an Higginbotham

Wars are fought by soldiers but they are not the only victims. Families are torn apart, loyalties are tested and, bonds either sever or become stronger. We see that in our time and it was also true during the Civil War.

This is the story of two sisters, one perhaps more well known than the other. Mary Todd became Mrs. Lincoln while Emily Todd married Hardin Helm. Each husband chose a side in the war-one was president and the other a Civil War General who served President Davis. Thus, the sisters were also put on opposite sides. It was an incredibly difficult time for all.

Ms. Higginbotham tells this story well. Historical fiction lovers, this is a very good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book was published in 2019.

I love a good historical fiction book and was really excited for a civil war-era story, especially revolving around the Lincoln females. I could tell this book was really well researched and thought out. I had a hard time keeping up with the plot at times though because it felt like there was a lot of extra things that didn’t add to the story. I also had trouble remembering all of the different characters. Overall, I still enjoyed it. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

The premise and blurb made it so interesting so i dove right into it with high expetations, but something was lacking. I found myself not enjoying it quite as i had hoped. It just wasn`t enough character development or things really happening..it felt like it was chatting all the time...and lots of characters comming in and out that did not need to.

I loved the premise of this book but I just couldn't connect with it for some reason. It was still an interesting read, especially learning more about Mary Todd Lincoln's background and her relationship with her sister.

DNF @ 10%. The writing is so stale and flat I cannot continue. And that is not to mention the glossing over slavery bits. This is my oldest book on my netgalley shelf and I really wanted to cross it off the list but alas, life is short and I want to enjoy what I’m reading.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. I really enjoyed it. It was a well-written story based on a lot of historical details. It was interesting to learn about Mary Todd Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln and some of the more intimate details of their life. I .didn't really know much about Mary's family so it was interesting to learn more about her family, especially Emily. It must have been very hard living through the Civil War and being so divided like Emily was. I highly recommend this book! You will enjoy it if you like Historical Fiction!

I loved this book! I'd never really read much on President Lincoln and his wife.It was never really a period in history that caught my attention. I decided to give this book a go and I'm so glad I did! It was so well written! I learned a bit more about the lives of the Lincoln's, sometimes I could picture myself there too. Loved this book.

I’ve never read a book like this before but after reading the synopsis I just had to try it. I’m a Brit so I’m not sure how much of this would be historically accurate but the backdrop of the Civil War is really interesting to me and made me think a lot about historic American figures. The relationship between the sisters was explored very nicely and I’d definitely read something from this author again!

I love historical fiction books and the fact that this was set during the Civil War, was a new experience for me. Reading about the lives about Mary Todd Lincoln and her half-sister, Emily, was interesting. the bond these sisters share is impressive. Though they are on opposite sides of the war, their relationship is strong.

It’s obvious that the author did a lot of research and does a wonderful job of sharing this with her audience. The story is shared from two points of view…Mary Todd and Emily. And you are drawn into their lives and will experience all of the loss they experienced. What an emotional story that is definitely worth exploring.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

The First Lady and The Rebel was interesting and well written but something about it, I don't know. Three stars.

I loved the premise of this book. It sounded so interesting and I was really intrigued about this story and it sounded like there would be lots of interesting action in it. However there was just something lacking. I felt like the dialogue was odd and I could not really follow what they were saying most of the time. I found it really confusing that Mary had the nickname Molly. I liked that the POV changed between the sisters but I think I would have enjoyed it more if each POV was written in first person rather than third person. It felt like Mary and Emily were just spectators/observers of the plot that was unfolding rather than active characters.

Susan Higginbotham has written a beautiful book examining the relationship of two sisters, one whose story has been told many times and one we know less about, and the pain of struggling on opposite sides of the Revolutionary War. I appreciate the author's attention to detail, the meticulous research she obviously put into this, and the thoughtful manner in which she approached both of their lives and hearts. It feels particularly fresh and relevant in our current times when people are so fiercely divided on the state of our country.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful telling of the Todd sisters, with their fierceness and their sorrows. Starting with Mary Todd's journey to Springfield to the final days of the Civil War and beyond, this book tells the story behind the women.

Well, not much can be said. I may have just started this book at the wrong time. Maybe I could have enjoyed it if I’d read it months ago, or maybe if I’d pushed past the deadline, I don’t know. But here’s what I do know.

