The Sheepish Scribe

Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I backed into this series by reading the second book first. It blew me away so I had to read Wedded to War. To be honest, the second book, Widow of Gettysburg, is better. How often is it that the sequel better than the first?! But this one is. That said, this book is well worth reading and I enjoyed it.

Charlotte Waverly's heroic struggle to fit in with Miss Dix's newly formed female nursing league is full of insightful historic details. I love history and enjoyed "meeting" Dorothea Dix and Frederick Olmstead in this book. Their work and dedication set the groundwork for our American Red Cross of today.

The fate of Ruby O'Flannery, an Irish immigrant left on her own when her husband marches off to war, will touch your heart. Any woman alone, much less a looked-down-upon Irish immigrant, had very little chance of surviving on the streets of New York.

There is a touching love story tucked amid the sometimes graphic details of the hard life these nurses endured. What I appreciate so much about this series is the behind-the-scenes look at the Civil War that one doesn't often get in a fiction story. We know so much about the battles and the generals and the geography of the war, it's good to get another perspective, a fresh look at history we know so well.

I can't wait for the third book in this series!