Tibby Day might be ninety-five, but she’s still the matriarch of the Day/Sprague families and a real treat for those who read her story in Dawn’s Early Light, the first book in Thane’s Williamsburg series. Tensions between the North and the South are heating up, and Yankee Cabot Murray finds himself a not so welcome guest in some households, but Tibby welcomes him into her home and marks him as the one man suitable for her favorite granddaughter Eden. Sparks are flying between the two, but is their love strong enough to surmount the obstacles ahead of them as the war between the states begins?
“It was lonely to be in love and not be able to mention his name, or hear from him, or even to answer his letter.”
That’s about all I’m going to tell you – read it for yourself. The novel covers the Civil War from start to finish, and a big thumbs up to Thane for imparting the important battle details to the reader without the endless exposition one finds in so many other Civil War novels (John Jakes, anyone?). I loved watching Eden and Cabot’s relationship grow and change as war changed all of them (Cabot is a seriously dreamy hunk BTW). I adored Tibby who had the gumption to stand up to any damned Yankee soldier with the nerve to search her home for you-know-who that was hidden under her bed. And then there was the doomed relationship between too closely related Sedgwick and Sue. **sniff**
The large extended Day/Sprague families are a bit confusing at the start, so keep your focus on Eden/Cabot, Tibby and Sue/Sedgwick and the rest of them will fit into place as you continue reading. I have noticed some comments from other readers being somewhat shocked at the casual attitudes towards the slaves, but remember this was written many, many years before we became so terribly Politically Correct. Probably my only real complaint is that the ending is a bit too abrupt and I would have enjoyed some more payola or an epilogue to finish things off.
Highly recommended and I will definitely be continuing on with this series.
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Alex said:
Oooh, this looks very nice ! I rarely read anything set during the American Civil War, this might be a good book to start. 🙂
misfitandmom said:
I forgot to mention that YS is available on Kindle (assume Nook and other formats as well), as is Dawn’s Early Light.
Elysium said:
I just realized that I don’t think I’ve read anything set during the Civil War. This sounds like a good book to start. I hope library has this!
misfitandmom said:
This would be a good one to start. It gives a good feeling for both POVs without going into long excrutiating detail. Gone With The Wind is excellent, but that is quite the chunkster, although it reads fairly quickly.
Mary Beth said:
This sounds like a really good read. I am so pleased that it is available on kindle! My TBR pile is becoming dangerous, but oh well. I am a total sucker for historical fiction. Thanks for the great recommendation!
Mary Beth
misfitandmom said:
I think you’d like it, besides your pile can’t possibly be worse than mine is 🙂
Mary Beth said:
Misfit – I wonder if there are any plans to put the rest of this series on kindle? I am reading and loving Dawn’s Early Light. I have never had as much love for American history when compared to British history, but this series looks promising!
Mary Beth
misfitandmom said:
Mary Beth, glad you are enjoying DEL. I don’t know about additional Kindle plans, I only came across the first two by accident when looking at another person’s Amazon reviews. American history is interesting, but finding the right books is the key.
Tiffany Kohler said:
HI Misfit,
This post doesn’t have anything to do with “Yankee Stranger”, but I wanted to say how much I love your blog! Also, I know you love Dunnett’s Lymond Series, but I was wondering if their is enough romance in the stories to keep me interested…I need romance with a good story 🙂
Thanks!!
Tiffany
misfitandmom said:
I Tiffany, thanks for the compliments 🙂
There is some romance in the latter of the Lymond books, but there are some darker moments to that romance. I really can’t say more without giving it all away.
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