The Sleeping Night

by Barbara Samuel

In 1940s Texas, an African American soldier returns to his hometown after fighting in World War II. His bitter memories of his father’s murder there make it unlikely he’ll stay in town for long; but then he reconnects with the young white woman who was his childhood friend.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Interracial Romance, Southern, Friends To Lovers

240 pages, ebook

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

Barbara Samuel is a multiple RITA award-winning author with more than 38 books to her credit in a variety of genres. She has written historical and contemporary romances, a number of fantasy novellas with the likes of Susan Wiggs, Jo Beverley and Mary Jo Putney. She now writes women’s fiction about families, dogs, and food as Barbara O’Neal.

Her work has captured a plethora of awards, including six RITAs; the Colorado Center for the Book Award (twice); Favorite Book of the Year from Romance Writers of America, and the Library Journal’s list of Best Genre Fiction of the year, among many others.You can find a full list of all titles here.

Now living back in her hometown of Colorado Springs, Barbara writes in a study overlooking Pikes Peak, a pin that draws her home from her travels. She shares her home with Christopher Robin, a British endurance athlete, a gorgeous and lovable chow mix named Jack; a very, very old Siamese named Esmerelda; a rescued street cat who has become the fattest silver tabby on the planet, and the wonder twins, two tuxedo kittens from a local shelter, whose names have changed several times. Yes, a lot of animals.

An avid photographer, cook, and traveler, Barbara keeps a log of travels, recipes, and photos at her blog, A Writer Afoot, where she also sometimes posts writing advice. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook, but she doesn’t promise to be particularly interesting there.

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Isaiah High and Angel Corey had been close friends since they were babies. Although they lived in the South under Jim Crow (he is black and she is white), Angel's father was unconventional and progressive for his time in that he was friendly to the blacks in Gideon, TX, and opened his store to them. He also maintained a close friendship with Isaiah's father, forged on the battle fields of WWI, and unbroken by the South's segregated and racist society.

As the children grew older, however, their parents recognized the very real dangers that existed if they maintained contact, and so they were forbidden from interacting once they hit adolescence. This could not prevent Angel and Isaiah from continuing to love one another from afar. And when Isaiah joined the Army just before WWII, they wrote letters back and forth consistently throughout the duration of the War. The reader gets to read these letters at the beginning and end of each chapter, and they add a rich, descriptive depth to the events as they are currently happening in the story.

Isaiah returns to Gideon, TX, just days after Angel's father passes away, and they strike up a friendship again, despite the dangers and the warnings from their allies. Isaiah is bitter and jaded from the horrors he witnessed in Europe, and he's determined that he will not stay in Gideon. But he cannot bring himself to leave Angel, and finally the two acquiesce to the long-suppressed feelings they have harbored for one another. But now they must face the danger that lurks in the town of Gideon, where many of the residents would rather see both of them dead before they saw a white woman be with a black man.

This book is richly detailed, putting the reader in the setting. Vivid secondary characters beautifully complement the plot and the primary characters. The letters between Angel and Isaiah during the war were a wonderful addition, and beautifully written. This book deals with a lot of spiritual and religious elements, but is not inspirational, per se. There is one sex scene, and it is not graphic, but is described in detail. There is a lot of talk about God in this story, mainly as the characters wonder how God could allow so much evil to be propagated in its name.

I actually wavered between 4 and 5 stars on this, only because - despite the fact that the writing was excellent, the plot solid, and the story lovely, I never felt quite connected to the relationship between the characters. Sometimes the romance itself took a backseat to the overarching racial and WWII-era anti-Semitic themes.

But ultimately I rated it five stars, because the story deserves it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes interracial romances, or just racial themes in general, or anyone who likes WWII era romance, because - WOW - the historical detail is so well-described and the reader can really place herself in the shoes of the characters. I could really feel the dangers and the emotions as the events unfolded, and this is the type of quality writing I have come to expect from this author.

I actually used the highlight feature in this book! :-) which I rarely do. But here are some of my favorite quotes that I highlighted:

And standing here now in the hot sun, he had to tell himself the truth or be damned. He hadn't come home to see his mama or deliver Gudren or any of the other things he'd told himself he had to do. He had come home because Angel was here. Every road always led back to her somehow.
---
At seven, Isaiah had told his father he intended to marry Angel Corey. Jordan had stopped dead in the middle of the bridge and knelt down to stare in his son's eyes. He gripped Isaiah's arms so hard there had been bruises the next day. "No you ain't, boy. Don't you ever say it again. Ever. Hear?"
---
Something terrible had happened, he thought. "Angel," he said gently, holding the umbrella over her. "What are you doing, girl?"
She swiveled her face around to him and the stillness he had thought to be some kind of pitiable defeat showed instead to be a clear and burning fury. With an expression of great disdain, she lifted her chin at the porch.
Isaiah looked. In red paint on the floor of the porch, someone had scrawled "nigger lover" in letters two feet high. A chill touched him.
---
How could you carry the inside of a person with you and not call them a friend, no matter what the rules said?
---
"Seems to me people are mean or evil because they're scared, mostly, or in pain, or afraid they're going to lose something."
---
Best friend. That's what he'd told her last night. You couldn't hate your best friend. And she was that, all right, his best friend in the world. But a man didn't want to do things to a friend that holding her for five minutes this morning had brought to his mind. A man didn't think about slipping the old, tired robe from the body of his friend, thinking of touching the fresh supple skin below. A man didn't ache all day with hunger for a friend.
---
He kissed her. "Since we were babies, Angel," he said hoarsely, "since we built that tree house, every day during the war, always, always, always I loved you."

[Alexis *Reality Bites* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler Free Review
4.5 STARS out of 5
Genre: Adult Historical Romance

'They'll need love and courage to see the dawn...
He's a hometown native, returning from the war, determined to change the world he'd fought to protect. She's the girl who's been his secret friend since childhood, now a beautiful woman. Her wartime letters kept him alive.
But he's black and she is white.
In 1946, Gideon, Texas, their undeniable love might get them both killed. ~In The Sleeping Night


The Sleeping Night is set in the Jim Crow south in a small Texas town called Gideon in the 1940's. This racially charged romance show and proves what we all know. That love has no respect of persons. Love is unstoppable, it is not color blind, it is kind, passionate and never fails. NEVER. NO, it endures through life and it's trials such as hatred, bigotry and war. And all those who find it can testify and say
"It is a beautiful thing to be in love"

As children Angel Corey a little white girl and Isaiah High a little black boy were best friends. Just Like their fathers Parker and Jordan. The two men shared a bond as veterans of World-WarI. Parker is a preacher known to most whites as a radical for his beliefs and friendships with blacks. He lives on the outskirts of town as a widower with his daughter Angel. He owns a store. And his store is where most blacks come and spend their money. Parker taught his daughter to love everyone, he is a God fearing man who practices what he preaches.

