The Rebel Bride
By Shannon McNear
This installment of Daughters of the Mayflower series hit my “sweet spot.” I have enjoyed this series as it travels through time following the same family line. The Rebel Bride is set in Tennessee where the locals are asked to house and care for the injured Union men following battle. Pearl MacFarlane is no exception despite already caring for her ailing father and younger brother. As Pearl adjusts to her new responsibilities, she struggles with remaining uninterested in the soldiers she is caring for. One solider in particular sticks out as he becomes both support to her and her family and sparks awareness in her heart. War is no place to be falling in love, especially with the enemy.
I was just visiting Antietam this weekend so I am in Civil war mode. I was quickly drawn into the plot and lost in the story. Shannon McNear did a history workout as she gathered information for this and it is illustrated across the pages.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

THE REBEL BRIDE by SHANNON McNEAR takes place in the South during the American Civil War It is a well written book in which the author not only shows the horrors of the war, but shows ordinary people dealing with it.
We see how Pearl MacFarlane copes with nursing enemy soldiers, in spite of the fact that she has lost three brothers in the war, seeing them as patients who have been entrusted to her care. In spite of exhaustion and shortages she does her level best to keep the men from dying. She is especially drawn to Josh Wheeler, whose hand has been amputated, and who she nurses through fever and infection, praying throughout that the Lord would not let him die.
I like the way the author describes the characters' emotions, which really gets us into the story, and the strong Christian message running throughout.
It is the first book I have read by Shannon McNear and it most definitely will not be the last.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Barbour Books.
The opinions in this review are completely my own.

I have enjoyed the Daughters of the Mayflower series immensely. With each book being a standalone story and often written by a different author, this has been a joy to follow.

And what a history lesson in the process! From the Mayflower's landing to the Civil War, I have learned much. In The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear, we meet Pearl MacFarlane, who is forced to care for Union soldiers in her home. As the war drags on and injured men continue to arrive, Pearl struggles with her desire to not help the enemy with her willingness to obey the Scripture that says, "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Being raised in a godly home, she obeys the Lord and finds herself seeing her enemy in a new light. Especially in one Yankee who steals her heart.

I loved the characters in this story and the questions it raised. Both sides prayed to God. Both sides had Christian believers, and yet only one side could win. On whose side was God? God does not involve himself in politics. But He does involve Himself in our lives and our hearts. How we respond to people who are against us, says a lot about our relationship with Him.

Our two main characters, Pearl and Joshua, find that true love conquers a lot of things, and when God's Word and His ways are uppermost in your mind, anything can happen.

I received this book courtesy of Barbour Publishing through NetGalley.

I've really enjoyed every book in this series, some more than others, but they've all been enjoyable and this one is no different! I love Shannon McNear's quality of writing. I'll admit books set during the Civil War are hit or miss for me, and this is a hit. This was set in the South in the form of Pearl nursing soldiers from both the North and South. She wants to stay out of it so to speak until she meets Joshua. Pearl and Joshua are fantastic who have excellent character arcs and a realistic for the time period growing relationship. This also portrayed some aspects of the Civil War realistically along with the everyday hardships that were depicted in this. As always, I can't wait for this series to continue!

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 5
Plot development: 5
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of Reading: 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

This is a "MUST READ" book!! It is very well written and grabs you on the first page. This book is full of emotions and the author did an excellent job at describing the pain and heartbreak of war. The way this book is written you feel like you are there, it plays like a movie in your mind as you are reading. This book deserves more than 5 stars.
Thank you Barbour Publishing via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this awesome book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I've enjoyed most books from the Daughters of the Mayflower series, but particularly liked this one. I like how the author has shown the Civil War from the southern perspective that most southerners had....which is not how the history courses teach it in school. Like Romeo and Juliet, Joshua and Pearl come from opposite sides of the Mason-Dixon line and feel 'forbidden' feelings toward each other, but of course it works out. The author has taken great care not to sugar coat any of the events from the battle or the daily struggles that many families experienced, and addresses how a shared faith can bring people together in the harshest of circumstances.