A Heart Divided

by Angie Williams

Wanda Baker’s life is never the same after she kills her abusive stepfather. With nowhere to hide, she steals a soldier’s uniform. Dressed as a man, Wanda falls in with a battalion of soldiers and redefines himself as Jackson Logan.

After the war, Wes finds work on the horse ranch owned by the widow of a Union soldier, Emmaline Stevens. She’s the most beautiful woman Jackson has ever seen, but being a veteran of the Confederate army that killed her husband isn’t the only thing keeping them apart.

Emma hates that she needs the enemy’s help to manage her husband’s beloved ranch, but there are few qualified men after the war stole them from their families. She and her young son must place their trust somewhere, and Jackson is her best hope of keeping the ranch.

Their differences are too hard to ignore, but love could heal a heart divided.

Genres: Westerns, Romance, Historical, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2024

About the author

Angie Williams, winner of a third grade essay competition on fire safety, grew up in the dusty desert of West Texas. Always interested in writing, as a child she would lose interest before the end, killing the characters off in a tragic accident so she could move on to the next story. Thankfully as an adult she decided it was time to write things where everyone survives.
Angie lives in Northern California with her beautiful wife and son, and a menagerie of dogs, cats, snakes, and tarantulas. She’s a proud geek and lover of all things she was teased about in school.

Librarian note: Multiple authors with the same name in the GR database; this author is entered with 2 spaces.

Reviews

[Netgyrl (Laura) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable historical western with one of my favorite tropes “disguised as a man“. Refreshingly Jack knows he’s a man, even if he was born in the wrong body.

I loved him and Emma and their slow burn romance. I would’ve wished they got together a little quicker and he had been a little braver earlier. But all is well that ends well.

The epilogue gives us a little jump into the future and everything is bright and wonderful. I love the kicking my feet in the air with joy feeling.

[Cheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I saw A Heart Divided listed on BSB's NetGalley offerings, I passed it up. Twice. And then went back and grabbed it because I love a historical romance where one woman passes as a man. One of my top five romances of all time is Backwards to Oregon and this seemed to have some very basic similarities.

I was initially swept up in the story and ready to be sucked in to the drama and romance. We meet our protagonists, the widow's son, and our two new ranch hands. We have the makings of a lovely chosen-family. We get the love rival and an evil bad guy. Feelings are developing, secrets are being revealed, the bad guy does a bad thing and then - it all falls apart for me. Let's discuss some of these things without giving any spoilers.

The book kicks off in 1868. I'm not up on my civil war dates but I just googled and it ended in 1865. So Emma's husband has been dead for at least three years. Which you wouldn't know because there are no timelines given. He died in a battle at some point. The battle is mentioned but I don't know if it was a real one or not but I don't want to stop to look that sort of thing up while I'm trying to stay in a story.

I bring this up because there are no specific timelines given while reading. Once Jack shows up on the ranch, we get passages of times as "a few months." Repeatedly. Mentions of Emma being a widow for a few years or several years. I couldn't tell you how long Jack worked on the ranch and that came up again during the final chapter - which is the second place a year is given. The whole of the story takes place between 1868 and 1873 - five years - but what's described as a whirlwind courtship and becoming a family (not really a spoiler because, hello, this is a romance novel) two years previously. So, as I'm typing this out and doing math, Jack must have worked the ranch for THREE YEARS before the courtship?? What? Maybe I've not had enough caffeine yet this morning and I'm not thinking about this correctly. Because the scenes that I read seemed to be only the span of several "a few months" periods which, I suppose, could absolutely equal three years but it felt like a small fraction of that time.

Okay, I hope that if I'm not figuring this out correctly, someone will post a comment to help me understand.

But that wasn't the only thing that was problematic for me. I have no idea how old Jack was or how old Emma was. The only person I'm solid on the age of is Ollie, the son. That bothered me. It hindered my ability to let my imagination see these characters as real. And Ollie, who started out at 9 years old, didn't seem to mature to anything like a 12 year old - if my math is right - during Jack's pre-courtship time on the ranch. There were no birthdays celebrated, which might have helped the reader with the passing of time. Sorry, I'm thinking these things as I'm typing them out so, yeah, this has turned into a ramble for sure.