The book had a very slow start. The writing was unique and different, which I did like. I think it was just slow because the chapters never seemed to end, they just continued to go on and on; way too long in my opinion. Especially when introducing the characters.

Apparently a lot happened for both Mary and Emily to meet their husbands. I could have done without the dry in between scenes. The first couple chapters were we’re introduced to our MCs is almost a quarter of the book! After that dry spell, the book did start to pick up, and then about half way it slowed down again for me (a little over 50%.)

I think the author was just trying to establish our MCs with their men, but it was just too much for something I only needed to know a little about.

I would have rather appreciated if she had spent more time writing the major plot points, which were sort of glazed and looked over. Instead, she focuses on the mundane everyday things. Grant it, that may have been her point, but I simply didn’t like it.

Focusing on the characters, I enjoyed Emily a whole lot more than I did Mary. Mary comes off self centered and cares nothing about her country other than her family, which is not wrong, but during this time period, she could have been more personable to her country. This isn’t the authors fault, I’m sure she had her reasoning for writing Mrs. Lincoln this way.

Emily, on the other hand, was more caring and more involved with both her family and her side of the war, which is also unfortunate considering it was the Confederacy. Although I do commend her husband, Helm, for fighting the war solely based on loyalty and not for slavery.

Besides that, the characters felt dull and two-dimensional.

Overall, I don’t think I’d recommend unless you’re a history buff who’s into knowing the in’s and out’s of everyday life back during the civil war. I found the premise really interesting, but it just felt short for me. Dry and dull.

I received this e-ARC from NetGalley for reviewing purposes, and I’m grateful to have the chance to have attempted to read the book.

This is a historical fiction novel, depicting the Civil war from the perspective of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. She is torn between sides in an effort to both support her husband and pray for her family. Mary is one of many who had their life divided by the split between states.

Well researched, well written, “The First Lady and the Rebel” tells the story of troubled Mary Todd Lincoln and her much loved half-sister, Emily Todd Helm, in a deeply personal, vivid, compelling story of the two sisters during the American Civil War. While Mary is the wife of President Lincoln, Emily is the wife of a Confederate general, which not only strains their relationship, but cast suspicions on Mary’s own loyalties in the war. Each woman suffers multiple tragedies and conflicts—those of Mary are well documented, but author Susan Higginbotham did solid research to unearth the story of Emily.

While brother-against-brother has often been explored in historical fiction of the Civil War, this book takes a close look at sister-against-sister. Neither was going to face each other on a battlefield with weapons, but they are none-the-less pitted against each other as the war drags on.

While this is fiction, the novel is well rooted in accurate historical fact and Higginbotham in her Author’s Note does the reader a great service by giving some historical facts, and explaining where she took liberties with the research.

While the story line itself is compelling—the courtships of Mary and Emily, their marriages, their lives—what really makes this novel stand out among Civil War fiction is the sensitive exploration of the women’s emotional lives and their troubled relationship.

Okay, so after reading this novel twice through, I have to say that it is ridiculously good. Susan Higginbotham takes on a Civil War story from the perspective of the Todd sisters. Mary Todd, wife to Abraham Lincoln, and her sister Emily. Both on different sides of the war. The story is told from the perspective of both sisters, giving the reader a front row seat to a war that caused loss, heartache and victory on both sides. Truly it is brilliant, and one that I will most definitely read again. A definite recommend.

The First Lady and the Rebel follow the lives of Mary Todd Lincoln and her sister Emily. Although we know much of Mary's story, the story of her sister, Emily was equally compelling. Even though they were sisters, they were on opposite sides of the Civil War. This happened to many families, but this was especially interesting due to the sister's marriages - Mary, married to the President and her sister Emily, married to a Confederate General. The novel alternated between Mary and Emily's experiences during their lives before marriage up until the years during the Civil War. Both main characters were well developed as they went through their tragedies as well as joyful times.

Those that like Civil War historical fiction will enjoy the novel. Thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an unbiased review.

I was excited by this book and its description. However, it took me three days just to get through the first chapter. Not only was the chapter long, but it was also longwinded as well. It took so much of my energy and effort to push to the end of the first chapter that I had to give up and walk away from it.

I couldn't push myself to keep reading this book. I got about 30% of the way, and I was just having to force myself to keep reading. The story was just dragging, and I finally had to DNF it. I had high hopes for it. The subject matter was intriguing, but I found the execution to be lacking.