Release: December 28, 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible
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Georgeanna Woolsey isn’t meant for the world of lavish parties and the demure attitudes of women of her stature. So when war ignites the nation, Georgey follows her passion for nursing. During this time doctors considered women on the battlefront a bother. In proving them wrong, she and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg. There, they witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort.
In the South, Jemma becomes a slave on the Peeler Plantation in Maryland, where she lives with her mother and father. Her sister, Patience, is also a slave on the plantation next door, and both live in fear of LeBaron, an abusive overseer .Anne May the cruel plantation mistress sells Jemma at the same time the Union army comes through. Now Jemma sees a chance to finally escape but only by abandoning the family she loves.
Anne May is left behind to run Peeler Plantation when her husband joins the Union army and her cherished brother enlists with the Confederates. In charge of the household, she uses the opportunity to follow her own ambitions and is drawn into a secret Southern network of spies, finally exposing herself to the fate she deserves.
Inspired by true accounts, Sunflower Sisters provides a vivid, detailed look at the Civil War experience, from the barbaric and inhumane plantations, to a war-torn New York City, to the horrors of the battlefield. It’s a sweeping story of women caught in a country on the brink of collapse, in a society grappling with nationalism and unthinkable racial cruelty, a story still so relevant today.
About the Author:
Martha is a native New Englander who lives in Litchfield County Connecticut. She worked as an advertising copywriter for many years. Also, she raised three wonderful children who are now mostly out of the nest. Her debut novel Lilac Girls is about Connecticut socialite Caroline Ferriday who championed a group of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp survivors. The survivors, known as The Rabbits who survived WWII Nazi experiments, was her first novel and an instant New York Times bestseller. The prequel to Lilac Girls, Lost Roses, was also an instant NYTimes bestseller. It features Caroline’s mother Eliza Ferriday and her fight to save a group of Russian women. It also includes former aristocrats who lost everything in the Russian Revolution. The Lost Roses paperback published March 3rd, 2020 and the third book in the series, a Civil War novel about Caroline’s great grandmother’s family, arrives spring 2021.
Sunflower Sisters Review:
I wish I had read the first two books in the “Lilac Girls” series because I adored “Sunflower Sisters” and want to pick up the earlier books.
The first aspect of the tale is how vivid each character stood out and had their own stories to tell. I was rooted in their storylines, whether Georgy, who badly wants to become a nurse, or Jemma, enslaved at the Peeler Plantation. We also have complex characters like Anne-May, who I disliked with a passion and had moments where I felt a bit sorry for her, especially when it came to Jubal. However, LeBaron was the worst of them all. Even the supporting characters like Frank and Bethada were memorable. The author made me so invested in the characters that made me emotional towards them.
Some scenes and events shocked me and made my heart weep for the characters. The author touches on so many topics like racism, misogyny, slavery, and torture amidst the Civil War, including the state of NYC and the Gettysburg War. Frankly, I didn’t have much idea about the Battle of Gettysburg, and I thought the author did a great job touching the subject to spark my curiosity to further research. The author did a lot of research through the old letters, even with the Woolsey women.
Perhaps the only minor criticism of the story is how long the book gets. The book is 500+ pages, and while I enjoyed every bit of it, there were parts of the tale where I felt the author over-described the backdrop, which I felt was unnecessary.
Having said that, “Gettysburg War” is a beautiful piece of fiction that I recommend to any historical fiction buff who wants to know about the Civil War.
Book Tour Schedule
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly Blog Tour hosted by Suzyapproved Book Tours.
ML Book Love-Jan. 17th
Rajivs Reviews-Jan. 18th
Rachel Loves Books--Jan. 19th
Subakka Bookstuff-Jan. 20th
Delightfully Booked-Jan. 20th
Books and Bites Roc-Jan. 21st
Eli Loves Books 16-Jan. 24th
Nurse Bookie-Jan. 26th
Read With Katelyn-Jan. 27th
Infinite Readlist-Jan. 29th
