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Carpetbagger's Wife
After the Civil War, Caddie Marsh returns to her family plantation to build a new life for herself and her children, but finds her brother-in-law and his wife have already claimed the house.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 16, 2024
I finally finished a book! More about this one on Wednesday, June 19th for TBR Challenge blogging day.
October 2, 2018
You look familiar?
Interesting marriage of convenience story. The second half dragged a little. Though I'm not a fan of the big M ploy it was understandable considering the whole north/south tension. Trust would be in short supply.
I was curious about one thing. Where did all the black people go? I appreciated being spared the stereotype slaves that loved the family so much they couldn't leave. Yeah right. However when the H is looking for help for workers for his mill not one person black or white shows up.
What brought it down to a 3 though was the fact the heroine suspected the hero might indeed be her first husband. Seriously? The civil war wasn't 20 years long. You can't recognize a man you had two children with? Still a nice read with a satisfying hea.
Interesting marriage of convenience story. The second half dragged a little. Though I'm not a fan of the big M ploy it was understandable considering the whole north/south tension. Trust would be in short supply.
I was curious about one thing. Where did all the black people go? I appreciated being spared the stereotype slaves that loved the family so much they couldn't leave. Yeah right. However when the H is looking for help for workers for his mill not one person black or white shows up.
What brought it down to a 3 though was the fact the heroine suspected the hero might indeed be her first husband. Seriously? The civil war wasn't 20 years long. You can't recognize a man you had two children with? Still a nice read with a satisfying hea.
April 18, 2022
A community scourged by war and inundated by scavengers trying to cart off anything left of value wasn't exactly what the widow Caddie Marsh and her children were expecting to find when they returned home to Sabbath Hollow. When a battle weary Union soldier takes on the role of protector for her and her children, Southern sensibilities are tested as Caddie's temper flares. She is even more shocked to learn that part of Manning protection plan is to marry her and live in her late husband's home. This engrossing story will draw you into every scene and impossible situation while it continues to drag the weary characters through one crisis after another. Buckle Up For This One! Good Read!!!!!
May 27, 2018
Epic
Shades of "Gone With the Wind" only I'm not 10! The struggles and scary hardships of the after math of the Civil War are shown here so is the stubborn southern pride to survive. The times and people seem so real and she's right you can even feel the dog. Excellent writing!
Shades of "Gone With the Wind" only I'm not 10! The struggles and scary hardships of the after math of the Civil War are shown here so is the stubborn southern pride to survive. The times and people seem so real and she's right you can even feel the dog. Excellent writing!
August 26, 2018
I'm in love.... This book was written to make you fall in love with it. Well written and beautifully. The characters felt so real and alive, the storyline so touching, in all a great Historical romance. I loved it and recommend it to all.
January 19, 2019
Civil war love story
Post civil war finds the southern widow in the story and a yankee on a path towards love and secrets. The story was fairly predictable in parts but interesting enough to keep you reading.
Post civil war finds the southern widow in the story and a yankee on a path towards love and secrets. The story was fairly predictable in parts but interesting enough to keep you reading.
February 22, 2022
trying times on the old plantation
Who is he, is he her husband, is he someone who looks like her husband, tought Times calls for her to marry him and then find out who he is really!
Who is he, is he her husband, is he someone who looks like her husband, tought Times calls for her to marry him and then find out who he is really!
June 29, 2017
A novel of life after the Civil War.
added-it
February 20, 2022🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/20/2022)! 🎁
March 2, 2022
Great book
April 10, 2014
In a Stranger's Arm by Deborah Hale is an excellent post Civil War novel. Her characters are well though t out and well described. They come off the page and into your heart before you know it. Deborah Hale loved the movie Summersby and took the idea of a look alike man coming home in place of the husband and expanded on it.