In time as Angel and Isaiah age the restraints of the world are made clear. The two become very aware teens. Aware that Isaiah can no longer be alone with Angel because he could be killed for doing so. He can't even look her in the eye if he sees her in town because he'll get lynched for it.

None of these circumstances stop these two from falling in love. Fearing for Isaiah and Angel's lives Parker talks Isaiah in to enlisting in the Army. Isaiah signs up. And he goes off to battle in World WarII, and the only thing that keeps him going is Angel's letters.

Thoughts
This book was not one of my normal reads but I am very happy that I read it! It takes place in 2005 and is told in flashback after Angel comes back to Gideon, Texas to speak about her current book rightly named 'The War Letters.'
Although this book has a religious undertone it does not shove God in your face. Nor does it make you feel as if they're trying to save your soul.
The Sleeping Night is an emotional read and at certain times it was super intense. At one point I had to stop reading just to pull myself together. You get a double dose of bigotry/hate with the Jim Crow south and the writings of the war and the Holocaust seen through the eyes of Isaiah.
The romance was very sweet it slowly builds in a truly beautiful way. The ending left me in tears.
I recommend this book to EVERYONE! I LOVED IT!

My ratings
Characters- Lovable
Writing Style- Good
Plot/Storyline- Highly Emotional, Raw and Honest
Steam Factor- Medium/Moderately steamy
Overall- I loved it!!! Read it!!

Now go forth and read. Then come tell us about it on Goodreads!

ARC courtesy of Bell Bridge Books via NetGalley

[Marleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can I begin to describe this unexpectedly stunning romance novel? First, let me just say that this is not a classic romance, it is more of a slice of history between 1926 and 1946 when the south is still very much segregated and it is impossible to think that a little white girl could befriend a little black boy. Angel Corey and Isaiah High have known each other since childhood, because both their daddies were genuinely very good friends. Also Angel’s father – a store-keeper - was an unconventional religious and spiritual man, who didn’t discriminate – and saw God’s children in everyone. And when this talented author takes us back to 1926, in Gideon, southeast Texas and start setting the scene of how Angel Corey and Isaiah High grew up as children, being rocked on the porch together seated on Isaiah’s daddy’s lap, while he read them stories, I got totally under the spell of the beauty of this author’s writing.
I’m very partial to sweet children’s memories. Adding to that, the author excels in rendering the lush scenery and surroundings where Angel and her father keep their store, at the edge of Lower Gideon – the woods, the river, with all the smells, the sounds, it didn’t get more atmospheric than that. And let’s not even mention Angel’s cooking. Heaven! At that point I wanted to step inside that book and be there. Indeed, this book has the knack to speak to one’s entire sensory system.
And when Isaiah returns from war, having been sustained with a will to live thanks to the letters sent by his friend Angel, will they, Angel and Isaiah finally be able to confront the never expressed deep feelings they have for each other? It seems unfeasible, because unfortunately this is the south in the 1940ies and there’s a lot of meanness and ignorance in the upper Gideon community. Honestly it scared me to read how horribly mean and violent some people could be.
I won’t say more about how it ends because I highly recommend you to read this book. You will not regret it for a single second!
With time, I'll have to check out what else Barbara Samuel has written.

This is from another reviewer on Amazon.com – Judith Arnold – she says it so much better, and I couldn’t agree more:
“The splendor of Barbara Samuel's writing--her lush, sensuous prose, her attention to the earthy details of life, her strong-willed, complex characters and their struggles to connect with one another--are all on radiant display in The Sleeping Night. This book adds another element to the mix: the overt racism of small-town Texas in the years before, during and after World War II. Despite that racism, Angel and Isaiah form a childhood friendship that ripens into love as Isaiah joins the allied forces in England and Angel tries, with less than stellar success, to become a proper white lady who fits into the stultifying and bigoted society in which she finds herself. Can Angel and Isaiah overcome the limitations of that society? More important, can they overcome their own deeply embedded fears? Can they allow their love to blossom, knowing that in that place, in that era, their love could cost them their property, their safety, even their lives? This book will make you weep, and it will make you cheer. It will make you believe in the fierce power of love.”

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartwarming, and at times heartbreaking, story of a black boy and a white girl growing up together in 1940's Texas. Isaiah High and Angel Corey were best friends until their teens when his Mom and her Dad thought it best to discourage their friendship as it would be looked down upon during that time.
Isaiah becomes an American soldier during World War 2 and the letters back and forth between him and Angel help them both through this horrific time while giving them hope for the future.
Upon his return to Texas, Isaiah is determined to leave again soon because the woman he loves he can never have. Both of their lives could be in danger because of it. Can they find their way to each other amidst all of the hostility and racism?

The author does an excellent job comparing Hitler's treatment of the Jews during World War 2 and treatment of the blacks in the deep south during those violent times.
Barbara Samuel transported me to 1940's Texas with her outstanding imagery.
I was very moved by this beautiful story!

[Michelle [Helen Geek] · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

I wavered between 4 and 5 stars, but in the end, the slice of history we glimpse with this story sold me. The absolute courage demonstrated through the love of the two primary characters is sheer brilliance. The simple message ... Love one another.

"Isaiah to Angel:
"He didn't do you any favors, Angel. Your Daddy". She pulled mugs out of the cupboard. "Maybe not. But maybe that's how the world changes, Isaiah. One father, one child, at a time." "Mmm-hmm."

“Love one another. Love one another. He wasn’t a man for religious visions, but at that moment he came as close as he ever had – or ever would again. Love would halt the evils and angers and horrors. Enough love would heal all. Might take hundreds of years. Thousands.”

This is a story of love when love isn’t easy. When loving the "wrong person" could get you killed. Love comes in all forms and we see many of them throughout this work. We see the love between a father and his child. We see the deep love between friends. We see the love between two children, and then their love as adults. It is a beautiful story.

Angel is a white girl in Texas in the late 1930’s early 1940’s. She works in her father’s general store her whole life alongside him until he dies. Her mother died when she was born. Her father store serves their black neighbors many of whom he has strong friendships with. He serves them right along with the local white farmer. This balance is not easy, but he is a strong man who has very strong convictions. He raises Angel side by side with his best friend’s son, Isaiah. Isaiah is black. Now, both Isaiah's father and Angel’s father fought in the first world war and they come home aiming to change the culture in their own Texas town; Gideon. They want to bring the message home; equality among men. This fight eventually gets one of them killed.

