Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Beloved Enemy” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

more photos (1)

Beloved Enemy

Mary Schaller

3.80 · Rating details · 41 ratings · 7 reviews

HOW COULD SHE FALL IN LOVE WITH A YANKEE?

Julia Chandler was a true daughter of the Confederacy, believing any man who wore Union blue was no man at all. But the magic of a costume ball transformed her, and she looked beyond his mask and saw in the eyes of Major Robert Montgomery the mirror of her very soul!

Major Rob Montgomery had good reason to hate Southerners. Hadn'

...more

Get A Copy

Mass Market Paperback, 296 pages

Published January 1st 2004 by Harlequin

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Beloved Enemy, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Beloved Enemy

Lists with This Book

Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Civil War Era Romance

91 books — 110 voters

Falling for Her Captor by Elisabeth Hobbes

The Blacksmith's Wife by Elisabeth Hobbes

A Wager for the Widow by Elisabeth Hobbes

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

The Unexpected Duchess by Valerie Bowman

Historical Dresses - Green

140 books — 22 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.80 ·

Rating details

· 41 ratings · 7 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Beloved Enemy

Aug 08, 2010 Misfit rated it it was ok

1863, Alexandria Virginia. Sisters Carolyn and Julia Chandler, loyal Confederates, plot to crash a masquerade ball put on by Yankee railroad tycoon George Winstead. The Chandler's loyal servants help the young ladies sneak out from under their parent's watchful eyes (!!) and they're off to the ball, but Julia has other things in mind than just catching the eye of a handsome man. Her parents plan to wed her to her odious cousin Payton Norwood, and she gets it in her brain if she's debouched, he'l 1863, Alexandria Virginia. Sisters Carolyn and Julia Chandler, loyal Confederates, plot to crash a masquerade ball put on by Yankee railroad tycoon George Winstead. The Chandler's loyal servants help the young ladies sneak out from under their parent's watchful eyes (!!) and they're off to the ball, but Julia has other things in mind than just catching the eye of a handsome man. Her parents plan to wed her to her odious cousin Payton Norwood, and she gets it in her brain if she's debouched, he'll dump her (she doesn't quite know what it really means, but she means to do it). Handsome Yankee Major Robert Montgomery catches her eye and she thinks he'll fit the bill - especially when he starts quoting Shakespeare (the one bright light in this sorry book). Rob was wounded and lost the use of one hand at Gettysburg and his fiance dumped him for that, so he's a bit gun-shy of women, but he can't seem to resist Julia's attractions, hated Confederate that she is.

What follows is pretty much what you'd expect in your standard Harlequin historical romance, they meet, lust after each other, never confess their true feelings, have Big Misunderstandings (well duh), all ending up in a terribly silly and overly contrived plot to put Robert in a southern prison so he can help his fellow Yankees escape. Of course you know that Julia's going to have to get mixed up in the thick of things as she tries to dodge her less than ardent suitor Hayward (he's only interested in an inheritance she's soon to come up with).

*yawn*

The book started off well enough, albeit a bit on the light side, but by the time the action moved to Richmond and the prison things just started falling to pieces and got terribly silly indeed - as did some of the prose. I give kudos to the author for putting real events and characters in her story (at least according to her notes they were), but it wasn't enough to save this one from landing in the recycle bin. That said, outside of some heavy kisses there is no sexual activity so this might actually do well for a younger reader. Your call though, I don't have a teenage daughter, so I'm not the best judge.
...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2013 Virginia Welch rated it it was amazing

Hands down: This is my all-time favorite historical fiction romance. Set during the Civil War, young, naive Confederate girl falls in love with a Union soldier. The ending has a neat twist. The writing is compelling and funny at times--the comedy surprises you because she writes in such a way that you don't see it coming. The story is based on the true account of a break-out of Union soldiers from a confederate prison in Richmond, Va. I liked the story so much I actually drove to Richmond just t ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 18, 2010 Debbie rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-romance

December 1863 - Alexandria, Virginia
Marriage to her cousin was not an option for Julia Chandler, she simply had to find a way out. The invitation to the masked ball was there, even if it wasn’t intended for them, she may be able to find the solution there. The right questions, the right approach, the right man, she had to find a way to overlook them all being Yankees. It was an order for him to be there, Major Robert Montgomery didn’t want to be there, but the time was not a complete waste, he December 1863 - Alexandria, Virginia
Marriage to her cousin was not an option for Julia Chandler, she simply had to find a way out. The invitation to the masked ball was there, even if it wasn’t intended for them, she may be able to find the solution there. The right questions, the right approach, the right man, she had to find a way to overlook them all being Yankees. It was an order for him to be there, Major Robert Montgomery didn’t want to be there, but the time was not a complete waste, he was able to spend an evening with a young lady that had read and could quote Shakespeare and had the most intriguing proposition for him. Finding out that it came from a Southern sympathizer should have changed things, after all he blamed them for leaving him disfigured and alone, but instead he found himself in her garden, more than once. He was a Yankee Major, she knew she shouldn’t spend time with him, but she did so enjoy his company. Just how much was she willing to do, could she forget all the things she thought she knew about the Union soldiers in order to be around him a little longer.