Another big issue was that there was absolutely no mention of the bad guy or any consequences coming from the bad thing he did. It was never mentioned again. After the next morning, and the mention of some basic repairs to a structure, it was like it never happened. Another issue that threw me was that during intimate scenes, it was like the characters were completely different people and moved to a modern time with the language they used. We have the use of "clit" and "cock" coming from the POV of a presumably sexually naive widow who uses the language of sometime in the late 1860s. It was jarring to read. I'm no prude but the language should match the time and character and this didn't. And I'm not even going to go into the event at the very end of the book had me saying out loud, "WHAT?!"

Oh, and before I forget again, this isn't a story about a lesbian passing. Jack is a transman. I had no problem with Jack being trans, but it wasn't what I was expecting. It actually made me feel for Jack even more than I had initially. It was the one part of the story that felt genuine in its portrayal. That and how Emma related to her son.

So, all in all, A Heart Divided wasn't a hit for me. I have no doubt that it will bring joy to other readers because we all look for different things in a romance novel. But if the things I've mentioned are problematic for you, you might want to give this one a miss.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

this one has the taste of north and south where a reb ex soldier is looking for work

jackson logan is that ex soldier and finds work at the ranch run by emma and her son, not many men would work for a woman and that is why emma is struggling but she needs this ranch to work as its the legacy left to her son by her husband charlie who went away to fight to confederate army and was killed in battle

its not easy for emma to accept jacks help but as time goes on jack becomes more invaluable not only to the ranch but to her son as he starts to train him on how to be around horses

but jacks life is hard.... more so than even emma could ever know because jack has a secret and its one that could be the end of him if it gets out....

have to say i thoroughly enjoyed this book... must be because of the horses in it that always gets to me and draws me in....but its also the way the author wrote this storyline that drew you in and invested in all the characters...

looking forward to reading more from this autho

[Bib · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me of Backwards to Oregon by Jae. I assumed Williams is a new author. Great work, I will look out for more works by her.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical fiction romance done right. I thoroughly enjoyed both of the main character Emma the young widow with her son Ollie just trying to fulfill her deceased husbands dream of running a successful horse ranch after he passed will trying to protect his land from being taken over. Then you have Jack who having fought on the opposite side from Emma's husband, and Jack does a wonderful job as passing for a man. It becomes clear later on why Jack deemed it necessary to pass as a man due to things that happened outside of their own control. Jack gets hired as a ranch hand manager despite Emma's thoughts on the war because men really won't stay on because they don't want to have a woman boss on top of Jack knowing what their doing when it comes farm work. Then the romance between the two was very thought after everything laid out and an understanding of one another they make things work as a family with the help of very understanding support character who breaks things down for both Jack and Emma by getting them to see things from each other prospective. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Heart Divided.

Thanks to NetGalley, Angie Williams and Bold Stroke Books for the ARC

[Aleana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanda grew up with an abusive father and had no choice but to kill him. She steals a soldier’s uniform and falls in with a battalion of Confederate soldiers and establish herself as Jack Logan. He realize this is who he meant to be not being a soldier but being a man. Jack gets work at a horse ranch own by a widow and her son after the war. Emma is struggling to keep her ranch up that her late husband left for her and her son she needs to help but men don’t want to work for a woman but when she meets Jack she not thrill to hire him because he vet from the Confederate Army that killed her husband but she knows she can’t look help in the mouth. They grow closer Jack fears she won’t accept him if she learns the truth as he pulls away she vow to learn what’s he hiding as he begin to be more to her and her son. Overall good historic romance about loss love trust friendships.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

[LovesickJunkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

STARS 5 stars
SPICE very minimal (one scene at the end)
CHEMISTRY the chemistry is there between them but it is very slow
ANGST not super angsty but when Jack's secrets are about to be revealed it gets a bit angsty
SLOW BURN Very. It is more than 75% before they get together.
CLIFFHANGER No. Although I feel like she could write another story for a secondary character.