Isaiah at 17 is an angry man. To save him, Angel’s father convinces him to join the Army right before the world explodes with the second world war. The relationship between Angel and Isaiah builds further through the letters of support she writes him while he serves in the war. He writes back sharing his experiences with her and they begin to feel even more connected. At the end of the war, Isaiah returns, but plans it to be only for a brief time, to Texas. He plans to say good-bye to his mother, Angle and others, go away and never return. Back in Gideon, he is expected to behave as if he never experienced the freedom his war experiences allowed him. While in the military and visiting England and other European locales, he was viewed as a man. Not a black man, but a man. He finally goes to visit Angel and is drawn to her like a moth to a flame. And, we all know what happens if the moth gets too close…

I so appreciated this glimpse of history. It hasn’t been so long ago, here in the Mid-South that segregation was the norm. Things were separate. As children, we didn’t know why, but we didn’t question either. It was just the way of things. If we were very fortunate, we were raised to believe differently. Experiencing the courage these two had to love one another in fear of the ultimate price their love may wring from them, just phenomenal. You just feel it. A very powerful story bringing tears to my eyes and an anxious knot in my stomach many times while reading.

When you read about the author’s dilemma about this book and how it might have never reached the stage for publication. What a shame that would have been. She put it down for many years before a friend encouraged her to dust it off and finish it. I can personally say, I’m very glad she was able to go back to it after years, finish it and we have the chance to experience it. I can see why she may have feared this book would not have an audience. A simple view tells us it deals with an inter-racial relationship. But, the less than simple view, this book tells us the story about a love so strong it can survive anything. And, the participants will pay everything they have for their chance. If they can't have their love, they really can't live, so it is their only path.

Why was I wavering my rating? At places in the middle, the story dragged a bit. Seems very petty, but have to mention.

I think this book should be read by everyone.

Happy Reading!

My sincere appreciation for this ARC provided to me via Netgalley from Belle Bridge Books.

++++++++++++++++++++++
ARC 06/08/2012

[willaful · Rating 5 out of 5]

World War II is over, and lives will never be the same. For Isaiah High, the end of the war means knowing he’ll never be able to belong in Gideon, Texas again.

"He’d understood that his service had changed him. Until he’d been forced to board the colored car at the Mason Dixon line, he had not realized that it might be impossible to return to the Jim Crow South, to fit himself back into rigors of a system that now seemed antiquated and peculiar.

However much he and his fellow soldiers had changed, it was clear the South had not. Companions warned him with stories of the beatings that soldiers received when, after long years away, they forgot themselves and tipped counter girls or filled paper cups with water from white water fountains.

As he passed though Gideon proper, he kept his gaze fixed firmly on his path so that he wouldn’t be required to speak to anyone, wouldn’t accidentally meet the eyes of anyone who’d take offense. It shamed him to do it, after so long walking like a man in the world."

For Angel Corey, whose father has just died, it means it’s no longer considered appropriate for her to run his store, which serves the black area of town. Men need the work now, and the only role Gideon will accept for a white woman is that of a wife.

But some things never change, including the love Isaiah and Angel feel for each other. Friends for all their lives, each other’s solace via mail throughout the war, they find it harder and harder to resist the desire to be more. It’s a desire that could easily get them both killed, in a place where even friendship between them is forbidden.

"‘We can’t be friends, Angel. We aren’t children and it ain’t worth dying for.’ He straightened. ‘You go on inside, lock up.’

Angel met his gaze for a long, long moment, then she turned and went inside, feeling his presence as she closed the door and bolted it. There she leaned on the door frame and let the hot tears spill out. Stupid girl tears over stupid lost things, but they burned in her throat and filled her mouth and she just wanted to open the door and ask him to sit down and just talk to her.

She missed his letters, missed them still. He could say whatever he wanted to the contrary, but Isaiah knew her as well or better than anyone in the world… How could you carry the inside of a person with you and not call them a friend, no matter what the rules said?

It’s not worth dying for. In the bathroom, she washed her face with cold water, then went to her bedroom. Unbuttoning her dress, she wondered. Friendship seemed a better cause than what a lot of wars were fought about."

Told partially in the present day, partially in Angel and Isaiah’s past after the war, and partially through their wartime letters, this is not just a suspenseful forbidden love romance, but a powerful story about spiritual and emotional needs. The letters give rich historical detail about everyday life while showing the closeness of their connection, the depth of their sorrow over the ugliness of the world, and their need to understand how such awful things could happen. Angel has a strong personal faith; Isaiah, faced with the horrors of liberating Dachau and the deliberate murder of his father, is filled with bitterness and doubt. And of course, both feel suffocated by their constricted roles in life.

"‘I really thought maybe I could be somebody one of these days, you know? He shook his head. ‘And all I am is another goddamned field hand.’

As Angel looked up at him, seeing despair in the hard lines of his face, in the rigid set of his mouth, she saw her own future with perfect bitterness. Saw herself trudging back and forth to town on Sunday mornings until all the life was strangled right out of her, until they put her in a box…

‘We ain’t even gonna have each other,’ he said softly, ‘so we could remember what we used to think.’"

I’m afraid I’m making this sound like a downer, but though it was a tense read, building towards an inexorable sense that something terrible is going to happen, it was ultimately a triumphant story that had me crying with sentimental happiness. For its depth and unique qualities, I give The Sleeping Night the “it was amazing” rating of five stars.

(reviewed from e-arc provided by netGalley)

[D.G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

**4.5 stars**

The Sleeping Night is one of those books that takes you hostage and doesn't let you go. It was powerful and real in such a way that I was trembling with terror as I read it because I was so afraid for this couple. The book almost felt like literary fiction because it didn't have the normal trappings of a romance with the usual posturing hero or the certainty that everything would be alright. Instead it portrayed a love story on the road to tragedy.

This is the story of an interracial couple in segregated Texas. Isiah and Angel were best friends since they were children, forging a bond based on their love of books and the friendship of their fathers. Angel's father is considered the town's nutcase because he treats Negros with the same respect and consideration he would treat a White person. Thus Angel grows up with a different moral compass than most people in town.

As they grew up, the relationship of Angel and Isiah had to change because of the realities of segregation. Anti-miscegenation laws prohibited marriages (and sometimes cohabitation and sexual relationships) between whites and non-whites so two grownups of different races and genders risked their lives if they consorted with each other. Although this "felony" wasn't punishable by death, mobs would take the law in their hands and simply murder the couple in question without intervention by anybody.

This is the reality that Isiah and Angel face as they meet each other after his return from serving in WWII. Unbeknownst to most people, they kept a correspondence during the War but they cannot go back to that friendship. They've been deeply in love all their lives but they hide it so well that even the reader doesn't uncover it until later. Their love is a thing of wonder and beauty, so profound and powerful that it made me cry when they finally acknowledged it.

The author didn't pull her punches portraying segregation, racism and sexism. This is not the idyllic small town from romance where there are cute characters that accept the heroine as she is. On the contrary, this is a town who decides to browbeat Angel because she wants to live life on her terms; this is a town who thinks it's normal and common place to kill a person because they are in love with somebody of another race. As such, you shouldn't be surprised with the use of the 'N' word and how some characters behaved in such despicable ways that you wondered how they could ever have considered themselves Christians.

