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The war was over, but the country was still divided. The plan for reunification was called Reconstruction, but it would take more than nails and a hammer to pull together the two half of the nation—it would take change in the hearts and lives of the men and women that made it up. In Then Came Faith, Louise M. Gouge weaves a tale of determination in the face of destruction and love that blooms in hearts previously filled with prejudice and bitterness. Set in New Orleans directly following the Civil War, Then Came Faith takes us into the lives of Yankee-to-the-core Juliana Harris from Boston, who came South to help educate former slaves, and former-Confederate captain Andre Beauchamp, who wants nothing more than to reclaim all that he’d lost at the hands of the heartless Yankees. The two characters meet by accident the moment she arrives in New Orleans and keep meeting again and again as the threads that weave the tapestries of their two lives prove themselves to be shared. The more they learn about each other, the more they’re drawn together—and the more they realize they have to overcome. Each new evil Juliana learns about the Southern way of life seems to have been embodied by the handsome Andre. Each judgment Andre so hated to hear from Northerners seems to be held by Juliana. But still, God seems to be throwing them together, and nothing can convince their hearts that it isn’t for a reason. But what if Andre was the one who shot Juliana’s host? And what if Juliana will never forgive him for the way he had once treated his slaves? Can her new friends be trusted—and what of his grandfather, who had never even acknowledged him until now? There are action and unanswered questions filling the pages and serving as the instruments through which Juliana and Andre are brought together on each occasion, and they’ll keep the reader guessing as to who is really behind the hateful deeds that underline their lives. Gouge stayed true to the times in this book, which means that society rules were there in all their strictness and the reader may occasionally have to roll her eyes at it all. More than once I shook my head at Juliana’s attitudes, not just about what is proper, but at how very controlled she was when it came to emotion and temper. It was a good representation of a lady of the day, though, and Juliana did show a lot of spirit, especially when it came to sticking up for a friend. Andre I absolutely adored—he managed to combine stubbornness with a good heart, and though it takes tragedy and pain for him to begin to see his life through new eyes, every step he took was not only realistic, it touched my heart. His loss of and return to faith was the bittersweet struggle that made this story especially dynamic in my mind. Then Came Faith is a touching and fast-moving story that will take you back into the turmoil of the Reconstruction era. Within a few pages you’ll be tasting the chicory coffee and seeing the sway of hoop skirts, and though much has changed in our world since those days, Gouge shows with an adept hand how our hearts have not—and the lessons the characters learn are ones that transcend their situation. I’d recommend Then Came Faith for any lover of historical fiction or inspirational romance. Publisher: Emerald Pointe Books
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