Corporal Sean MacBranian is injured in battle and wakes up to the sight of an Irish Angel. His blond-haired, blue-eyed nurse has now given him a reason to live. Ashlinn knows it’s a big risk, but she can’t help but give Sean her heart. Will their love survive the ultimate test?
I don’t get many that are set in the Civil War so this was a nice change for me. This was a sweet book with good, strong characters. It took a little bit, but I was really drawn into the story and the characters’ journeys. I recommend.
This was a sweet book with good, strong characters.

I really enjoyed this book, Ashlinn and Sean are truly likeable leads and their story was a curious mix of joy and heartbreak.

Ashlinn is a nurse in the Union army, she followed her three brothers to war and has lost two to injuries and one has gone missing. After each battle, she scans the fields for him and this is how she found Sean.

Sean is a soldier in the Union army, he has been left for dead on the battlefield and awakens to find an "angel" caring for him as well as her mammoth Irish wolfhound Cliste. Ashlinn manages to save Sean's life.

This book is set in the south during the American Civil war and the author does a wonderful job of portraying not only the horrors of war, but also the friendships and bonds that are formed. I felt like the progression of the relationship between Ashlinn and Sean was very believable and extremely well paced. The sexual tension between these two is off the charts. However, when the love scene finally materializes, it is vague and (at least for this reader) anticlimactic.

**SPOILER**
The blurb for this book is misleading - I kept waiting for the letters between these two to be intercepted and some horrific event to transpire - but it never happened - there were definitely horrific events, but nothing related to intercepted letters. In fact unless I missed something, no letters were ever intercepted. **END SPOILER**

If you are looking for something historical that doesn't include the "ton" and you aren't looking for a steamy read - this is the book for you.

I highly recommend this book and will be looking for more in this series!

I enjoy reading about the Civil War era. Honor Before Heart takes you right in the middle of the fighting and in the Union military camp of the 69th regiment, the Fighting Irish. The descriptions of war and battlefields were realistic and well-written. This book tells the story of Ashlinn O’Brian, a nurse tending to the wounded Union soldiers, and Sean MacBranain, a corporal in the 69th regiment.

Ashlinn is unlike any other nurse or doctors Sean has ever met. She is bold and brave, like an experienced soldier. She also has her own medical methods, inspired by her parents, and is convinced of the importance of sterilization to save lives. Her methods are usually frowned upon by most doctors, but she stands up for what she believes in. Her main focus is on saving soldier’s lifes.

Sean is a man of strong convictions. He wants the end of slavery and is ready to fight for it. Sean and Ashlinn know that they should keep their distance, they can’t be distracted by matters of the heart. But their growing mutual feelings and attraction can’t be denied. Sean wants to live and build a common future with Ashlinn, but he has to fight for honor’s sake and for the sake of his men.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, the pace was a bit slow at times, though. The author also introduced a final twist I wasn’t really keen on. I was happy to see Ashlinn and Sean get their well-deserved HEA! 3.5 Stars

An advanced copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.

Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Rinou
Review Copy from the Publisher

Honor before Heart takes places during the American Civil War in the Yankee camp. We follow Ashlinn, a military nurse, and Sean, a sergeant, in the middle of battles and forced marches.

Ashlinn, daughter of a doctor, is snubbed by military doctors because she follows her father’s recommendations regarding treatment, especially washing one’s hands between two patients or boiling the instruments before any surgery. The fact that the patients exclusively treated by her and the nurses who follow her ideas have an important recovery rate don’t seem to make these doctors any wish to imitate her because she’s only a woman… Others aren’t so stubborn as through the novel she has more and more wounded who prefer to be brought to her. She enlisted to follow her brothers, two of them are already dead after amputations done by one of the doctors, and after each battle she looks for the third who disappeared. It’s during one of these searches that her dog will discover the hero, and Ashlinn is going to treat him then take him back to the camp.

There are some descriptions of battlefield military medicine that sent shivers down my spine, because of the numbers of wounded as for the period limited means and knowledge. The author mentions also the battles horrors, and I was remembering scenes from the movie The Patriot with these stoical soldiers reloading under the opposite fire.

I thought there was a big contrast between this atmosphere and the fact they go on with propriety (hand-kissing, strolling escorted by a chaperon, …) as if they clang to good manners just as life preservers.

Both main characters want to resist to the feelings the other awakens in them in order not to suffer, him because he thinks he’s not good enough for her, and her because she’s seen so many dead that she’s afraid to grow attached only for him to die too. I must say the fact there’s still three years of war disturbed my reading as I was wondering regularly how they would get by. As for them they finally yield (always observing propriety) by thinking you must live life to the full, but their story goes on slowly, all in sweetness and tenderness.

The author mentions the ambiguous status of black people in the Yankee army, accepted as soldiers or nurses but often not much considered all the same. I also wondered about the fact the few Confederates we meet seemed like caricature (filthy, vicious, irascible) as to emphasize the fact they are on the bad side of the war (at least for the heroes).

I thought the final solution was a bit fast but satisfying, and I had a good reading time in a context I rarely read before.

'Honor Before Heart' by Heather McCorkle is book One in the "Emerald Belles" series. This is the story of Sean and Ashlinn. This is a different kind of story that I usually go to but I feel in love with the cover and wanted to read it. I am glad that the cover brought me into this book as I might have missed this story to be honest. I am usually not a fan of War story/ Love story but this did have a somewhat different look into their love story. This deals with how someone struggles with the lost of love ones during war. How hard it is to deal with the possibly of loosing a love one and getting the strength up to trust that all will be well. I thought both Sean and Ashlinn were good strong main characters and it was easy to want them to be together. "My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."

Let me begin by talking about something I don't usually discuss in my reviews. Mostly due to the fact that they can always be changed, however, I do not feel as though the cover of this story does it any kind of justice. In fact, there is only one time Ashlinn even wears a green dress, and it is certainly nothing like that. In fact, she spends most of the story in either a nurses uniform or in breeches and a shirt like a man. And I will admit, had I just looked at the title and cover and not read the description? I probably would have passed it over myself.

That being said, I'm glad I didn't! I very much enjoyed Sean and Ashlinn's story, and I felt the author did a good job at bringing to light a very real (and often overlooked) aspect of war-time stories. It is war. It isn't pretty, and there is always that fear that your loved one won't make it back to you. I also felt that giving Ashlinn an Irish Wolfhound for a "companion" was a wonderful addition, it isn't often you read about a dog period, much less one that was so vital to the story as this one was.

I do feel like the ending of this story was a little too rushed feeling for my tastes, but overall, this was a well-written and romantic story that I feel will appeal to those who enjoy historical romance.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

loved the story line, can't wait to read more from the author

Overall, I thought Honor Before Heart was a quick and easy read for me. I will admit that it did take me a little bit to get into the story and that is mostly because I am still new to this genre. However, once I got a few chapters in, I found myself sucked into the story. I thought it was written well and I enjoyed the writing style. I felt that it stayed true to the time period. I thought that the characters were interesting and I liked the chemistry between Sean and Ashlinn. The two of them shared an undeniable connection and would be tested in ways neither one of them would be prepared for.

While this isn't the usual genre that I read, I'm glad that I went out of my comfort zone and checked this book out!