Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green

My review is at the end.
Also...giving away the paperback review copy of this book! Look for instructions after my review.
**Winner: Kim, comment #5!** Thank you!

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Wedded to War • River North; New Edition edition (July 1, 2012)
by Jocelyn Green

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jocelyn Green is a child of God, wife and mom living in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She is also an award-winning journalist, author, editor and blogger. Though she has written nonfiction on a variety of topics, her name is most widely recognized for her ministry to military wives: Faith Deployed. Her passion for the military family was fueled by her own experience as a military wife, and by the dozens of interviews she has conducted with members of the military for her articles and books, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives and its sequel, Faith Deployed...Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives. She is also co-author of both Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front (forthcoming, May 2012). Her Faith Deployed Web site and Facebook page continue to provide ongoing support, encouragement and resources for military wives worldwide.






ABOUT THE BOOK

When war erupted, she gave up a life of privilege for a life of significance.
Tending to the army's sick and wounded meant leading a life her mother does not understand and giving up a handsome and approved suitor. Yet Charlotte chooses a life of service over privilege, just as her childhood friend had done when he became a military doctor. She soon discovers that she's combatting more than just the rebellion by becoming a nurse. Will the two men who love her simply stand by and watch as she fights her own battles? Or will their desire for her wage war on her desire to serve God?

Wedded to War is a work of fiction, but the story is inspired by the true life of Civil War nurse Georgeanna Woolsey. Woolsey's letters and journals, written over 150 years ago, offer a thorough look of what pioneering nurses endured. This is the first in the series "Heroines Behind the Lines: Civil War," a collection of novels that highlights the crucial contributions made by women during times of war.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Wedded to War, go HERE.

Pattie's Review:

Let me preface this by saying that I've been privileged to work with Jocelyn on both Faith Deployed...Again  and on the Wives of Faith blog (to which she's an occasional contributor), as well as an unnamed third project that, well, can't be named yet. So I signed up for this blog tour knowing it would be hard for me to remain impartial--and I expected a great story as Jocelyn is an excellent writer.

I was not disappointed.

This is the kind of historical fiction I like--full of facts and details, but not boring. A love story but not the kind that's all-encompassing and overpowering and too romance-y. Plus, it's about the Civil War, which I've had a bit of a crush on since fifth grade. It reminds me just a little bit of a more realistic version of Gone With the Wind.

Two favorite characters: Edward, based on the first hospital chaplain in the US (and since my husband is a trained hospital chaplain, I could vicariously relate to many of the struggles he faces); and of course our main gal, Charlotte, who seems to me to be a bit of a mixture of Gone With the Wind's Melanie and Scarlett (the best of both of them, minus the "Tomorrow is another day" procrastination).

Overall, I highly recommend this novel, and I'm looking very much forward to the rest of the series.

Special thanks to the publisher for offering this book for free on Kindle at the beginning of July. The paperback arrived as I was finishing the novel in time for this blog tour.

Which means...I am giving the paperback away! Please leave a comment telling me why you'd like to receive this book, and I'll use random.org to choose the recipient. Available to residents within the 50 states, please. Deadline is 31 July 2012, 5 p.m. ADT (which is 8 p.m. CDT).

Odds of winning are based on the number of eligible entries, and I'll be paying media rate postage myself for a book that was donated to me from the publisher for review. No hidden agenda, just wanting to share the literary love. Book will take awhile to ship from Alaska