Good old Harlequin Historical, not only does the authors do their best to get historical facts as straight as they can, but they are able to make the tragedy of this whole war so real. To take a historical fact and be able to add just the right characters to the mix that you actually think, “that could be how it really happened” is great. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Julia at first, but as time progressed I started coming around (liked Rob from word one). As a period piece, these characters stayed true to the times, there is actually very few intimate moments between the Rob and Julia letting the emotional edge of the relationship carry the book. I had not thought that I had read any of Mary Schaller’s work before until picking up this book and realizing that I have, she also writes under the name of Tori Phillips which I have read several of (different time periods though so not something that can be easily compared). While a masked ball is not something new to the historical romance world, this one was fun, but I think that was because of Julia.
...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 02, 2013 Jakques rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: teens, adults

Shelves: close-to-my-heart-stories

THIS IS MY MOST FAVOURITE BOOK EVAR
*happy dance*

I absolutely and adore historical romance; and this book is very priceless to me. It's my priced possession amongst the books have (cause I found it in a second-hand book store). And it would in the top of my charts beyond hundreds and hundreds of stories I've read. And the romance is just... Romance. It's love. Nowadays, people only care about the sex ~~and stuff I wouldn't dare say in this review~~, so it's rare to find genuinely adorable characters ...more

flag Like · see review

Oct 16, 2012 Kim Murphy rated it really liked it

Set during the Civil War in Virginia, Beloved Enemy breaks the boundaries of the romance genre. Julia Chandler's parents promise her hand to a man she wants no part of. A humorous costume ball follows where Julia sets out to be "ruined" by a Yankee. Instead of finding a stereotypical rude Northerner, she discovers a true gentleman in Major Rob Montgomery.

Although I giggled at romancy words like "manhood," Schaller does an excellent job of telling a historically correct tale within the confines o ...more

flag Like · see review

Jul 05, 2014 Jultri rated it liked it

Shelves: tortured-hero

3.5

flag Like · see review

Aug 18, 2014 Serita rated it it was amazing

Great love story! There is tenderness and passion, without sex scenes.

flag Like · see review

Vanesa Sadya-as rated it really liked it
Aug 03, 2017

Deirdre rated it it was amazing
Nov 06, 2013

Heather Tassler rated it liked it
Jan 14, 2013

Lauren rated it liked it
Apr 22, 2012

Tanya rated it liked it
Jul 23, 2014

Cecilia rated it really liked it
Jul 31, 2017

Jennifer rated it it was amazing
Dec 08, 2012

Gina rated it it was ok
Mar 08, 2015

Sharil rated it it was amazing
Oct 04, 2014

Dana rated it it was amazing
Apr 02, 2011

Amber rated it really liked it
Jun 15, 2008

Gina Knight rated it it was amazing
Mar 05, 2020

Debbie rated it really liked it
Jul 23, 2018

Sara rated it really liked it
May 19, 2019

Cassandra rated it liked it
Jun 29, 2011

Jordan rated it it was amazing
Jan 14, 2012

Rodelene rated it did not like it
Jan 12, 2019

Lynsey rated it it was ok
May 09, 2017

Anne rated it really liked it
Mar 03, 2016

Kenni Leveaux rated it it was amazing
Jul 12, 2013

Jessie rated it liked it
Jan 08, 2011

Debbie Hayward rated it really liked it
Aug 05, 2012

Christine rated it really liked it
Jun 23, 2012

« previous 1 2 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Romance

4 users

Fiction

2 users

Military History > Civil War

2 users

Historical

2 users

Romance > Historical Romance

2 users

See top shelves…

About Mary Schaller

Mary Schaller

3 followers

aka Tori Phillips

Mary W. Schaller is a native of Washington, D.C. (and remains staunchly non-partisan for survival!), an army brat and navy wife. She graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in Theatre Arts, and early in her career she worked in the communications department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City, Calif. Nearly 30 years ago, she returned to the Washington ar ...more