Although this is not an inspirational romance, the main characters relationship with God plays a pivotal role. Like most women born in Texas in the 20s, Angel is deeply religious. The author doesn't preach or even pretend to convert us, this is really about Angel and how her faith is a very important aspect of her life. Isiah on the other hand, has stopped believing after witnessing the horrors of the War and participating in the liberation of Dachau. When he confesses this to Angel, she replies:

I imagine God won't mind if you can't believe in him for a while.

It surprised me that Angel offered Isiah understanding and forgiveness instead of condemnation but it also touched me profoundly. I'm an agnostic so I'm used to believers gleefully warning about my future residence in a very hot place so I expected the same from Angel. But I should have known better because everything that Angel does exudes tolerance.

As I was reading this book, I was thanking profusely that we were living in different times and then I learned about this: Teen lesbian couple found shot in Texas park. Now I'm wondering if the bigotry and prejudice were a really thing of the past.

Overall a great book I recommend to anybody who is not afraid of truth in their romance.

Provided for review by Bell Bridge Books via netGalley.

[Marleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

That the audio-book took me so long to get through has nothing to do with the story, but with me not taking the time to listen to books, rather listen to music, while I cook and do house-chores after coming home from work.
I have read this book for the first time years ago, and I have to say that I can only conclude I was more impressed when I was a bit younger. True, this is still a story with a great message, but I was less captivated this time around. There's no doubt, the characters are compelling and likable; especially Angel, a young woman, whose been brought up in the 1930-1940 by a father who, in the rural little town of Gideon, Texas, wasn't biased to make friends with African-American neighbors.
Angel grew up being friends with Isaiah, and it's no surprise that this friendship turns into a deeper relationship, despite the racial tension everywhere in the county.
What was especially moving was Angel and Isaiah's correspondence while Isaiah was away in Europe fighting the Nazis in WWII, and the fact that we encounter Angel and Isaiah at a much older age, decades after, returning to Gideon, with their children, grand-children and great-grandchildren. That was so heartwarming.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too depressing and sad for me. Also I did not like the flashback method of writing.

I don’t want to read books about sorrow and the ugliness of man – painful and heart-wrenching. That’s what this book is. But some readers are in the mood for that.

Technically there is a happy ending, but it did not feel good enough. I would not call it romance. I’d call it a tragic love story with a brief happy ending. A black man and white woman grew up together as best friends. As adults they were in love. But this was the South in the 1940's and they would be killed if that was suspected. When they were teens, a gang of whites beat up Isaiah because Angel smiled at him. The book is about three things. The pain of staying away from each other, depressing events in the Jim Crow South, and horrors done by Nazis in Europe.

WHAT DID I LIKE?
The one part I liked was a ten minute description at the end. It was like a footnote to the story. See Spoiler.


The short ending said the couple survived and left Texas together. But there was no story showing them being together. I didn’t get to see them during the journey to a new place, or living and working in a new place, or creating and parenting children.


I DID NOT LIKE:

1. Most of the time I was depressed. Pain to any white person who was friendly to blacks. The locals wanted Angel to get married and have a husband run her store. They said women should not have jobs when there were men who needed work. Because she did not want to marry the local bully, the townspeople hurt her and shunned her. Of course the whites killed blacks without justice. I was surprised that a lot of time was spent on the Nazi horrors in Europe: descriptions of dead bodies and concentration camp survivors. One part mentioned dead pets and zoo animals. There was a lot of talk about the morality and horrors of war.

2. The book is full of flashbacks. Most of them are letters written during WWII. I was ok with flashbacks and back stories during the first part of the book. But I was annoyed with them during the last half. They were interruptions. I wanted to continue with the main story – Isaiah and Angel in 1946 and how they ended up as a couple. The flashbacks created cliffhangers. For example, Angel is walking home and hears drunk men breaking glass. Then the scene switches to prior years. Later we return to the breaking glass and learn the men are destroying her store while Angel watches and hides nearby.

3. In the above scene, Angel was hiding in a tree house in the woods. The next morning she went to the sheriff to report the damage. He did nothing because he said he needed a witness before he could arrest the men. She did not tell him that she was a witness, because she did not want anyone to know her tree house existed. It was her secret hiding place. So the men were not charged and no one would be paying money to repair her store. That was stupid of her. She could have said she was hiding BEHIND a tree and saw them. She didn’t have to say which tree. The following phrases mentioned there were many trees nearby. “The thicket of cottonwoods and pines that hid the store...” “The flickering shadows of trees could have hidden a dozen men.” I was angry at the stupid reason for not telling the sheriff.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Natalie Gray did an excellent job. I liked her pleasant generic accent instead of using a fake southern one.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 10 hrs and 47 mins. Swearing language: none other than the n-word racial slur. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: one brief scene and another one referred to. Setting: mostly 1926 - 1946 Gideon, Texas. Book copyright: 2012. Genre: tragic love story, racial historical fiction.

[Kristin Anders · Rating 5 out of 5]

How are the sex scenes?

Meaningful. A few leading up to scenes and some implied, but nothing that would embarrass you at the next book club meeting. (Yes, you should definitely be discussing this book.)

How are the story lines?

Romantic and beautiful with heart wrenching realism about southern life during the 1940s.

Would you read it again?

Yes. Great literature should always be read again.

Summary

The Sleeping Night by Barbara Samuel tells the story of Angel Corey, a white daughter left alone after the sudden passing of her father, and Isiah High, a black solider returned home after fighting during World War II. Angel and Isiah's childhood friendship mirrored their fathers', despite the racial inequalities gripping the South and small town Gideon, Texas. Angel and Isiah were separated as teenagers, an act meant to protect them from public rebuke, and as adults Isiah joined the army, thus saving him from the racist-fueled death suffered by his father. Isiah returns to Gideon after the war with every intention of keeping his distance from Angel, whom he had secretly corresponded with while deployed. Unable to watch Angel's struggle for survival, Isiah offers his help and a begrudging friendship grows.

Review

This story is a beautiful telling of forbidden romance.

Angel is a stubborn, resilient character, quickly gaining the reader's respect (and in my case, awe) with her strong will and work ethic. This woman is not your damsel in distress and only relies on herself and God to change her circumstance.

Isiah is a courageous and intelligent man, accepting the things he cannot win and finding ways to help Angel despite the limitations put to him by the color of his skin. Well read, world traveled and utterly devoted, he is a practical hero, one every girl might be lucky enough to bring home to momma. Even with Angel's superwoman toughness, Isiah's bravery refuses to be overshadowed. He uses it, proving his love to Angel over and over again.

The supporting characters have great personalities and back stories of their own. When their names are mentioned, you immediately recall their life, purpose and relevance to the story.

This novel is further enhanced by Angel and Isiah's letters exchanged during the war and its accurate 1940s setting, giving a realistic view of what life was like for African Americans and people who befriended them.

The Sleeping Night is a refined, romantic tale. I imagine if Jane Austen wrote novels today, her stories would read a lot like Barbara Samuel's.

