Four stories with soldiers and their ladies. I enjoyed reading each story, some more than others. Some stories were slow to read, but they were lovely anyway. Each one is clean and not too long. I enjoyed reading them.

Barbour Publishing always brings high quality authors together to write their anthologies, and The Soldier's Lady is no exception to this practice.

All four of the novellas take place during the mid-1800s at a frontier fort where concerns revolve around the Indian wars as well as the War Between the States. The characters are all well-fitted to their surroundings and to their circumstances. These are delightful stories that are sure to entertain the readers.

Each of the authors has produced a cohesive story that puts the girls into the protection of an officer stationed at the fort. The proximity of the girls to their protectors puts them in a place where falling in love with one another seems only natural. These girls are somewhat modern in that they didn't want pity, they wanted to stand on their own two feet, and they knew what they wanted in a marriage and a spouse.

This is a five star collection, two thumbs up, and a soldier to protect you.

Barbour Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is one of those books that you don’t want to put down! I absolutely loved each story and also love that you feel like you are a part of the story as well. Such sweet love stories and each unique in their own way. I definitely found this book to be enjoyable and addictive!

Beautiful stories told by wonderful authors.
This book is a Christian Fiction Romance.
I love books with military settings.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book consists of 4 short stories set in the American frontier in the 1800s. Each of these novellas captures the adventurous spirits of those who braved the unknown and known while living in military forts. The perfect read to escape into the past. and meet some interesting characters and how they adjust to unexpected love and difficulties.

These are four very good stories. I did have some favorites, but overall the stories were solid and endearing. I didn't think I would like them because of the military aspect, but the stories each added descriptions that I had not read before. Two stories seemed longer than novella length, but didn't drag on. I enjoyed the Christian aspect of the stories; there was enough to enhance the stories, but it didn't overwhelm the stories. I liked the different heroines that were portrayed. There was a long distance bride, a teacher and family members of military families. The heroes were all military and honorable. They were brave and dependable. They loved their ladies and would do what was necessary for them. These were sweet stories, with no sexual tones. I liked that the stories mostly dwelled on frontier fort life. It was similar to a small town, but with a commander instead of a mayor. All of the officers wives had to live in harmony. Most of these stories left the reader with a good feeling after reading them. I recommend this book because of the quality of the story. The grammar and spelling were accurate. The continuity of the story was very well paced. 5 stars

The Colonel’s Daughter by Gabrielle Meyer
I enjoyed reading about a military family in 1828, Nathaniel and Ally's romance was well paced and had enough things happen to keep the story interesting.

Frontier of Her Heart by Susanne Dietze
Oooh, I loved this one! The contest was different from most in historical fiction, it was adorable.

Save the Last Word for Me by Lorna Seilstad
Mistakes, mistaken identity, and a intriguing romance.

Forever Fort Garland by Janette Foreman
Letters filled with lies. I enjoyed the themes in this novella and the humor. Though there were slight suggestions of inappropriate intent from a horrible soldier.

The Soldier's Lady is a compilation of four historical fiction novellas which take place in the years 1828-1879. Each story has a different plot and I thought they were for the most part well developed. These were new authors for me and I found them enjoyable to read.

The Colone'ls Heart by Gabrielle Meyer was a sweet story between Major Nathaniel and his commanding officer Ally Benson. He wasn't looking for love and found it when he meets Ally which wants no part of the world her mother wants her to be part of. She wants to be part of the frontier and be free from the demands of city life. This was one of my favorites of the stories. Their romance is sweet and a little heartbreaking at one point. I definitely didn't want this story to end and wanted a little bit more.

Frontier of the Heart by Susanne Dietze was a good one as well. I love the relationship between Emily and Assistant Surgeon Boyd Braxton. I really enjoyed how this story developed. The romance between them was sweet and and at times unnerving. You just wanted to bonk Boyd over the head to make him see sense and I to me that is the mark of a good story when you get so involved in a character. But in the end it was God who he needed to turn to in order to see what he needed to do! Definitely a great story and once again I wanted just a little bit more to find out what happened to them.

Save the Last Word by Lorna Seilstad was my second favorite of the novellas. This one is about Adeline Dante who is a new schoolteacher at the fort and has no military knowledge whatsoever and Colonel Isaac Scott who makes sure she knows it! I love how the romantic story between them develops. She is not one to back down and he has a hard time with that but eventually realizes that is exactly what he needs. I definitely could of read more of this story!

