Review: Excellent Debut!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2013
Tamsyn Moody is not your typical Southern Belle, there is no coyness or swooning for her.  If she and her young daughter, Elizabeth, are to survive following the death of her husband she must be tough as nails and protect Elizabeth with the fierceness of a lioness.  Fiercely loyal, she tries to carry out her husband's last request of her and finds herself in a predicament that could, not only separate her from her child and family, but could very well mean her death.  She and Elizabeth are taken captive by Union soldiers on their way to Appomattox to join with General Ulysses S. Grant.  General James Steele, their commander, finds them mistreating Tamsyn and steps in as her and Elizabeth's protector, deciding that the mother and daughter must travel to Appomattox with the troops to face General Grant.General Steele has had enough of war and death and wants only to get his troops safely to Appomattox, where he is sure the announcement will be made that the war is over and he will be able to return at last to his family and their shipping business.  He feels the anger and hatred of his troops toward the Rebel woman and takes it upon himself to insure their safety during the trip.  The more time he spends with Tamsyn and Elizabeth the more his attraction to Tamsyn grows.When General Grant decides to drop all charges against her James is not willing to let her go and concocts a lie making her believe that General Grant has placed her in Steele's custody until the war is over.  The two become entangled and secrets on both sides begin seeping out and causing trauma.Things happened in this story that I truly was not expecting.  I finished this book in a day, because I wanted to see where it would all end up.  I thought I had it figured out but I was wrong.  I came to truly care about all of the major characters in this book, feeling their pain, surprise and joy and getting very angry at some of them too.  The storyline is rich and colorful and moves along very smoothly to its conclusion.This is April London's debut historical romance and I am looking forward to reading more from her in the future.  If you like the Civil War era and historical romance you will definitely enjoy The Rebel Spy.