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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
As the second installment in Alyssa Cole's Loyal League series, this was a knock-out for me. I LOVE quieter slow-burn stories where the stakes gradually heighten until you are ready to scream from the on-page tension - this is that, both interpersonally between Marlie and Ewan AND externally as the increasingly invasive Confederate presence in Marlie's home drives her from her day-to-day life and family. Marlie, a free Black woman living with her white family in the South, is everything I love in a competent and self-protective heroine. She is inventive and reflective and knows when to take measured risks. And Ewan, neurodivergent and earnest and deeply traumatized by his role in the war, is so well-matched. Cole explores the impact of the war on free Black folks and poor white folks in divided territories and the various occupying factions, delivering a nuanced and compelling plot that drives this romantic suspense. This was 5/5 for me, I highly recommend to all historical romance readers!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Torture, War, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy, Abortion, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
Minor: Vomit
naika's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
December 2020
A Hope Divide hit differently this time around, but still such a hauntingly beautiful read.
August 2019
I finished reading the first book in the Loyal League Series, "An Extraordinary Union" earlier this week. It too, received a 4-star rating, as I found it to be a well-written historical romance, full of emotion and activity. While I found book 1 to be more gripping and fast-paced (in regards to both the romance and Elle and Malcolm's involvement with the Union and Loyal League), I found book 2, "A Hope Divided", to be more understated and slow-burning, which made perfect sense for the main characters.
Marlie is a free Black woman grappling with the loss of her mother, as well as her strained relationship with her paternal family (she is a product of an affair with the son of her mother's then white master) , all while using her skills and knowledge (passed down by her mother) in root-based remedies to heal and aid those around her. I love that she was highly intelligent and well-read and unapologetically so.
Ewan, whom we initially met in AEU, is a PoW who previously worked as an counterintelligence agent for the Union. He comes with his own baggage, struggling with his own conscious as it relates to the nature of his former job, as well as the ramifications of his father's alcoholism and subsequent suicide .
Given their mutual history of loss, pain, and feeling outcasted, they form a precarious (initially) relationship in which they not only use each other's strengths to build each other up, but also in which they discovered more about themselves through the lenses of slavery, racism, family, and duty.
Initially, I found it a bit harder to get into A Hope Divided. I guess that's due to the fact I thought it would be written similarly to book 1, but I quickly fell into a rhythm and enjoyed the story for what it was. Marlie and Ewan seemed more vulnerable and organic. Alyssa took time and care giving them their own arcs and setting scenes that really made me feel like I was transported to Civil War period. I did wish that we got to see more of the work Marlie did as it related to the Loyal League and Underground Railroad (as this is one the premises of the series), but I know there's only so much an author can do without overwhelming the reader/story line.
Again, another great read by Alyssa Cole!
A Hope Divide hit differently this time around, but still such a hauntingly beautiful read.
August 2019
I finished reading the first book in the Loyal League Series, "An Extraordinary Union" earlier this week. It too, received a 4-star rating, as I found it to be a well-written historical romance, full of emotion and activity. While I found book 1 to be more gripping and fast-paced (in regards to both the romance and Elle and Malcolm's involvement with the Union and Loyal League), I found book 2, "A Hope Divided", to be more understated and slow-burning, which made perfect sense for the main characters.
Marlie is a free Black woman grappling with the loss of her mother, as well as her strained relationship with her paternal family
Ewan, whom we initially met in AEU, is a PoW who previously worked as an counterintelligence agent for the Union. He comes with his own baggage, struggling with his own conscious as it relates to the nature of his former job, as well as the ramifications of his father's alcoholism
Given their mutual history of loss, pain, and feeling outcasted, they form a precarious (initially) relationship in which they not only use each other's strengths to build each other up, but also in which they discovered more about themselves through the lenses of slavery, racism, family, and duty.
Initially, I found it a bit harder to get into A Hope Divided. I guess that's due to the fact I thought it would be written similarly to book 1, but I quickly fell into a rhythm and enjoyed the story for what it was. Marlie and Ewan seemed more vulnerable and organic. Alyssa took time and care giving them their own arcs and setting scenes that really made me feel like I was transported to Civil War period. I did wish that we got to see more of the work Marlie did as it related to the Loyal League and Underground Railroad (as this is one the premises of the series), but I know there's only so much an author can do without overwhelming the reader/story line.
Again, another great read by Alyssa Cole!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
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