FAVORITE QUOTE/QUOTES
"I don't care how the world sees him. They don't know what's under his clothes, so they see him as a man. More importantly he sees himself as a man. He has a mind...don't you think he struggled to understand why his mind tells him one thing, and his body presents as something else..." Jesse


A LITTLE ABOUT THE BOOK/HOW DID IT MAKE ME FEEL
I loved this book. The self discovery in this book is so beautiful. Finding out that love can continue after loss. And that their love soared over all kinds of obstacles. I just loved that.

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE CHARACTERS
I loved Jack's vulnerability. He was strong physically. Doing hard work and keeping up with the ranch and other obstacles against the ranch. But his heart was fragile. And the battle between being honest and vulnerable. Or keeping up your walls and living a life without love and family.
I also really loved the side characters. Jesse especially she played cupid in the kindest, sweetest and upfront sort of way. I would love to read her story.

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK
I loved all the internal struggles. I loved watching the Jack be with Emma's son. And watching them slowly becoming a family.

MY FAVORITE PART- IF IT IS NOT TOO SPOILERY
I loved when Jack goes out to get the horses back and he takes really big chances with his life but knows that Emma needs those horses to make her ranch a success. I also loved when Jack goes to find Emma's son and promises he will come back with him. And he does.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There wasn't much I didn't like about the book. It was a slow book. But it was a slowburn so it was not a problem for me.

TROPES
western, single mom,


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If you read beyond this point it might feel a little spoiler"ish". This is where I go into a little more details about my bookshelves.
PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION AND SKIP IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT SPOILERS!!!!!!!!
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THE LIST/BOOKSHELVES
1. Boss/Employee - Jack is hired at the Ranch. By Emma who owns the Ranch.
2. Broken Lead - They are both broken. Emma is mourning the loss of her husband. He has been gone for years but she hasn't gotten over him. Jack is very broken. He is hiding his true identity and he was abused by his stepfather. Lost his birth father and mother at a young age. Had to kill a man and run for his life. And then keep his identity a secret from everyone. Trust is something he can never completely feel.
3. Cannot be touched - Their first intimate moment together Jack is not comfortable being touched in certain areas.
4. Disguised as a man - Jack is disguised a man but I use this lightly. Because Jack clearly sees himself as a man. So this is his most authentic self.
5. h pushes h away - Because of Jack's secret he pushes Emma away. In fear of her finding out who he really is.
6. Historical - This takes place in the 1850s I believe
7. Sapphic - might not qualify for everyone. Jack to me is a man. But he still has his woman body. Emma is a woman.
8. Secrets - Jack is keeping is body a secret basically the whole time.
9. Sick/injured - Someone is shot - Jack is shot when someone tries to steal the horses from the ranch. They are being shot at on the ranch. Then Jack goes after the horses where he kills a man and he is also shot. Emma takes care of him. But he is very clear about what articles of clothing can be removed. Jack has her cut of the pant leg so she won't see too much.
10. Virgin - Jack is a virgin
11. Western - yes

[Bee Sherrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Wanda was a little girl she never felt like she belonged in a girl's body. She felt like a boy, and wanted to dress like one too. At that time no one knew such a thing could happen but Wanda was lucky, both her father and mother didn’t think it was such a terrible thing but society thought people like Wanda were not meant to be around ‘normal’ people. When Wanda was twelve her dad was killed and his mother decided to remarry, a monster in Wanda’ opinion. He enjoys beating both Wanda and her mom.
Getting away meant Wanda had to make some changes, instead of going forward she became ‘Jack’ knowing if she could pass herself off as a man she had a better chance of surviving, then she ever would be as a woman. Now a man, after fighting in the war he was looking for someplace he might be able to live peacefully.
Emmaline Stevens had settled in the west with her husband who worked hard building a ranch for his family. When the war got too close to home Emma’s husband went off to fight the enemy but unfortunately he died in battle. That left Emma, along with her young son Ollie, trying to keep the ranch running but since she knew nothing about breeding horses she needed a manager to run the ranch.
After meeting Hank in a bar in Las Vegas he was told about this woman running a horse ranch alone and her need for a manager to run her horse ranch was the only way Emma felt she could keep her husband's dream. When Hank suggested Jack for the job she decided to take the chance to keep her ranch viable.
Emma didn’t know Jack’s secrets and Jack lived in fear someone might find out his secret putting his life in danger. Ms Williams wrote a book that I had a hard time putting down. Very enjoyable read.
ARC via NetGalley/Bold Stroke Books

