Review: I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

I Shall Be Near To You

by Erin Lindsay McCabe

Publisher: Crown

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she's always worked by her father’s side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier.

Rosetta drills with the men, prepares herself for battle, and faces the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Fearing discovery of her secret, Rosetta’s strong will clashes with Jeremiah’s as their marriage is tested by war. Inspired by over two hundred and fifty documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta’s powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman’s amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life’s challenges side by side.


Kritters Thoughts:  Another historical fiction, but this one during the civil war and from the beginning, I was hooked!  Newly married Rosetta can't stand to stay in a house on her in-laws property, so she decides to join her husband in the war.

Rosetta was a fantastic character.  She was likeable and it was easy to cheer her on in her endeavors, and maybe cringe too!  Even though this story is told from a woman's perspective I still felt the grittiness of war and it didn't lack the real truths of what life was like on the front lines.  

If you love the Civil War time period and want to hear about how some women wanted to be a part of it, this is the book for you.

I had read a similar storyline for book club and none of us really loved it, so I will definitely be recommending this one to them as a great story about women taking roles in the Civil War.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel!

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.