Lavena, a journalist during the Civil War, wants to become a war correspondent. She finally gets her chance, but there’s a catch. She has to get an interview from a war hero who has refused to tell his story to every other journalist, and she has to accomplish this impossible task in a month or she’ll lose her job.

Captain Cage, the war hero, has a secret that will destroy his military career and reputation. Now, a new journalist is trying to get him to tell what he’s been hiding. He wants to ignore her, but from the moment she came into camp, he can’t get her out of his mind.

Leading up to the turbulent Battles for the city of Chattanooga, will Lavena and Cage find the courage to love and forgive, or will they be swept away by their past mistakes that don’t want to stay buried?

Full disclosure: the Civil War is not my favorite era, but I wanted to read something different, so I picked up this book by Kraft. Lots of details and lots of description (some of it heartbreaking) that really make you feel the helplessness and turmoil of that time. For my personal tastes, I could have done without some of the subplots (though Betsy actually turned out to be my favorite character). It felt a little long to me, but that’s because I prefer to emphasize the romance over the history.

If, however, you prefer the history, this is a sweeping adventure that tackles faith, trust, prejudice, and more both on and off the battlefield. If you’re looking for a redemption story with some romance mixed in, I recommend this book.