Caddie Marsh is coming back to Marsh Plantation and the birthright of her son Templeton and daughter Varina. She is hoping the plantation is still standing and that she can somehow make a go of it. Her husband was killed in battle but he was long gone from her heart when she caught him in bed with Ladone Swade. I[pm finding the house still stood, a shock awaited her. Lon Marsh, her brother-in-law, has moved into the house and plans to make Sabbath Hollow his own. Although he was given land nearby, he views Sabbath Hollow as him. He has also married Ladone Swade and she is living there too. The first thing she does is to tell Lon he and Ladone had to leave, especially her. She is backed up by a returning soldier, Manning Forbes.
Manning Forbes is returning from the War; but he fought on the Union side. He keeps this part a secret as long as he can since he is in the South. He has come to see what he could do to help Caddie and make sure she and her children were fine. He has money to invest in the plantation and runs it for her. He figures the best way to make sure they are fine is to marry her. Why does he feel he has to take care of her? Why does he look so much like her husband? Is he really Manning or is he Del?
Can Caddie find the wherewithal to stand up to Lon on her own? What about the taxes due on Sabbath Hollow? If she looses the plantation, where will she and her children go? Where on the plantation is the family silver buried and is it still there?
Caddie Marsh is coming back to Marsh Plantation and the birthright of her son Templeton and daughter Varina. She is hoping the plantation is still standing and that she can somehow make a go of it. Her husband was killed in battle but he was long gone from her heart when she caught him in bed with Ladone Swade. I[pm finding the house still stood, a shock awaited her. Lon Marsh, her brother-in-law, has moved into the house and plans to make Sabbath Hollow his own. Although he was given land nearby, he views Sabbath Hollow as him. He has also married Ladone Swade and she is living there too. The first thing she does is to tell Lon he and Ladone had to leave, especially her. She is backed up by a returning soldier, Manning Forbes.
Manning Forbes is returning from the War; but he fought on the Union side. He keeps this part a secret as long as he can since he is in the South. He has come to see what he could do to help Caddie and make sure she and her children were fine. He has money to invest in the plantation and runs it for her. He figures the best way to make sure they are fine is to marry her. Why does he feel he has to take care of her? Why does he look so much like her husband? Is he really Manning or is he Del?
Can Caddie find the wherewithal to stand up to Lon on her own? What about the taxes due on Sabbath Hollow? If she looses the plantation, where will she and her children go? Where on the plantation is the family silver buried and is it still there?
May 14, 2014
Deborah Hale writes with a warm, sure understanding of her characters and a flare for drawing the reader into times gone by. In a Stranger's Arms is filled with captivating characters and Southern flavour and is definitely a good read for historical romance buffs. Set in the American South immediately following the Civil War, the novel is a pleasing cross between Pride and Prejudice and Gone with the Wind. Heroine Caddie Marsh is an embittered widow who returns to her war-ravaged plantation home with little more than a horse and wagon, her stubborn pride, and the determination to build a good home for her two children. The day she arrives at Sabbath Hollow, she meets a Yankee stranger, Manning Forbes, who bears a shocking resemblance to her dead husband killed in the war. The stranger rescues her from a sticky situation and offers her an outlandish proposal. Throughout the novel, Caddie is forced to search her heart and confront both the role her Southern pride played in her failed marriage and her growing feelings for one of the 'enemy.' A good man, Manning Forbes has a dark secret of his own, a secret that drew him to Sabbath Hollow and dictated his proposal. Lots of twists and turns to keep you reading!
December 15, 2013
It's after the American Civil War.
And Caddie is alone with her two children. Defenceless. Confronting her brother and wicked sister in law to stay at the family home. Once a thriving plantation dealing in horses it's now a relic of the past.
But Caddie has a vision. And she has hope. And being on her own to feed two children in a world gone mad means she's got strength and courage to see her vision through.
In walks Manning Forbes.
What he proposes is ridiculous but amazing. A generous gift she doesn't know how to accept. Her children open up their hearts to this stranger and see his heart grow as a result.