Forever Fort Garland by Janette Foreman the story is about Annie a mail order bride to Martin who has died in battle before she even arrives. Captain Jefferson Gray is the man who greets her and offers marriage to her upon arrival but she refuses. She is determined to marry a military man and in the process of trying to find a husband someone starts to somewhat stalk her. This story not only has romance but also a little suspense. It wasn't my favorite out of the other novellas.

Overall as novellas go these were pretty good. The historical fiction element and christian element was present throughout all the stories. If you need quick reads then I definitely recommend this compilation of stories.

FTC Disclosure: I received this copy from Netgalley and Barbour Publishing. All views and opinions are my own.

I was transported to the 19th century and met with four couples living in the frontiers of Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado and California. The leading male protagonists are well aware of the dangers of fort life while the leading ladies need a lesson or two in what it takes to be a soldier in that era.

'Save the Last Word for Me" stuck with me the most as it followed headstrong schoolteacher Adelina Dantes trying to convince Colonel Isaac Scott why she should teach the illiterate soldiers at the fort. Though the author did not voice Adelina's thoughts about it, I loved that Colonel Scott's disability was not an impediment in their courtship.

Reading The SoI soldier's Lady in the midst of a global pandemic provided me with the much-needed escapism and I am sure will make a great summer read.

Series of 4 novellas. This is a cute book. Full review can be seen at https://abasketfullofkittens.blogspot.com

The Soldier's Lady is a collection of four historical romance novellas which take place between 1828 and 1879. Each story has a good plot and interesting characters.
I like the descriptions of life at the four different forts, especially when army life is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of beautiful young ladies! I also like the Christian message running through each story, a message of hope and second chances.
It is altogether a most enjoyable read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Barbour Publishing. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

This is a nice collection of Christian novellas. I enjoyed each story. They are short and sweet. This books is a fun, quick read.

I really enjoyed reading this! These 4 novellas are all great at what they were meant to be - a sweet romance with a sometimes subtle and sometimes not Christian message with lovely characters and strong women in particular.

All the authors capture life on a fort and military routines at that time with what seems to be a fairly realistic portrayals of day-to-day life there.

My favorites were Lorna Seilstad and Gabrielle Meyer’s stories, not because the others weren’t good but because I was able to connect to the characters more in these. This was a really enjoyable read!

This compilation of four stories on women stationed at 19th century forts has great potential. Upon cracking open these novellas, I learned some interesting historical facts about American warfare, and some prominent figures who were even included in these stories. I enjoyed Susanne Dietze and Lorna Seilstand's texts the most as they wrote with a familiarity not only with 19th century culture at large, but with the military realm.

Dietze's novella included crucial information regarding fort life in the 19th century, and it was refreshing to finally read a story which does not revolve around officers and their wives. Having been employed at a reconstructed fort from the War of 1812, I have always found that accounts arising from the lower ranks (eg. cook, surgeons, and regular infantrymen) are usually the most interesting. Unfortunately, with the lack of primary sources stemming from 19th century illiteracy among the masses, these stories are hard to come by. Therefore, Dietze's tale, though simple, succeeded in capturing stories based on true characters.

Lorna Seilstand's story largely succeeded in the same vein as she captured the spirit of life at a fort. However, her writing style did include 20th century vocabulary such as "proactive" which had been invented in 1933 and at first used in a scholarly paper. These terms did initially throw me off in reading an otherwise balanced story with a simple plot and relatively strong characters.

Gabrielle Meyer's story unfortunately romanticizes fort life to an unprecedented degree, which might entice many readers simply looking for a light read. However, portraying military life at a fort is an incredible opportunity to describe the horrors, the tragedy, and the fear instilled in the garrisons stationed at these outposts. I did not find it entirely believable when a character mentioned that he was more afraid of an attacker striking a woman than being on the battlefield. From past experience in reenacting, soldiers met unknown horrors marching alongside cannons, mortars, and endless musketry. Although this line might have been written to add to a light read, I found the circumstance could have opened an amazing opportunity for the officer to speak of past military combat. I cannot imagine the immense opportunities authors have in writing on 19th century fort life, though it may not be entirely fitting for a novella.

Overall, I view this compilation of stories with a general fondness as they all strove to portray fort life in different capacities. I appreciated the authors who strove to subtly include military details in their narratives rather than merely listing off the various aspects of a fortification. I also had difficulty with reading of the "golden wings," as "epaulettes" is a common enough term to succinctly describe a vital aspect of an officer's uniform. But who am I to say, as I am a mere Pvt. with no golden epaulettes to speak of! Although these stories did contain some historical inaccuracies and verbiage (such as the constant mentioning of shakos), these novellas pose as a great opportunity to share more about daily fort life during peacetime.