Click here see the review, learn more about Barbara Samuel (or her other pen names Barbara O'Neal and Ruth Wind) and view more Barbara Samuel novels based in Gideon, Texas.

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic and touching story. The main characters, Angel Corey and Isaiah High, were very sympathetic and likeable. The storyline was bittersweet and sometimes heartbreaking. The story pulled me in, and I couldn't put this book down. It is one that I very highly recommend, and I'm sure I'll be reading it again. I've read several books by Barbara Samuel under her various names, and she has not disappointed me yet.

Angel Corey and Isaiah High were very good friends until they grew to an age where it would not be considered proper in 1930's east Texas. Isaiah leaves to fight in World War II, and he and Angel strike up a correspondence in which they become more open with their thoughts and feelings than they ever would have in person. Isaiah returns home for a short time after the war, knowing that he can't make a life there. Angel is being courted by a man who is trying to coerce her into a marriage she does not want. Isaiah's presence comlicates the situation, and the feelings they have for one another that are difficult to hide put them both in danger.

This was such an emotional story. I loved Angel and Isaiah and was moved to tears several times. Knowing the time period and setting where their story takes place, I was so worried about the outcome, and I was so saddened whenever they suffered. This book will stay with me for a long while. I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley.

[Zeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I just loved this story. A pair of star-crossed, friends to lovers told through letters, memories, and longing glances. I can see where it may be problematic for some, mostly because it's a love story about a black man and a white woman set in the Jim Crowe South AND it was written by a white woman, yet I simply did not care because the sweet romance of it, reminded me of why I love this genre.

Mostly set during the 40's and beyond I loved that we started in 2005 and ended there too. There is much tension in this book because the history of the Jim Crowe South says this would end so so badly- and it does get bad- but the author stayed within romance novel parameters, perhaps to the point of cliche, to make the story less tragic than it could've been. Still, there were moments I wasn't sure which way the story would go and I can appreciate the honesty of that.

But, again, in the end, I simply didn't care about any of that, because I fell in love with these two who built their love as children over storybooks and the tender love their fathers' had for them.
4,5 out of 5 from me

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had this one in my Nook pile for a long time - and I'm down to 30 books left before I can trash that app, so yay?!

I loved Barbara Samuel back in the day and have many of her books I want to reread. I really haven't explored any of her Barbara O'Neal titles yet but I have maybe two of those in my pile.

This was a very good WWII era novel that isn't like those you see springing up like kudzu everywhere these days - you know, the ones with the women shot from behind on the cover with titles like "The Little Lost Bookshop of the Blitz" or something like that. I made that up so nobody sue me.

This book does NOT gloss over what it was like to be a Black soldier, what atrocities were seen after the war was over - it's all there. As are the realities of a Jim Crow Texas. It is ugly and hard to read but I appreciate that things are not glossed over.

It was actually difficult to finish because you felt there would be a horrifying ending but kudos to Samuel for giving her protagonists a hopeful one. Good secondary characters as well. The villain was a little too over the top with strange motivations but maybe evil is just evil and you have to accept it. Also sad because of what happened to a beloved pet in the novel.

Glad I finally read this one.

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starcrossed lovers show up often enough in romance, but rarely with such convincing emotion as in The Sleeping Night. Barbara Samuel's tale of an interracial couple in postwar Texas takes readers through a rollercoaster of emotion as we see her characters dealing with love, loss, and poisonous bigotry. I felt absolutely wrung out after reading this book, and I was in awe of the author's ability to create a story that made the reader feel so deeply invested in the central couple.

This is a partial review. My complete DIK review is on All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/boo...

[Cinzia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes it's more difficult to talk about the books I liked a lot, just as The Sleeping Night, it triggers so many emotions and thoughts that you are not sure to be able to communicate that to all tothers. Wonderful, amazing but mostly true, here's how it might define in a few words.
The Sleeping Night tells the story of one kind of love between two people that everyone dreams about and that only great difficulty and fights are able to forge, for the right to have these feelings.
Angel and Isaiah have grown together ever since, thanks to the tie that joined their fathers, both veterans from World War I, but the two boys were born and raised, the wrong place, Gideon Texas, South of the United States of America, and the wrong time, the first half in 1900, for a white girl and a black child, are the days when it still exists racial segregation, a time when the friendship between two children of parents of different races can be tolerated, and over the years with the arrival of adolescence it becomes a taboo. Angel and was raised by his father after her mother death, he taught her things as respect , equality, freedom. In the community of Gideon for this life's vision they were a little outcasted, their shop serves is a place for most customers a town's area where the black population live.
Soon Angel's father finds out the feelings of love between Isaiah and his daughter; Isaiah's father has already been killed because of his attempt to claim rights for black people, and Angel's father, who loves the boy as a son, realizes the dangers that would run for the youngman if others people are unaware of his feelings and he tries to coax him to leave for the front lines of World War II. During the war Angel and Isaiah remain in touch, those letters are one of the few things that can help the boy to face the horrors of war and once he returned from the war he discovers that nothing is changed. Gideon is always the same, its rules and prejudices remain, as well as the danger that may arise from the love that Angel and Isaiah tried to hide from each other.
It isn't only a book, a love story ... The reality of that time, the racial segregation laws, the letters from the front of the war, but also prejudice against a woman who wants to live her life, without necessarily being the wife of ... All this together has given the rise to a unique and beautiful tale. Both the main characters and the secondary's one are important to create the whole picture of the story, the reader can almost feel this world with his hands.
And if I can say the signs of that historical period still exist, more devious and crawling, but racism has not been erased, anywhere.

Thank to Netgalley and la Belle Bridge Books for the book.

Rating: 5 stars

TITLE: The Sleeping Night
AUTHOR: Barbara Samuel
PUBLISHER: Beautiful Bridge Books
PUBLICATION DATE: June 2012


