I love Alyssa Cole. I will read anything she writes, and probably love it. This book takes one of my least-favorite tropes (big secret, which leaves you anxious about the reveal), and handles it beautifully. I don't think the ending was entirely satisfying, but overall I still really enjoyed this book. I think this is one I would actually like better on re-reading.

I went in to this book with very high expectations and this book met every single one of them. Cole writes about heavy topics and her author's note at the end is really worth a read through as well. The character arcs that Janeta and Daniel go through are arcs that I've had to go through as well in my life. Cole wrote both perfectly. In her author's note Cole talks about how she could possibly give Daniel hope when our current political climate (and especially the events that happened while this was being written) mirrors so much of the injustice and racism that he experiences. I love that Cole didn't pull any punches. Her explanations for the whys and whos of the Civil War are so succinctly put and give no room for apologists or revisionists.

As for the plot, I was a bit afraid that Cole was going to rely on one of my most hated tropes, the giant secret that blows up the relationship when communication was totally a possibility. I hate that tension in a book and I find it is often a very lazy way to create tension. Cole handles it so beautifully and in character. I would have appreciated as the reader more hints to how it was going to be resolved, but overall I can't complain.

My only quibble is with the ending. I thought it was a little too deus ex machina and minor side characters, who are the focus of big plot events, are left a little hanging and that bothered me. However, in the end I loved this book.

This is the series that I like to recommend to people when they dismiss the romance genre in its entirety. These books are so well done with the combination of history, suspense, and romance. They are thoughtful, exciting and feature time periods and characters not often represented in historical romance. I love all things romance but this series refutes common misconceptions about the genre and helps to illustrate that there are as many types of romances in the genre as there are types of readers.

I loved this book just as much as the previous two books in the series and in some ways even more. It is a well crafted story about two souls dealing with the fallout of having their illusions shattered. When Daniel and Janeta meet neither of them is in any place to truly see each other much less begin a relationship. Daniel who was born free and kidnapped into slavery has focused solely on revenge since his rescue. Janeta is the Cuban born daughter of a slave and a plantation owner, raised to not look too closely at the her status in her family and her home, she is infiltrating the Justice League in an attempt to help her father. Daniel is angry. Janeta is naive. When the two of them are forced to partner up on an important mission they are both caught up in their own agendas but cannot help but be intrigued by each other. Over time they both grow and change and Cole makes every step of their journey believable. Their story is complex and emotional and I was so fully invested that I barely came up for air while reading. Also, Cole's author note about writing this book during the current political climate should not be missed.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This series is the perfect blend of historical fiction and romance, and it’s so impressive that Alyssa Cole manages to write ultimately uplifting stories set in such a dark era of our history.

What I admire most about Alyssa Cole's Loyal League series is her effortless fusion of action, history, and romance. Each book has all the thrills of a spy novel (which each is), but Cole finds hope, vulnerability, and emotion in the inhumanity of the Civil War. Having read the two novels before this, I was surprised by the slow burn of Daniel and Janeta's connection. Having said that, I was also impressed by it. Cole spends a lot of time establishing Daniel's trauma as a free black man who is captured and sold into slavery as well as Janeta's conflict as a Cuban woman whose father freed and married her enslaved mother. These are complex, traumatized, flawed characters, and their growth throughout the novel felt natural and engaging. Cole is open about how difficult this novel was to write in the political environment of 2018, but the ultimate hope and heart displayed within these pages made it a brilliant book to end the year on.

I've read (and recommended many times) all three of Alyssa Cole's <i>Loyal League</i> series. Add this one to sit by its sisters on the recommended shelf. As with the other two books, there is a lot of nail-biting, heart-pounding suspense and action as Janeta and Daniel navigate both their own histories and the landscape of the Civil War.

Janeta and Daniel are both smart, complex people who evolve and grow in such a satisfying way. I was really not sure how they would get around certain obstacles (both internal and external) and was practically cheering by the end (especially with the return of a certain character from one of the other books - no spoilers).

I was given an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.