This novel is exquisite storytelling and a must read for all historical fiction fans! Inspired by the real love letters between Captain Roland Jones Ward and Miss Elizabeth Clouston, Tamera Alexander tells a beautiful story of love and loss.  With This Pledge is taken from the pages of our country’s most turbulent time, the Civil War.

Miss Clouston, “Lizzie”,  is a governess for the Carnton family near Franklin, Tennessee.  Everything about Lizzie’s life is in turmoil.  Her heart hopes slavery will meet its end in this terrible war, while her fiance fights for the Confederacy.  The war arrives at her front door when the Carnton home is unexpectedly turned into a field hospital.  Among the wounded is Captain Roland Jones, a handsome Confederate soldier with whom Lizzie finds an unexpected attachment. As the story unfolds, Lizzie is forced to come to terms with who she loves and what her life will become once the war ends.

There is so much wonderful in this book.  Tamera Alexander tells a riveting love story against the back drop of a dark and grim time in our history.  Not only does she help us know the circumstances of the characters, but she also guides us through the two sides of the conflict.  It must have been a difficult task to write about such tumultuous period in history. She did such an amazing job of stepping into Lizzie’s and Roland’s shoes to allow us to see their life through their own eyes.

I never miss a new release from Tamera Alexander and you shouldn’t either!  With This Pledge is a must read for this year!  I know with great certainty that it will be on my Best of 2019 list! I requested a copy of this novel from NetGalley to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review. NetGalley gives readers an opportunity to read books in advance of their release. Check them out at NetGalley.com!