A volte mi e' più difficile parlare dei libri che mi sono piaciuti molto, come questo e che scatenano tante emozioni e pensieri che non si riescono a comunicare del tutto agli altri. Meraviglioso, emozionante ma soprattutto vero, ecco come lo potrei definire in poche parole.
The Sleeping Night racconta la storia di uno di quegli amori, tra due persone, di cui tutti sognano e che solo le grosse difficoltà e le battaglie compiute per combattere per il diritto di provare questi sentimenti sanno forgiare.
Angel e Isaiah sono cresciuti insieme da sempre, grazie al legame che ha unito i loro padri, reduci entrambi dalla prima guerra mondiale, ma i due ragazzi sono nati e cresciuti nel posto sbagliato, Gideon Texas, sud degli Stati Uniti d'America, nel momento sbagliato, la prima meta' nel 1900; per una bambina bianca e un bambino nero, sono i tempi in cui e' ancora presente la segregazione razziale, tempi in cui l'amicizia tra due bambini di genitori di razze diverse può essere tollerata a fatica, e col trascorrere degli anni e l'arrivo dell'adolescenza diventa un vero e proprio taboo. Angel e' stata allevata dal padre, dopo la morte della madre, le ha insegnato valori quali il rispetto, l'uguaglianza, la libertà. Nella comunità di Gideon per questo sono sempre stati un po' isolati, il negozio che possiedono serve per la maggioranza clienti della zona sud della cittadina, dove vive la popolazione di colore.
Ben presto il padre di lei si accorge dei sentimenti che nascono tra Isaiah e la figlia; il padre di Isaiah e' già stato ucciso a causa del suo tentativo di rivendicare dei diritti sacrosanti per le persone di colore, e il padre di Angel, che ama il ragazzo come un figlio, si rende conto dei pericoli che correrebbe il giovane se altri si accorgessero dei suoi sentimenti e lo convince a partire per il fronte della seconda guerra mondiale. Durante la guerra Angel e Isaiah rimangono in contatto; quelle lettere sono una delle poche cose che possano aiutare il giovane ad affrontare gli orrori della guerra e una volta tornato dal fronte si accorge che nulla e' cambiato. Gideon e' sempre la stessa, le sue regole e pregiudizi sono rimasti, così come il pericolo che può nascere dall'amore che sia Angel che Isaiah tentato di nascondere l'un l'altro.
Un libro, una storia d'amore, ma non solo... La realtà di quel periodo in cui erano in vigore le leggi di segregazione razziale, le lettere dal fronte della guerra, ma anche i pregiudizi nei confronti di una donna che desidera vivere a modo sua la vita, senza per forza essere la moglie di... Tutto questo insieme ha dato vita a un racconto unico e stupendo. Sia personaggi i principali che quelli secondari sono importanti per creare il quadro d'insieme della storia, facendo immergere chi legge in un mondo che si può quasi tastare con mano.
E se posso dire i segni di quel periodo storico ci sono ancora, più subdoli e striscianti, ma il razzismo non e' stato cancellato, da nessuna parte.

Si ringraziano Netgalley e la Belle Bridge Books

VOTO: 5 stelle

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another powerful work by Barbara Samuel. The backdrop for her romantic story is jaw-dropping to say the least. I’m not sure that most romance novelists would feel comfortable setting such a tale in Jim Crow Deep South America right after WWII and make that romance interracial. It raises a lot of issues and emotions that may not be exactly conducive to a romance; yet, I’ve learned that this author isn’t afraid to explore some dark with her romantic light.

She explores all the horror that such a setting entails: lynchings, belittlement of the African-American population as well as single independent women, and an environment in which simply glancing in the wrong direction can cause death. The author isn’t afraid to show the starkness of such a situation and put her characters smack dab into it.

Yet, I think all that bleakness stands as a sharp contrast to how beautiful love can be in such circumstances. Angel’s and Isaiah’s love for each other starts in childhood and grows into a potent power for good in their lives. There’s a ton of obstacles to overcome to get to the good, no less that attempted rape, murder, and harassment in broad daylight on the town’s main road in public. But the journey there is powerful in all that adversity and the author really knows how to draw her readers into that same journey. Her romance is beautiful and top notch.

I also enjoyed the historical tidbits the author includes with her powerful story. The plight of WWII-ravaged Europe and the Holocaust are explored in the letters exchanged between Angel and Isaiah. The American WWII home front also finds some page time in widowhood and the ever-heartbreaking telegraphs telling a family of a loss.

I liked the look at post-WWII rural Texas, too. The author shows us how even though they sacrificed for our country, the returning African American soldiers were not respected or treated differently at all. Everything was ho-hum regularity back home, and I liked how the author showed that was so jarring for the returning soldiers. Going from respect to condescending attitudes must have been a real eye-opener. There are some powerful lessons in this novel along with the romantic beauty of it.

A powerful love story in such a bleak setting makes this a historical romance to treasure. It moves the emotions strongly and gives the reader a glimpse into a dark part of American history. It’s a historical romance that teaches as well as transports emotions away. This is another homerun from this author for me. I’ve definitely got to look into more of her works. Highly recommended for any historical romance reader who doesn’t mind some dark with their light.

[Hannah Fielding · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, passionate, thought-provoking story about forbidden love; this book will be going on my ‘favourite romances’ shelf.

From the blurb: An unforgettable romance in an unforgiving time. They’ll need love and courage to see the dawn. He’s a hometown native, returning from the war, determined to change the world he’d fought to protect. She’s the girl who’s been his secret friend since childhood, now a beautiful woman. Her war-time letters kept him alive. But he’s black, and she’s white. In 1946 Gideon, Texas, their undeniable love might get them both killed.

From the outset, I was drawn into the story by the compelling characters – courageous Angel, a lone white woman fighting to keep her independence after her father’s death, and Isaisah, her childhood friend who has seen too much in Europe during the war and can no longer tolerate the racism of the South. I found myself increasingly anxious as I read, seeing their love unfold in such a hostile environment – hoping so much they could find their way to each other but, knowing the reality of the setting and the historical era in which the book is set, fearing the only possible outcome could be tragedy.

Barbara is such a talented writer, conjuring up vivid mental pictures through her imagery that transported me to 1940s Texas and plunged me into the scenes. Here’s an example: ‘Isaiah sank down next to her. Bony knees stuck out from below his cut-off pants. His ankles were streaked, his shoes muddy, and he smelled like sunshine and dust and river water.’ I love that so much of the book has an authentic Southern feel in terms of tone and phrasing; and I really enjoyed the interweaving of letters sent during the war, which blend in a feel for war-time England and the two protagonists’ differing experiences of war.

In her dedication at the start of the book, Barbara mentions that this novel was ‘stashed away’, and it only saw the light of day thanks to an encouraging friend. Well, I am so very glad that Barbara did believe in the book enough to publish the book, because it was a true pleasure reading it, and I know that the touching story of Angel and Isaisah will remain in my imagination for years to come.

[Susan Scribner · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give this book 3.5 stars I would do so. Barbara Samuel has always excelled at creating romantic tension between hero and heroine, and you can't get much more tension than a black man and white woman in post-WWII Texas who know that they could be killed if they give into their attraction. Throw in a secondary character who survived the Holocaust and you've got a romance novel that was probably much too heavy for today's mainstream publishers. Good for Bell Bridge Books for pioking it up. Would have been nice if either hero or heroine had a noticeable flaw, but some of the townspeople are drawn in shades of gray, showing that racism wasn't just the product of evil people but of good people who are afraid to take action.

I enjoy Barbara's recent Barbara O'Neal books, but have a nostalgic fondness for her old historical romances. I hope The Sleeping Night gets enough buzz that she will consider more frequent return to her roots.

Note: I received a copy of The Sleeping Night through NetGalley.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what a treasure. This one and Barbara Samuel’s Midnight Rain are both going on “In Case of Fire, Grab These Books first” shelf.

