Carried Forward by Hope by Ginny Dye

(The Bregdan Chronicles Book 6)

Published & Release Date: A Voice in the World Publishing, May 5, 2014

Time and setting: 1865 Virginia

Genre: Historical Fiction Romance

Length: 655 pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweet Heart

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

The Civil War has ended, but the struggle to rebuild America is just beginning. 

Description: America struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination. Promises will be broken, and everyone you have grown to love will be asked to pay a high price to make freedom for the slaves more than just a mockery. 

Robert fights to emerge from the darkness as Carrie risks everything to bring him back to her. 

Moses is offered the opportunity of a lifetime, while Rose returns to her roots with a dream that will change everything. 

Matthew is caught up in the worst maritime disaster in American history, while Jeremy discovers the cost of embracing his true heritage. 

Thomas and Abby are surprised by a future they never dreamed was possible. 

Volume #6 of The Bregdan Chronicles continues the sweeping historical saga that now encompasses the first year of Reconstruction following the Civil War. 

Buy Link:

http://smile.amazon.com/Carried-Forward-Bregdan-Chronicles-Historical-ebook/dp/B00K6IBRYE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1430404293&sr=1-1&keywords=carried+forward+by+hope+by+ginny+dye

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18591138-carried-forward-by-hope?ac=1

Vikki’s Musings

This is the sixth book in the Bregdan Chronicles Series. I have grown to really care about the characters in these amazing books, and Carried Forward by Hope is no exception. This one gives me a glimpse of what the Reconstruction period immediately following the end of the Civil War may have been like for the freed slaves and the white men and women that wanted to ensure their continued freedom. This was not an easy task to say the least.

Carrie and her friends are still in shock over the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. She fears that this will not bode well for many of her friends. Lincoln would have made sure the government helped the freed slaves find jobs and a life with meaning. President Johnson is another matter. As an ex-slave owner and a man who fought for the right to own slaves, Johnson is bound to stand with the plantation owner in their desire to keep the black population under their control. It soon becomes clear that their worries are justified.

Johnson make it easy for the southern states to rejoin the union with very few changes in leadership allowing these men to bring forth black codes, which severely curtailed the newly freed slaves ability to integrate with white population. In essence, they were still under the thumb of all the plantation owners as if slavery still existed. The Republican congress was not in session and Johnson ran amuck to say the least until congress would reconvene in January 1866.

Carrie fights to bring Robert back from the deep depression he is in while he slowly recovers from his near death experience at the end of the war. She travels to Maryland to convince the family that helped him after he was injured at Antietam. The family was hiding out to avoid having their children apprenticed. They agree to come to Cromwell Plantation and little Amber works her magic. Robert begins to get over his desolation and is soon restored to full health.

While I enjoyed the fascinating look at the history immediately following the end of the Civil War in Carried Forward by Hope, I struggled with some of the plot points, especially the one with Janie and Clifford. There was just too much of a shift in his personality for my tastes. Again, other than Clifford and a bit of Robert’s character, most of the other characters do not show any flaws. For me, that is unrealistic.

I do enjoy Amber’s character a great deal, and I was glad to see she has returned to the plotline. In fact, I like her brother Clint as well and feel they help give this book light among all the darkness. I am also glad to have Janie back with Carrie and the others.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed Carried Forward by Hope and look forward to reading Glimmers of Change, the next book in this incredible series. If you want to see a different side to what happened during this troubled time in American history, I highly recommend reading this series. I do want to mention that you need to read this series in order because each book picks up where the last one ends. Happy reading!

The Last Long Night (Bregdan Chronicles#5)

by Ginny Dye

Published & Release Date: A Voice in the World Publishing, January 8, 2014

Time and setting: 1864-1865 Virginia

Genre: Historical Fiction Romance

Length: 534 pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweet Heart

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

Description: The power of the Union army brings the South to its knees in surrender, but not until a year of intense pain and violence creates a chasm that may be impossible for the country to bridge. 

Carrie struggles to hold on to hope as the world caves in around her, hanging on to the promise she’s been given. She also finally gets to reveal the secret she has held so close. 

Moses is gravely wounded in battle. 

Aunt Abby faces danger as she gets more deeply involved with women’s rights, and spends time in Washington, D.C. 

Robert’s plantation takes a severe loss, but is saved from burning by an unlikely source. 

Rose continues to thrive in the Contraband Camp and finally has a dream come true. 

Volume # 5 of The Bregdan Chronicles continues the sweeping saga that now encompasses the final year of the American Civil War. 

Buy Link:

http://smile.amazon.com/Bregdan-Chronicles-Historical-Fiction-Romance-ebook/dp/B00E3BVJ7A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1428963318&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+long+night

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18323132-the-last-long-night?from_search=true

Vikki’s Musings

The saga continues in The Last Long Night of the Bregdan Chronicles Book 5. I am sure for the brave men who fought in the Civil War, the entire last year of the war must have felt like one continuous nightmare. What the Rebels endured that last year was beyond anything anyone could have imagined. They suffered one defeat after the other, near starvation, and a brutal winter.

Ms. Dye paints a vivid and graphic picture of the siege of Richmond, along with the fight for the Shenandoah Valley, where Robert’s plantation comes under threat of fire. At times the details are quite painful to read, but this episode is rich with astonishing historical detail. That is what I am enjoying most about this series.

This book opens with Richmond again under attack and Robert Borden in the midst of the fighting. While the south again wins the battle, it is at a heavy cost, one that it can ill afford. Lee sends Robert to the Shenandoah Valley to join Jubal Early. There, another rout occurs that has the Rebels running for their lives, leaving Sherman to burn and destroy one of the last food supplies to Lee’s army.

After the defeat, Robert is given leave to find out if his home is still standing. When he arrives on the hill above his plantation, he watches the Yankees get ready to torch his barns and home with his mother on the front porch. The only thing that saves his plantation is Matthew Justin. He tells the captain in charge that the man who owns the plantation saved his life and helped him escape Libby Prison. This book ends with the surrender at Appomattox and the death of Lincoln.    

While I was fascinated by all the history in this episode, I do feel that most of the characters have become a bit sanctimonious. None of them have any flaws. Carrie stands strong in the face of hardship. Her father has accepted her views toward slavery, and Robert is the perfect confederate officer. No one gets angry at their lot in life, it is not very realistic. While there are moments of high drama, the characters accept everything too easily. Some of the sub-plots were unnecessary in my estimation and did not move the story forward.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed The Last Long Night and will continue reading the rest of the series for the history alone, and I do still like all the characters and must see how they make it through the reconstruction. Happy reading! 

Dark Chaos by Ginny Dye

Published & Release Date: A Voice in the World Publishing, July 8, 2010

Time and setting: 1863-1864 Virginia

Genre: Historical Fiction Romance

Length: 662 pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweet Heart

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Book Description:

Dark clouds and chaos descend lower upon America as the war rages around them; threatening all they hold dear. 

Carrie and Robert are once more pulled apart, and Carrie finds herself the target of a hostile group of men determined to stop her from providing medical care of black residents of Richmond. How long can she continue to save other people's lives at the risk of her own? 

Aunt Abby is sucked into a violent riot in the North, while Matthew faces the greatest challenge of his life. 

Rose welcomes new life, while Moses risks everything as a Northern spy. 

The ultimate test comes as the people of a once-promising nation must hold on to their faith and dreams as everything around them crumbles. 

The fourth book of The Bregdan Chronicles historical fiction series will pull you in and never let you go. You'll experience the Civil War era (and all the years to come) through the eyes of both White and Black, free & slave, Southern & Northern - and you'll fall in love with every character. 

Buy Link:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bregdan-Chronicles-Historical-Fiction-Romance-ebook/dp/B004443YVK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1428424839

Audible: http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Dark-Chaos-Audiobook/B00R8JFJAW/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1430106098&sr=1-1

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18909782-dark-chaos?ac=1

Vikki’s Musings

And this amazing story continues with the fourth book of The Bregdan Chronicles. Dark Chaos is filled with turmoil of the times as the north continues to wage war against the south. I must mention that even though these books are quite long, the pacing is so good that they read as a much shorter story.

This edition of this saga starts out on a happy note with Carrie at long last marrying Robert Borden. Unfortunately that does not last long. General Lee needs him to lead his men in the defense of, yet again, another assault on Richmond. The day after their wedding, Carrie has to kiss him goodbye and live in fear that he will not make it through the upcoming battle.

Dark Chaos covers the period from the spring of 1863 to the following spring.  Up to this point the south has come out the victor in most of the battles, but the tide turns when Grant takes over the Army of the West with Joseph Hooker as the Commander of the Army of the Potomac.

After a decisive victory over Hooker at Chancellorsville, Lee marches his army north, while Robert is sent on a diplomatic mission to England. While he is disappointed when Carrie decides to stay in Richmond instead of joining him, he accepts her decision, knowing his strong-willed wife will not change her mind.

Robert is safe in England when Lee suffers a huge defeat at Gettysburg and Grant is victorious in his campaign to take Vicksburg, gaining control of the Mississippi, cutting the south in half. Unfortunately Carrie and Robert’s friend from Philadelphia, Matthew Justin, is not and ends up back in Libby prison.

While Dark Chaos has many dark moments, the love between the various couples grows stronger. We see Moses as a leader of the black soldiers, Matthew making a daring escape with Carrie and Robert’s help, Robert barely making it through the perilous crossing from England back to his wife’s waiting arms and Rose continuing in her effort to educate the children in the Contraband Camp.

What I love about these books is the chance to see a different perspective on the Civil War. One that shows the turmoil and chaos surrounding the issue of slavery, a story that shows how black and white fought for the freedom of slaves. Even though many in the north do not treat the blacks any better than the south does, men like Moses stay strong in their belief that at the end of this terrible war will be a new day.

At the close of this addition in this epic tale, Carrie is again facing the possibility of losing Robert forever, as once again Richmond is in danger. This is another story rich with history and filled with deep emotion. Now, I shall continue on with the next story in this outstanding series. Happy reading!

Spring Will Come by Ginny Dye

http://smile.amazon.com/Bregdan-Chronicles-Historical-Fiction-Romance-ebook/dp/B004443YV0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427992028&sr=8-1&keywords=spring+will+come+by+ginny+dye

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Spring-Will-Come-Audiobook/B00KYXRKBU

As her beloved city of Richmond is transformed into a deadly Civil War battlefield, spirited Carrie Cromwell puts her medical skills to work in a Confederate hospital. While she fights to save unknown soldiers, the one she cares about the most is lost to her when Robert disappears in battle. She must also deal with a family secret that has finally come to light. 

Meanwhile, Rose and Moses have found freedom at last - only to be separated by war. Can Moses, now a Union spy, elude those who are searching for him as a runaway slave, and also help those he thought he would never see again? 

Rose, inspired by a revolutionary young speaker, becomes a teacher in the contraband camps. 
The third book of The Bregdan Chronicles historical fiction series will pull you in and never let you go.You'll experience the Civil War era (and all the years to come) through the eyes of both White and Black, free& slave, Southern & Northern - and you'll fall in love with every character. 

How many books will be in the Bregdan Chronicles?You'll have to ask God about that...I intend to write these character's stories, one year at a time, for as long as I'm able to write.I'm passionate about bringing history to life through historical fiction.Since I'm amazingly healthy, that could be for a very long time!I don't like stories to end any more than you do.This one won't end for a very long time! 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19775533-spring-will-come?ac=1

Published & Release Date: A Voice in the World Publishing, July 8, 2010

Time and setting: 1862-1863 Virginia

Genre: Historical Fiction Romance

Length: 663 pages

Heat Level: Sweet

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Vikki’s Musings

Oh my, each book gets better than the last! I think I am very fortunate to have found this amazing series. This epic story marches on in Spring Will Come as America continues to fight the War Between the States. This series is so much more than romance, even though several story lines involve love stories.

I will attempt to keep my summary brief. Spring Will Come begins in May 1862 and picks up where On To Richmond ends. Carrie is nursing wounded soldiers at Chimborazo hospital to help in the war effort. She meets forwarding-thinking Dr. Wilds and he allows her to be much more hands on with the patients. There is an endless stream of patients arriving from the battlefields of Antietam. Carrie also starts spending time at the black hospital as well.

On the eve of battle, Carrie agrees to marry Robert Borden when he returns. Unfortunately, Robert turns up missing after the battle ends. Carrie has no word from him all through the fall and winter and comes very close to giving up and accepting he must be dead since she has not received any word concerning him.

Can Carrie keep faith that Robert will be returned to her, or will she give in to her grief, and while she will carry on, remain an empty shell?

Someone commented on my last review asking whether there was romance in these novels. While this is primarily Carrie Cromwell’s story of her feelings and actions relating to the issue of slavery and the times, there is a wonderful love story between Carrie and Robert Borden.

Robert Borden plays a pivotal role in Spring Will Come. His character arch takes a huge leap in his thoughts and attitudes toward slavery, which has been a bone of contention between him and Carrie since the beginning. I was so pleased with this direction. When he experiences deep anguish over how bigoted he has been in his life and the action he has taken because of this, I had tears running down my face as my heart jumped with joy at this immense shift in his attitude.

Spring Will Come covers the great Battle of Antietam in vivid detail bringing to life the immense losses on both sides of this conflict. Ms. Dye masterfully weaves her characters in with the real events of history. It also addresses the harsh winter conditions Richmond experienced in 1863 with great detail.

I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. In fact I have already started it and am enjoying it tremendously. Again, I highly recommend this incredible series. Whether you are male or female, you will love these books. This is historical fiction at its finest. Happy reading!

  

On To Richmond by Ginny Dye

http://www.amazon.com/Richmond-Bregdan-Chronicles-Historical-Fiction-ebook/dp/B004443YSS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1427551523&sr=1-1&keywords=on+to+richmond+kindle

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/On-to-Richmond-Audiobook/B00IA474OI/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1427728098&sr=1-1

Historical fiction is my passion. I so love bringing history to life - the reason I dedicate most of my time to writing historical fiction books! 

On To Richmond is the second in the ongoing Bregdan Chronicles historical novel series. It's readers like you who have turned it into a world-wide best-seller. Thank you! 

Book Description: Burdened with the responsibility of running an entire plantation, Carrie Cromwell fights to understand the forces tearing her beloved country apart. As battles rage around her, she watches as her life slowly unravels and she discovers truths she would never have imagined. 

Will her actions and decisions push her even further from those she loves? When the danger she dreads becomes reality, will she find the courage and strength to escape? 
Robert is pulled into battle, facing things he would never have imagined. Moses and Rose face a great loss, and then make a decision that could claim their lives. 

Everyone struggles to survive and live in a country that has exploded into Civil War. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19442389-on-to-richmond?ac=1

Published & Release Date: A Voice in the World Publishing, June 11, 2010

Time and setting: 1861-1862 Virginia

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 707 pages

Heat Level: Sweet

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Vikki’s Musings

The saga began in Storm Clouds Rolling In and continues with On To Richmond. I am so glad I found these excellent books. This second story in this amazing series is a fantastic addition, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from the first sentence to the last. What I particularly like about these books is that even though each story is a continuation of the last one, Ms. Dye leaves the tale on a positive note, no cliffhangers!

Carrie Cromwell is determined to help her father’s slaves make their way to freedom when they so choose. Her lifelong friend, Rose and her husband continue to help her run Cromwell Plantation, and her father is still in the dark that the overseer, Ike Adams is no longer in charge.

When Rose’s mother, Sarah, dies, it is now time for Rose and Moses to travel on the Underground Railroad to freedom. As much as they hate to leave Carrie, when her father writes to say he wants Moses in Richmond, the time is upon them.

After a journey fraught with peril, Rose and Moses find their way to Carrie’s dear friend, Aunt Abby, in Philadelphia. She takes them in, and Rose finds a Quaker school to attend, and Moses finds work, although Moses burns to do his part to help the union in the War Between the States. When he gets the opportunity to spy for General McClellan, he takes it, leaving Rose with Aunt Abby.

Back at the plantation, Carrie carries on with her work, raising produce for the confederacy, even though she is still opposed to slavery. It has become increasingly more difficult to keep her secrets from her father. She now has had to lie to her father to protect what is happening on the plantation. It grieves her heart, knowing how hurt her father will be when he learns what she has done, but her convictions will not allow her to do anything else.

As the north takes a path to Richmond that leads the Union army to Cromwell Plantation, Carrie is saved by the help of Moses who is with the northern army. He helps Carrie escape through a hidden passage. Carrie is shot as she makes a mad dash on her steady stead, Granite. Along the way, she meets Warren Hobbs, the young man her father and Robert Borden had sent to bring her to Richmond.

What a whirlwind of emotions this book has been. On several occasions I had tears rolling down my face, at the loss of  Rose’s mother, the conductor that helps Rose and Moses in their bid for freedom and Opal’s relative, Fannie and her husband, leaving their four children orphaned.

This story is steeped in historical detail of the Battle of Bull Run and the winter operations of 1862. Ms. Dye brings to life the fears and emotions of the people, black and white, that are living through these events in history.

I can’t wait to continue this amazing journey in the next story. If you are looking for a well-written historical fiction with strong romantic elements then you will want to read this epic saga of the south torn asunder and the north fighting to restore the union. I do want to mention, these books are not stand alone. You do need to read them in order to fully enjoy this rich reading experience. Happy reading!

Storm Clouds Rolling In by Ginny Dye

http://smile.amazon.com/Rolling-Bregdan-Chronicles-Historical-Fiction-ebook/dp/B003KVL35W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1427051467&sr=1-1&keywords=storm+clouds+rolling+in+by+ginny+dye

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Storm-Clouds-Rolling-In-Audiobook/B00H3QCGME

Storm Clouds Rolling In is the very first book in the ongoing Bregdan Chronicles historical novel series. As of today, there are 7 books in the series. It's readers like you who have turned the series into a world-wide best-seller. Thank you! 

Book Description: Carrie Cromwell comes of age as the dark clouds of the Civil War swallow the country. Born with a fiery spirit and a strong mind, she finds herself struggling between the common wisdom of the South and the truth she has discovered. 

The activities of the Underground Railroad and her close friendships with the Cromwell Plantation slaves create difficult choices. But when her decisions put her at odds with her heritage, and challenge her dreams, will she be able to give up all that is precious to her?

This first book of The Bregdan Chronicles historical fiction series will pull you in and never let you go. You'll experience the Civil War era (and all the years to come) through the eyes of both White and Black, free & slave, Southern & Northern - and you'll fall in love with every character.

How many books will be in the Bregdan Chronicles? No one knows yet… Ginny intends to write these character's stories, one year at a time, for as long as she is able to write. She is passionate about bringing history to life through historical fiction. Since she is amazingly healthy, that could be for a very long time! She doesn’t like stories to end any more than you do. This one won't end for a very long time! 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9526828-storm-clouds-rolling-in?ac=1

Published & Release Date: A Voice in the World Publishing, Aril 12, 2010

Time and setting: 1860-1861 Virginia

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 572 pages

Heat Level: Sweet

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Vikki’s Musings

I found Storm Clouds Rolling In while re-reading and listening to Gone with the Wind a couple of months ago. I actually saw it advertised on Facebook. I am so grateful I found this astonishing book. While there are similarities between this book and GWTW, I actually like the characters in this one much better, especially Carrie Cromwell.

Carrie Cromwell is a strong-willed eighteen year old that has very far-thinking views on life and all the rumors surrounding the year leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter. Her closest friends are the slaves that live on her father’s plantation. As the only child of Thomas Cromwell, she has been indulged, but not in the way that would have been expected. Her father has treated as an equal in many ways, allowing her to learn how to run the great plantation.

Her mother despairs of ever turning Carrie into a proper southern mistress for her future husband’s plantation. Since Carrie has no plans to marry in the near future, her mother will be sadly disappointed when she arranges for her daughter to meet a dear friend’s son, Robert Borden.

Robert Borden is immediately attracted to the high-spirited, raven-haired beauty. In fact he falls hard from the moment she gives him a lock of her hair as a token for the tournament being enacted at a neighboring plantation. When he wins, he picks her as his queen at the evening ball.

While Carrie is extremely attracted to Robert, some of his views on slavery are vastly different from Carrie’s when he tells her of his breeding program at his plantation, the breeding of slaves. Carrie is appalled by this, yet is still drawn to him, battling her conscience over her heart.

When Carrie’s mother dies and her father leaves her in charge of Cromwell Plantation, she becomes involved with the Underground Railroad and helps more than a dozen slaves in their bid for freedom. Her best friend, Rose and her husband, Moses stay by her side. Even though, Carrie has offered to help them escape. When Rose is attacked by the overseer, the head-strong young woman, with shot gun in hand, demands he leave her lands forever.

Thomas Cromwell is so steeped in grief; he no longer keeps his pulse on the plantation. Secure in the knowledge that his daughter, with the help of his overseer, will keep the property prosperous, he never knows Carrie has fired Ike Adams.  He becomes deeply involved in the politics as his beloved Virginia marches closer to war, a war that will tear his country asunder.

This first volume ends as Virginia secedes from the union and with Carrie telling Robert she cannot marry him, even though she is in love with him. Storm Clouds Rolling In does end on a positive note, letting the reader know that all is not lost between Carrie and the dashing Robert.

While I thoroughly enjoy the romance between the hero and heroine, what is much more fascinating is the workings of Carrie’s mind as she grows in her belief that slavery is not God’s will, no matter what her father and the rest of the south believe. This story has a thread of spiritualism running through it, but is not over done at all. It only enhances this amazing epic tale.

Carrie is a marvelous character, so fierce, as she develops into an independent woman, determined to help her friends gain their freedom if they choose to travel down that path.  While Carrie would love to become a doctor, she puts those dreams to the side to continue her work in freeing any of her father’s slaves who seek their freedom. Her ability to walk the thin line between outright lying to her father and evading the truth is incredible. Carrie Cromwell is truly an unforgettable character.

This is a book with a great deal of historical detail regarding the thoughts and times leading up to the Civil War. As I read, I wished that I had discovered this epic series while my mother still lived. She would have enjoyed this book and series immensely as I know you will as well. If you love a well-written historical fiction novel with strong romantic elements, then this is a book you will not want to miss. Happy reading!