The Quaker and the Rebel

Title: THE QUAKER AND THE REBEL

Author: Mary Ellis

Publisher: Harvest House

January 2014

ISBN: 978-0736950503

Genre: Historical / Civil War

What Happens When an Underground Railroad Conductor Falls in Love with a Man Loyal to the Confederacy?

Emily Harrison's life has turned upside down. At the beginning of the Civil War, she bravely attempts to continue her parents' work in the Underground Railroad until their Ohio farm is sold in foreclosure. Now alone and without a home, she accepts a position as a governess with a doctor's family in slave-holding Virginia. Though it's dangerous, she decides to continue her rescue efforts from there.

Alexander Hunt, the doctor's handsome nephew, does not deny a growing attraction to his uncle's newest employee. But he cannot take time to pursue Emily, for Alexander isn't what he seems--rich, spoiled, and indolent. He has a secret identity. He is the elusive Gray Wraith, a fearless man who fights the war from the shadows, stealing Union supplies and diverting them to the Southern cause.

The path before Alexander and Emily is complicated. The war brings betrayal, entrapment, and danger. Amid their growing feelings for each other, can they trust God with the challenges they face to provide them with a bright future?

THE QUAKER AND THEE REBEL is Ms. Ellis' first published historical--and the first book in the Civil War Heroines Series. Set during the Civil War, it is a different twist than most Civil War novels featuring main characters on opposite sides of the war. Alexander is the Rebel--and Emily is the Yankee. But... that said, Alexander is also the Quaker and Emily is also the rebel, running a portion of the Underground Railroad.

Emily is much more opinionated than I am familiar with in historical romances, too. Strong female leads are customary, but ones that deliberately offend their employers upon meeting them is not something I think I've read before. Emily was narrow-minded, opinionated, and spoiled. I did like Alexander. I loved his spirit, his teasing, his fun nature--and I figured out his secret identity as soon as the elusive confederate thief was mentioned. (Good thing it isn't a plot spoiler, since it's on the back cover and revealed in the first fifty pages.)

Fans of Ms. Ellis' Amish romances and historical romance fans alike will applaud this newest series. Discussion questions are included in the back as well as a preview to the second book in the series, The Lady and the Officer (which is in my to-be read pile) $9.39 Kindle. $13.99 paperback. 353 pages.