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction romance set in 1868, New Mexico Territory. Emma Stevens is a young widow with a nine year old son trying to make a go of a horse ranch. It was her husband's dream till he died in a battle during the civil war. A friend recommends Jack Logan to manage the ranch even though he previously was a confederate soldier from Texas. Emma has conflicting feelings about needing help from the enemy but the reality is men in town won't work for a woman. Jack proves his abilities and Emma feels her attraction growing towards him.

I thought the book was engaging. I didn’t realize that there was a CW battle as far west as New Mexico. (I did look it up and it happened.) Jack dresses and works as a man and the author does a good job of explaining how he sees himself without using modern day terms. Emma’s confusion in her attraction is also handled well.

I’ve glanced at a couple reviews that couldn’t make sense of the timeline and I didn’t see any problems with it. Emma was widowed in 1862 (when the battle occurred), and went through various managers at the ranch till hiring Jack in 1868. The majority of the story is told over several months of that year and concludes with an epilogue in 1873.

Living in the west we celebrate the pioneers who settled and built roots in the area. The ranch life described seems realistic and I can allow for the extra drama of having a villain in the storyline. I enjoyed the book and the characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

[Ed Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s worth your time if you’re looking for a romance to read. If you’re more interested in historical fiction this book might not be the best pick for you.
Was it a believable read? Absolutely not. But it was sweet and filled me with hope. Both for the future, that we might become more understanding, and for the past, that maybe there were people that were able to find peace and happiness when everything was against them.
I liked the characters, the setting, it’s a solid story. I read it in one sitting.
Thinking back I see a little issue with the fact that after a significant issue has been resolved we were never told about any punishment for the bad guy, but I didn’t even care when I read the book. I actually only noticed when another person mentioned it in their review. The whole situation was dismissed, but I didn’t care. Still don’t. The romance was the main thing about the whole story for me, and I’m quite used to most contemporary writers using storylines they drop unresolved after they served their purpose.
It’s a love story set at a time when that love story could almost guaranteed never happen. But in this book it did. And it’s a wonderful read. If I were more analytical, the book has issues that should’ve been better handled and details better researched, but emotionally I’m a happy reader.
For me it was a well deserved 5 star book, no hesitation about it.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Heart Divided by Angie Williams is a post- Civil War era disguised as a man/historical romance set on a horse ranch in the New Mexico Territory outside of 19th century Las Vegas. The writing is simple and without pretense but I found that to work well in the historical context of the book. The pacing was fast enough to keep me engaged but did not get into dreaded info-dump territory. Some of the inner monologue got a little repetitive especially when Jack was debating whether he should “come out” to Emma but I never found myself bored.

The main strength of this book is the character of Jack. Admittedly I’m a sucker for a golden retriever character but I thought the author was very smart by making me him extremely likable from the very first scene. It allowed me to become fully immersed in his story and root for him from the beginning. The relationship and chemistry between Jack and Emma was also another strength of the book. What began as enemies to lovers took its time and eventually turned into the sweet (and ultimately steamy) slow burn happy ending I craved.

I recommend this book for anyone looking for a sweet and satisfying disguised as a man/historical romance or who just really loves golden retriever characters. This was the first book I’ve read by Angie Williams but will definitely not be my last!

I received an ARC copy of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher and all opinions are my own.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during the pioneering 19th century America, this historical romance captures the trials of a woman, Emma, recently widowed by the war, struggling to raise a son and manage her ranch, who hires newly arrived Jack as her ranch manager. Jack, having fought on the opposite side of the civil war that took Emma’s husband from her, is a woman passing successfully as a man.

The plot is very strong. Our author has managed to create a realistic environment using clear and honest writing that reproduces the factors that were so influential during the era. It is clear that a great deal of research was carried out and called on to create an authentic basis for the book. As a result the reader is drawn in and fully engaged.

The characters of Jack and Emma are both striking. Unlike other characters in similar situations, Jack is portrayed with much depth. Although initially cross dressing was necessary for his survival, it becomes clear that it is also necessary for his being. In an era before gender dysmorphia was ever identified, our author has managed to capture Jack’s struggle with his gender in a manner that befits the era and has managed it with complete respect. This is writing at its best.

I found this book to be enjoyable on so many levels. The story, the developing romance, the supporting characters and the cohesiveness of both MC’s all combined seamlessly.

[Becca Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read that delivers exactly what you would expect from a western.

Emma is still grieving the loss of her husband who was killed by confederate soldiers during the war. Now, she’s left struggling to manage the ranch alone while raising her son. She needs help but there are few people willing to work for a woman. When former confederate soldier, Jack, comes into town looking for work he just might be what she needs to turn things around on the ranch. Not only will she have to get past the fact that he fought on the side that killed her husband but also Jack’s secret that he’s not the man everyone assumes he is.

I enjoyed reading this but it does have fairly predictable plot points for this type of story (e.g. the barn catching fire, the river flooding). The external conflict seemed to resolve easily and I don’t think it was even discussed what happened to the neighbor who wanted the land.

There was also a familiar found family aspect to the story but I found Jesse’s character to be refreshing. She made a great confidant to both Emma and Jack and I loved the way she nudged them along. In contrast, there wasn’t much character depth or development to Wiley.

Overall, this is a good read if you’re looking for a sapphic western but not something that stands out from the crowd.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historical fictions are tricky for me and I hate to say this one missed the mark. I usually enjoy Williams writing, but this one was all over the place.

Jack Logan is a trans man who was in the confederate army and is now looking for work. Its mentioned the horrible thing he did, but that's all, it's never mentioned again. He meets Emma and Ollie to work on their farm and it's like a very long courtship, but I couldn't tell you the timeline because it was never specific. It was confusing and jarring sometimes not knowing.

Emma is a widow and is focused on her son Oliver while trying to keep her husbands farm working. It's vague on when her husband passed as its reference to several years to a couple to a few. There's a bad guy and he messes things up as predicted, but it was so hard to get into this story. I just couldn't.

Also, the language back in the 1800's wouldn't have said some of the things they did in this story. I had a very hard time finishing this book and I was disappointed as I enjoyed William's previous books. This won't stop be from checking out her next book though.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sloan Stryker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Logan arrives at the ranch of Emma Stevens looking for a job after the war had ended. Emma’s husband was killed during the war and she’s not very trusting with her ranch or young son.
There’s something about Jack that she can’t she likes but why is he so stubborn, what is he hiding.
These two are going to play a cat and mouse game with their feelings until someone gets caught but what will happen when Emma finds out the truth about Jack.
This is a very well written story that pulls you in from the first page.
Don’t miss this.

[Char Dafoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone has a new favourite book -- ME!

I was blown away by the writing, the storytelling, the character development, the emotions - everything! I even loved the side characters - Jesse & Wiley. That very first paragraph was executed perfectly, in my eyes. Williams' writing has certainly improved immensely.

This will be added to my adored historical re-reads.

[TheLisaD · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story this was, I was hooked right away and couldn’t put it down. The story is so relatable and really gives you a perspective of what those in the trans communities have to deal with. Great job Angie!

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read

Sweet love story. The characters are interesting and likable. I enjoy old west stories when women decided how they were going to live and they do it knowing the danger it represents. Thanks for a very good read.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this post-civil war tale (cover is misleading as I thought it was more contemporary). It's not my normal time period to read, but thoroughly enjoyed it- even though some of the ideas outlined were a bit far fetched for the time.

[Mirtha Siblesz · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful story

A beautiful story in a beautiful setting in Northern New Mexico. I lived in the area and remember the memorial to the fallen soldiers in Glorieta Pass. Beautiful love story. Well done.

[Laha Saimanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