Review and Giveaway: With This Pledge by Tamera Alexander

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for With This Pledge by Tamera Alexander, the first full novel of the Carnton series, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: With This Pledge
Series: Carnton, Book 1  
Author: Tamera Alexander  
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: January 8, 2019  
Genre: Historical Romance  

History takes on vivid life in the stunning first full-length installment of USA TODAY bestselling Tamera Alexander’s new series, The Carnton Novels.  

What can a woman—a mere governess—do against the scourge of slavery?

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Clouston’s quietly held principles oppose those of the Southern Cause—but when forty thousand soldiers converge on the fields of Franklin, Tennessee, the war demands an answer. The Carnton home where she is governess is converted into a Confederate field hospital, and Lizzie is called upon to assist the military doctor with surgeries that determine life or death. Faced with the unimaginable, she must summon fortitude, even as she fears for the life of Towny, her fiancé and lifelong friend.

As a young soldier lies dying in Lizzie’s arms, she vows to relay his final words to his mother, but knows little more than the boy’s first name. That same night, decorated Mississippi sharpshooter Captain Roland Ward Jones extracts a different promise from Lizzie: that she intervene should the surgeon decide to amputate his leg.

Lizzie is nothing if not a woman of her word, earning the soldiers’ respect as she tends to the wounded within Carnton’s walls. None is more admiring than Captain Jones, who doesn’t realize she is pledged to another. But as Lizzie’s heart softens toward the Confederate captain, she discovers that his moral ground is at odds with her own. Now torn between love, principles, and promises made, she struggles to be true to her heart while standing for what she knows is right—no matter the cost.

From the pages of history and the personal accounts of those who endured the Battle of Franklin, Tamera Alexander weaves the real-life love letters between Captain Roland Ward Jones and Miss Elizabeth Clouston into a story of unlikely romance first kindled amid the shadows of war.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | CBD | Book Depository

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EXCERPT

Head HERE for an exclusive excerpt!

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My Thoughts:

The opening scenes of With This Pledge show an ordinary day, a governess teaching her students in their home. This home is Carnton located in Tennessee during the Civil War. This day turns out not to be so ordinary when the day turns dark as the war erupts all around the plantation and the wounded begin coming into the home.

This story at times can be hard to read and I can’t even imagine how hard it would have been to live during that time, to be that up close and personal with the war, the terribly wounded,  and the casualties all around. These were people and parts of them were being amputated in mass quantity to try to save their lives. Again this is not a light read and the author puts us right there in the organized chaos and feeling the emotions that Lizzie is experiencing and showing us through her eyes the calamity that has occurred.

I really liked Lizzie’s character and the strength she uses to stand up under such horrible pressure to be the hope and defender of these Confederate men, while still showing herself true to her beliefs that slavery is wrong and that the North will win.

Enter very injured in body, yet strong in spirit Captain Roland Ward Jones who knows without a doubt he is going to live. He has already tasted of very personal tragedy and this war he fought was what he thought was best for his country. I enjoyed the friendship that bloomed between these two and eventually the love that became unshakable.

I knew little of this battle where the South experienced such great loss and I was intrigued that this story was about real life folks and we get to glimpse some of the letters that were written. I appreciate the author’s great care and research that brought these characters and their stories back to life again.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tamera Alexander is a USA Today bestselling novelist whose works have been awarded and nominated for numerous industry-leading honors, including the Christy Award (two-time winner, seven-time finalist), the RITA Award (two-time winner, four-time finalist), the Carol Award, the Maggie Award, the Booksellers Best Award, and Library Journal's top distinction, among others. After seventeen years in Colorado, Tamera and her husband now reside in Nashville, Tennessee, where they live a short distance from Belmont Mansion and Belle Meade Plantation, the setting of Tamera’s two USA Today bestselling Southern series.  

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will win a release copy of With This Pledge + $10 Amazon Gift Card

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight January 14, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm January 28, 2019. US only for a print copy of the book. International winners will receive an ebook. Gift card prize will be issued as an e-gift card. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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