To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander

Olivia Aberdeen, destitute widow of a man shot as a traitor to the South, is shunned by proper society and gratefully accepts an invitation from “Aunt” Elizabeth Harding, mistress of Belle Meade Plantation. Expecting to be the Harding’s head housekeeper, Olivia is disillusioned when she learns the real reason Elizabeth’s husband, Confederate General William Giles Harding, agreed to her coming. Not finding the safe haven she expects, Olivia is caught off guard by her feelings for Ridley Adam Cooper, a Southern man who seems anything but a Southern gentleman.

Branded a traitor by some, Ridley Cooper, a Southern son who chose to fight for the Union, is a man desperate to end the war still raging inside him. Determined to learn “the gift” that Belle Meade’s head horse trainer and former slave, Bob Green, possesses, Ridley harbors secrets that threaten both their lives.

As Ridley seeks to make peace within himself for “betraying” the South he loved, Olivia is determined to never be betrayed again.

 

To Whisper Her Name is the first book in Tamera Alexander’s Belle Meade Plantation series, but isn’t the first book I have ever read by her. I read her Belmont Mansion series awhile back and absolutely loved it, so I knew I would have to read more of her books in the future. Since she doesn’t have anything else new coming out until January, I thought I would start with this series while I waited, and I’m so very glad I did. I absolutely love Tamera’s Southern historicals, and if she wasn’t already one of my favorite authors before, she definitely is now. I can’t even begin to tell you all of the things I loved about this novel.

The back and forth between Olivia and Ridley, even from the very beginning of this novel, is something that showed me just how perfect they are for each other. They knew how to disagree, how to have different views of things and make that very clear, and yet at the same time still care deeply for one another—whether they would admit it or not—and that was something that I really loved about their story. Never was there a moment when I wasn’t interested, completely captivated by everything going on between them and in their story.

Not only that, but there were so many unexpected twists and turns to this story! There were so many moments when I was surprised by what came next, and I love to find that in a novel. If it’s too predictable, that takes away some of the interest in a story, but this book definitely had plenty of intrigue. Besides that, there were also so many heartbreaking aspects—I even cried a little, though that isn’t necessarily saying much since I cry all the time—as I learned about Olivia’s past, about Ridley’s, and about why General Harding really wanted Olivia to stay. Although I was glad she was able to achieve her purpose, I can’t begin to tell you how much I hated that part of the story had to end that way. But I won’t spoil it for you, suffice it to say it doesn’t make me love the novel any less obviously, it just made me sad that it couldn’t have been different because I always want things to be happy.

All in all, I just really loved this story. The struggle over the issue of slavery, the way that their perception of people had to change now that the Civil War was over was something that really spoke to me since the issue of race is still one that I am passionate about today, and I just really love Civil War history so that was a treat for me. I can’t imagine giving this novel anything but all five bookshelves and a place on my all-time favorites list, because it was just a phenomenal piece of writing, I can’t actually find a single negative thing to say about it (not that I’m trying, but even if I did). I highly recommend this novel, this series, and anything by Tamera, because I’m sure you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did.

Happy reading!

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All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Tamera Alexander and Zondervan Publishing.