Roseanna M White's "Dreams of Savannah"

Cordelia Owens can weave a hopeful dream around anything. Even when she receives word that her sweetheart has been lost during a raid on a Yankee vessel, she clings to hope and comes up with many a romantic tale of his eventual homecoming to reassure his mother and sister. But Phineas Dunn finds nothing redemptive in the first horrors of war. Struggling for months to make it home alive, he returns to Savannah injured and cynical, and all too sure that he is not the hero Cordelia seems determined to make him. Matters of black and white don't seem so simple anymore to Phin, and despite her best efforts, Delia's smiles can't erase all the complications in his life. And when Fort Pulaski falls and the future wavers, they both must decide where the dreams of a new America will take them, and if they will go together.

I've read more thrilling stories of the Civil War, and I've read more romantic; there are certainly darker, grittier tales, and more moving stories; but overall, it was a nicely balanced and enjoyable book that highlighted the complexity of deep south. Don't be turned off by the opinions voiced in the first couple chapters--characters grow; perceptions change.

Cordelia's daydreams and stories certainly add a dramatic flair to the story. Maybe she comes off a little naïve, but I liked her. I'm glad that in spite of her disagreements with her parents, she strives to honor them. Phineas grows quite a lot in the story--from an entitled planter's son to a thoughtful war veteran. He isn't perfect, even in the end, but he's a strong hero.

Sometimes it feels like there is nothing new under the sun, particularly when it comes to popular eras for historical fiction like the Civil War, but in this book Luther was the surprise--a black Brit who'd never been a slave, trying to break INTO the South rather than escape from it. He just might have been my favorite character, with his humorous way with words (or not words, as the case may be), as well as his strong faith as he searches for his wife.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.