Tennessee Waltz
by Ginger Hanson
RT Rating: 4 stars
Category: HISTORICAL
Setting: 1866, New York
Publisher: Zebra
Published: January 2004
During the Civil War, Billie D'Angelo dresses as a boy to work as a Confederate spy. Union Captain Grayson Vanderlyn has commandeered her beautiful Morgan horse, Destiny, and Billie wants it back.
Destiny is all that stands between her and abject poverty. The horse is the pivotal element in Billie's plan to start a horse farm on her uncle's run-down Texas property. If successful, she can eventually buy back her ancestral home in Tennessee.
Disguised as a lad, Billie travels to Grayson's home in New York. But before she can steal the horse back, Billie encounters Grayson's sister Lina, who decides to help the "boy" by making him her foster son. Gray and Billie each fight to keep Destiny and struggle with the feelings they arouse within each other.
Hanson crafts a fast-paced book, rich in detail. Her judicious use of Southern dialect adds a ring of authenticity. Put this on your to-buy list. Fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' rare debut historical, The Copeland Bride, will be especially delighted. SENSUAL (Jan., 256 pp., $5.99)
—Deborah Brent, Romantic Times Bookclub
www.romantictimes.com/books_review.php?book=21352
To keep herself unharmed and alive, Billie D’Angelo spends much of her time dressed as a young boy. When a Yankee colonel steals her prized possession, a horse with impeccable bloodlines, Billie vows to travel north, as soon as it is safe, and reclaim him.
When a young boy attempts to steal his horse, Grayson Vanderlyn, captures the boy and winds up housing him. It seems Grayson’s sister figures this poor young orphan needs a new mother and a new home. Something about the boy troubles Grayson, his pulse picks up every time the boy is near.
When Billie’s secret is revealed, Grayson knows he wants to make this woman his wife. However, feelings between the north and the south are still tenuous at best. How can he prove he is not the blood thirsty Yankee she believes him to be?
I adore Civil War settings, and sadly they are not commonly used. TENNESSEE WALTZ is the first book by Ginger Hanson that has connected characters. Ginger, a former history teacher, knows her stuff! She captures the feel of the times beautifully. You feel as though you are traveling right along side Grayson and Billie.
I am eager to become lost in the next book, RANSOM’S BRIDE, which comes out this month.
The review, as well as an interview, will be up in a couple of weeks.
Tracy Farnsworth of Roundtable Reviews
Economic times have pressured Tracy into discontinuing Roundtable Reviews. She will be missed.
