunting skills, and since the death of her mother five years earlier, her family also depends on her to do all the cooking and cleaning as well. It’s not clear what value her father and her two brothers serve. Despite their dependence on Tess, her father negotiates a marriage between Tess and a villainous storekeeper named Mr. Strong. Tess is not willing to marry Mr. Strong.
A desperate escape leads Tess to adopt some surprising disguises. Most significantly, she ends up dressing as a man and living as Tom so that she can serve in the military as an assistant to the doctor. It feels like Tess’s identities will be discovered at almost every turn. There is never a dull moment in this book.
Seven Aprils is very engaging, from its strong opening, through its complex middle, and all the way to its last pages. During the Civil War, seven years seems like a lifetime. Every plot twist is interesting and exciting. The scenes are richly portrayed. The conflict and angst are just right, ever present and never over emphasized. The premise is fantastic. My favorite part of the book is the strength of the character development, from the main characters to the lesser ones, not the least of which is Harriet Tubman. I especially liked meeting the tinker named Maude O’Neil.
This book is not just for fans of Civil War books, historical fiction, or romance fiction. This expertly written book is so good, I think everyone should read it.
Seven Aprils is an astounding book covering the Civil War and the courageous woman who goes to war disguised as a man. The compelling story is also a romance
This is one of those stories that you read with your heart in your throat as you turn the pages. Such wonderful characters, fully drawn and realistic enough that you love with them and hurt with them as if they’re part of your own life experience. The civil war comes to life, the heartaches and hopes, the love and heartbreak all of it lives in this wonderful novel.
I’ll be honest: I’m not generally a fan of war stories. I have a hard time separating myself from the real tragedies of war, so I don’t usually read them. That being said, this storyline is truly captivating. I didn’t realize until I finished it that the heroine was inspired by real events — a woman disguised as a man serving in the Civil War.
Though the storyline gripped me, I did find the book a bit difficult to read. At times the writing was choppy and I wasn’t clear on what was happening, and there were a few places where I had to read back a page to see if I’d missed something. I can read past punctuation and grammatical errors if the story’s good, but if you can’t, you might not want to pick up this book (there are several). I hope you can, though, because it’s truly an interesting story.
The style was a little too mechanical for me (more emphasis on history than on setting and character), but it was definitely an entertaining read. If you enjoy based-on-true-events stories, you might enjoy this book.
PG-13/R-rated for thematic elements.