A review of these two wonderful books in process....

ETA 11/5/19:

Reviewed here

[Julie Kibler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Samuel's latest, The Sleeping Night, is a lovely sideline project, complementing her more recent foodie-themed novels written as Barbara O'Neal. It contains the right measure of Samuel's trademark references to baking, sensual detail, and bittersweet romance.

The Sleeping Night explores the story of a young white woman who sees beyond skin color to fall for her childhood playmate, and a young African-American man who returns from the battlefields of World War II, where decreased racism and letters from his childhood friend sustained him, to the unchanged battlefield of his hometown. You will laugh and cry and root for Angel and Isaiah as they face prejudice and violence in post World War II Texas. I love anything by Samuel (whether written as Samuel or O'Neal), and this was no exception.

I received an advance review copy.

[Teresa Medeiros · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a Barb Samuel fan for years and this was a gorgeous novel illuminated by Barbara Samuel's usual emotional intensity and lyrical writing. It's an interracial romance set in post WWII Texas during a time when loving the wrong person could literally cost you your life. Angel and Isaiah were beautifully drawn, three-dimensional characters. I have to confess that I read the book with a lump of dread in my stomach because I was so afraid for the characters, but in the end the book was incredibly uplifting, both emotionally and spiritually. In some ways, it reminded me of THE HELP. Highly recommended!

(Barbara is also currently writing as Barbara O'Neal.)

[Elisabeth Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Intense. Filed under women's fiction rather than romance, which is interesting. The only way it doesn't fit is some literary time-hopping in the form of letters and book-ending the main story with a present-day anecdote. I think I'll review it for the blog so watch for more in a few weeks.

[Leah James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning writing, compelling plot that made me think (and laugh, and cry). I'm in awe of Barbara Samuel's skills as a story-teller.

[Valeria · Rating 5 out of 5]

So So SO Romantic! Every time the protagonists would be together, I swear, I'd get the chills! Oh how I love Isaiah :DDD

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very well written. Had to force myself to finish. Only read it to help a friend who is getting romance novels read for a competition.

[ike pauh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why it is so hard to get into contemporary or just books which either tend to be short, too short, too much dirty talk, it all happens so fast, there's too much sex (and too soon) when tackling the so-called trope of forbidden things.

The Sleeping Night felt like I was floating during a swim by the beach. Letting the water do all the hard work of keeping me afloat, I would relax my limbs and take in the sky. Sometimes blue, sometimes dotted with clouds, sometimes with the colours of the sunset since late afternoon is the best time to play at the beach. I was buoyed by reading about their feelings for each other. The progression from child to adult during a time of war, of great inequity. I witnessed their tender affections, the concern, the longing...even the tension. It hurt at times. Why? Back to the floating thing. Floating away, there are waves of course. Now it's the big waves I had to be careful of because the salt would leaves my eyes with a faint burning sensation (which quickly went away until the next big wave) and my throat sore. The waves are the shades of darkness I found in this book, the all too real cruelty we inflict on other people on the basis of skin colour, religion, ethnicity and all sorts. I expected what the men would do by the end of the book but it hurt no less to read it. Gurden and reading the last few days of war through Isaiah's eyes were also enlightening.

I like the how The Sleeping Night started with the present day before jumping into the meat and bulk of the story which was in the past. A nice touch having Paul's granddaughter be the one to greet Angel at the store. And well, the man himself later at the end as well. Touching indeed. It all came full circle. I wonder about those who were not so lucky. We live another day. I do.

"I loved having a bigger world to think about. The minute you stopped writing, it disappeared, and I felt like somebody turned the lights off, and there I was, sitting in the dark again."

"I know the end, Isaiah. It’s different, knowing and seeing, I know that, too. But you don’t have to make words for things there are no words for."

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" I absolutely love Barbara Samuel's stories of forbidden love, and now that I've read The Sleeping Night, I have yet another one to add to my keeper shelf. Ms. Samuel is one of the most talented authors I know at writing interracial tales of seemingly impossible love. She is also one of the best at conveying a deep sense of yearning between her characters that makes me as the reader want to weep with joy when they finally come together and get their HEA. I like how she expresses the connection between the hero and heroine through longing looks, the barest of touches and shared words. The words are particularly important to this book because a large part of it is told in an epistolary format. It was Angel's letters that gave Isaiah the strength to keep going in the midst of the horrors of WWII, and he in turn had someone with an open and listening heart to whom he could write about both the good and the bad things he'd witnessed. Their letters begin in a friendly way and gradually build into something deeper, even if they can't come right out and say, “I love you.” They also share their appreciation of words through the books they both love so much. All the book references were wonderful, as well as how the pair still maintain their individuality by enjoying different types of books.

Angel is a rather plain young woman with the heart of a lion. She married one of her childhood friends just two weeks before he shipped out to fight in the war and was widowed mere months later. Deep down, it wasn't her husband that she truly loved though, but Isaiah, who had been her best friend and constant companion throughout most of her life. Angel is a kind, caring person with a strong and loving faith in God. She was extremely well brought up by a daddy who had an epiphany during his own wartime experience where he believed that Jesus came to him and told him that He loved everyone equally no matter the color of their skin. When Angel's father returned from the war, he opened a store where he primarily serves the black people on the “wrong side” of his small Texas hometown, and Angel has been helping him since she was a little girl. Angel is a free-spirited young woman with a vivid imagination. She loves to go barefoot and be outside in nature and has an affinity with animals. The little injured bird she tamed is really cute. She is also a talented cook and adores children, longing for some of her own, but for now, settles on teaching her Sunday School class. Angel is a generous soul, always doing for others, but she suffers prejudice of her own, both for her decision to live alone and keep running the store after he father passes away and for her sympathy toward the African Americans in the community.

Isaiah has loved Angel since he was a little boy. He even told his father that he was going to marry her someday, which earned him a stern reprimand, because in that era, even a little boy who was black saying something like that about a white girl could get himself killed. I could really sense Isaiah's pain and frustration over the racism that was rampant in Texas and the entire South at that time. It was the prejudice that had taken his father's life, and even after returning home from fighting in the war, Isaiah was still treated like a second-class citizen, as though his sacrifice was meaningless. It had been a refreshing change for him to be treated decently by the British and Europeans who weren't bothered by the color of his skin and didn't care much for America's segregation debate. Isaiah had all but vowed never to return home, but an errand for an old acquaintance and the call of his heart for Angel brought him back to the same hateful, bigoted Texas he'd wanted to leave far behind. Isaiah obviously cares very deeply for Angel and is frustrated by not being able to express his feelings because of the danger it could put them both in, but underneath his anger over not being able to claim the woman he loves, Isaiah is a gentleman with a scholarly side. He treats his mother with great respect, and loves children every bit as much as Angel does. He is also a very talented builder.