Love is foreign to Caddie and Manning but they try like two wounded doves learning to fly again. A slow heated romance meant to heat up your night and believe in love.
And Caddie is alone with her two children. Defenceless. Confronting her brother and wicked sister in law to stay at the family home. Once a thriving plantation dealing in horses it's now a relic of the past.
But Caddie has a vision. And she has hope. And being on her own to feed two children in a world gone mad means she's got strength and courage to see her vision through.
In walks Manning Forbes.
What he proposes is ridiculous but amazing. A generous gift she doesn't know how to accept. Her children open up their hearts to this stranger and see his heart grow as a result.
Love is foreign to Caddie and Manning but they try like two wounded doves learning to fly again. A slow heated romance meant to heat up your night and believe in love.
July 16, 2012
I had to stop reading this about 2/3 of the way through. I really really tried to finish it, but there were too many "oh woe is me" moments from both the hero and the heroine. It seemed to me that half the story she was whining about falling in love with a yankee, and he was whining about falling in love with her. On to the next book...I'm sure it will be better.
October 28, 2013
I am going to be really honest, I put this away half way through. however, I did go back to it and i am really glad i did! The second half really engaged me. I like the ending, i just think, for me it was a little slow paced. It could have missed some of the repetitiveness and been lots better. Still better then average.
November 18, 2024
Just finished this book. Really enjoyed the storyline and hope that Ms. Hale can continue it. I would recommend this to other, I really enjoyed it. Civil War and/or post romance stories are my favorite, and now I can add this to my collection. Thanks for penning this book Ms. Hale.
August 5, 2013
About half way through is a detailed account of intimacy and then the rest of the book seems to center all about her loving him and vice versa - that part got old but I kept going thinking there must be more to the story. The over-all story was good - just minus all the sex references.
July 31, 2013
Gone with the wind with a twist. I gave it 2 starts not because it was bad but because it lack originality. I know that writer was inspired by Gone with the wind. However, I've would like to seen the writer own more this story. Oddly enough it is a good book and nice ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2014
This book was known to me as In A stranger's arms. It takes place after the Civil War and it reminded me of the movie Sommersby. The author even wrote in the back that that movie was in the back of her mind while writing it. I found the book rather entertaining.
April 2, 2014
VERY GOOD STORY
I really like stories of the era surrounding the "old south" . this book was so similar to others showing the strong women of reconstruction in the south. they were truly steel Magnolias and still are. Never underestimate the will power of a woman. A great read
I really like stories of the era surrounding the "old south" . this book was so similar to others showing the strong women of reconstruction in the south. they were truly steel Magnolias and still are. Never underestimate the will power of a woman. A great read
February 17, 2015
Loved it!
The Civil War period is my favorite so this was perfect for me. The plot is very close to Sommersby, but that was a plus for me. Characters were well developed. Very enjoyable read.
The Civil War period is my favorite so this was perfect for me. The plot is very close to Sommersby, but that was a plus for me. Characters were well developed. Very enjoyable read.
February 6, 2017
Took awhile to get into, but it finally picked up. Almost gave up a time or two when it felt like the author was trying too hard to channel Southern Pride or over did it and shoved it down your throat...then again that seems to be a true Southern hazard.
March 2, 2010
Really good U.S. historic romance.
own-tbr-fr
July 14, 2013kindle free, title changed to "In a Stranger's Arms"
free
July 15, 2013AKA: In a Stranger's Arms
July 17, 2013
Name change--In a Stranger's Arms--kindle version title
Read
July 20, 2013Didn't want to finish - too many innuendos, and not captivating enough.
July 19, 2013
I don't think I could do what she did. it takes a big person to do what Callie did. loved the kids!! this book inspires forgiveness and change. it was great.. different but good..
August 8, 2013
My mistake for thinking it was clean. Up until that point it was still just okay for me. It is hard to reconcile her hatred toward him with her love. Not my type of story.
August 27, 2013
Actually 2 1/2 stars. Well written and the story carried me along.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews