The Rebel Bride

McNear’s poignant second book in the multiauthor Daughters of the Mayflower series (after The Cumberland Bride) centers on an industrious nurse working near Chattanooga, Tenn., during the Civil War. After homes are conscripted for the care of wounded prisoners of war, Josh Wheeler, an injured Union soldier, is brought to Pearl McFarland’s farm. Pearl finds nursing the seriously ill and maimed enemy soldiers to be a daunting task, made even more formidable by limited food and medical supplies. To add to Pearl’s load, her widowed father has delusional spells; her three older brothers are presumed dead, and her younger brother, Clem, often disappears. Pearl receives assistance from Portius, a free black man who outwardly supports the Rebel cause, and Lydia, her brother’s common-law wife, forming a formidable medical unit. As Josh heals, he tries to help the trio of caregivers and soon becomes enamored by Pearl’s compassion and faith. In the midst of death and destruction, the pair question whether love can bridge the gap between North and South, or if their divided loyalties will keep them forever apart. McNear does a fine job of depicting the uneasiness of those who begin to comprehend the true nature of their lost cause, adding an emotional dimension to this hope-filled tale. Agent: Tamela Hancock Murray, The Steve Laube Agency (Dec.)