It's obvious that Isaiah and Angel are prefect for each other, which is why as a reader it was a little bit frustrating that they couldn't be together sooner. I understood that Isaiah and Angel couldn't touch or even interact very much because of the danger they faced from racists, but it does make the early part of the story move a little slow. I was absolutely dying for them to just brush in passing or maybe think of one another in more overtly romantic terms, which would have built a little more sexual tension. Even now though, I can't decide if this was a weakness of the story or pure genius on the author's part, because it appeared that Isaiah and Angel were trying to avoid even thinking of each other in that way, knowing how impossible their love would be. When they finally do touch, it's a very emotional moment, but it still takes a while for things to build between them. When the first love scene finally happens, it was utterly beautiful.

While I wouldn't categorize The Sleeping Night as an inspirational romance per se, it does contain a very gentle spiritual message. Angel maintains a strong but quiet faith in God and His ability to work good even in the midst of the most trying circumstances. Isaiah, on the other hand, understandably lost his faith after witnessing the horrors of WWII. Angel never tries to change his mind though, but instead treats his views with respect and offers him understanding and patience, believing that she can have faith for both of them. Ultimately, it is her gentleness and love that helps to restore Isaiah's faith. I really loved and related to how this part of the story played out, and think that many authors of inspirational romances could learn a lesson from it about not having one character browbeat the other when it comes to spiritual issues.

Overall, The Sleeping Night was yet another beautiful story from Barbara Samuel's fertile imagination. It was one of the earliest books she wrote, but at the time, there was no market for it. I'm so glad that her significant other encouraged her to dust it off, give it an overhaul, and get it published. It's definitely a refreshing and welcome addition to the romance genre that I highly recommend.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Navdha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never thought I'd say this but after reading this book I feel like I'm a hopeless romantic. This book was so much more than what I expected. At places, it was slow, there were grammatical errors and wrong spellings, but I got an ARC from Net Galley, so I can simply ignore the shortcomings and say that I reaaaaalllllly liked this book.

Full review with spoilers

This is the second book that I’ve read which is based on World War II but in this story it’s more on the sidelines.

The story revolves around Angel and Isaiah who have known each other since their childhood. Their parents were good friends, that is, Angel’s dad and Isaiah’s dad, Angel’s mother died during childbirth. They used to play together and read stories to each other. However, the problem was that Angel was white and Isaiah was colored. During those times, people had a strict caste system and considered colored men inferior and killed them for daring to forget their place in the society. It was the mistake that Isaiah’s father made and died. Since then, things subtly started changing between Angel and Isaiah. They couldn’t see much of each other and were never supposed to be alone. As Isaiah grew into a teenager, he became more angry living in Gideon, Texas with the way things were. His anger was directed at Angel and they grew apart more till Angel’s father made Isaiah leave for the Army. The childhood friendship had somehow died and Angel had to marry her other outcast friend, Solomon.

It wasn’t until Isaiah heard about Solomon’s death, who had gone to the war two weeks after being married to Angel, that he wrote to her. Angel and Isaiah shared letters all throughout the war till one day suddenly Isaiah stopped writing.

The story begins so randomly that for a moment I felt that I wasn’t reading the right book. Then in a few pages, my slow brain started catching up and the story began. I loved how the author’s writing style. The way she moved between the past and the present, switching between letters that were written and posted and some that were never mailed to the current complications of Isaiah being back in town and Angel and him talking an getting friendly again, was excellent. I connected so well to the characters that I could feel their longing, fury, helplessness, desire, happiness, and sadness, jealously all in my bones. I just wanted Angel and Isaiah to be together so bad that every time a scene would come when they would become awkward or indifferent to each other, I would want to put them facing each other so that they could sort and talk things out which they hardly did. The injustice and the horrors of the war were all over the book. There are things that while reading felt long or scenes which could have been shorter or avoided altogether; but after finishing this book, I felt like all those things just made me connect better to Angel and Isaiah. The way the childhood memories were portrayed, the way they both connected, the way neither of them could stop thinking about each other, it was just so romantic! I am not a romantic at heart but reading the story and feeling their anguish and fear tore my heart. I think this book had one of the most beautiful love-making scenes. It was more than halfway after the story but it was worth the wait. I read each line real slow and tried to soak in the words. It was lovely. I must sound like an idiot but the author has a talent of making you connect to the characters in a whole new level. I guess this is what I like the most about the book. The book covered what it summarized about, which is, to me, like the goal being accomplished because sometimes after reading a book you feel as if the authors mislead you into believing something else after giving you a summary or a snippet of the story.

There were moments when I shook my head unable to believe that there was a time when racism was at its worst. There are racists still and I do loathe them but reading about times when even being polite or friendly to colored people made you a throne to people’s eyes still surprised me. What Edwin and his friends did to bully Angel to make her give them her store was so wrong and still no one took her side even when everyone was such a follower of the lord. In which religion or book does God ask people to stand by when someone is being clearly assaulted and violated? Sometimes I’m glad that those old times have passed but then thinking about current world problems doesn’t seem like a relief either.

My favorite parts of the book were the letters. The letters spoke volumes of each of their characters and reading how things had changed for them since childhood made me feel like I knew them as well as any of my oldest friends.

I guess it’s quite obvious that my favorite scene was when Isaiah and Angel finally gave up their inhibitions during that stormy night. That scene is so beautifully written that I think I’m going to remember it for a long time to come. After that I was actually waiting for something bad to happen. Because that’s what usually happens in every other forbidden love story, be it a book or movie. I was expecting the worst, naturally, and was praying, fingers crossed that the author didn’t kill Isaiah. But finally he didn’t die! He was alive till the end and that made me so happy that I am willing to share my chocolate stash with the author, even my nutella; which definitely is a big deal for me. This was my reaction peeking up from the pillow when I finally read that he survived:


I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did cause I’m used to being disappointed more often. It was a refreshing romantic read and I really liked it. I don't know how many times I'm going to repeat that.

[RedRedtheycallmeRed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently I bought this book in 2012, I have no idea why I didn't read it immediately, an oversight on my part for sure. Set in Jim Crow Texas post WW2, this love story gave me a sense of dread the whole time I was reading. I wanted Angel and Isaiah to get their happy ending, but there was some ugly racism and sexism standing in the way.

Some of the chapters are letters between Isaiah and Angel during the war, Angel sees them as glimpses into another life that exists outside of her narrow-minded little town, Isaiah sees them as glimpses of normality to escape from the horrors all around him.

The epilogue was a sweet full circle moment that I loved.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. Angel and Isaiah are our two mc's. They are both strong characters, and I adored them both. Their love at the time this book takes place, which was post ww2 in a small Texas town, was very forbidden. But they loved each other fiercely. There was a part at the end that took me by surprise in the very best way. There were quite a few grammatical errors in this book, it could have used another run through the editor, which is my reason for the 4.25 stars, some of them just took me out of the story. Overall, this story is just beautiful, and I look forward to reading more by this author.