Publisher: Bookouture
Series: Wild Swan Trilogy, Book 2
Format: ebook
Genre: Historical Fiction, Family Saga
Synopsis
Alexandria Falconer gazes around the honeyed land of Wild Swan, the extraordinary horse farm she built up from nothing in the border state of Maryland. It has been Alex’s sanctuary through years of turmoil, and she has come of age in this land of opportunity. But the storm clouds of civil war are gathering, and Alex knows she has a choice to make to protect her family and maintain the precarious peace at Wild Swan.
When Alex’s son dies tragically, she is shattered. It is only through caring for her adopted daughter, two-year-old Gincie, that Alex starts to overcome her grief and find comfort with her beloved husband Rane once more. But when Rane is called away to aid the Union war effort, she is left bereft.
Alex’s heart is with Rane, but at home she has the sole responsibility of shielding Gincie and the rest of her family from the danger creeping ever closer to their door. When a charming soldier arrives at Wild Swan, Alex reluctantly gives him shelter, but the two form a bond and when news arrives of Gettysburg, she is torn with worry for men on both sides of the battlefield. With Gincie by her side, she undertakes a dangerous journey to fight for her family, her principles, and the man who holds her heart…
Celeste De Blasis’ epic and heart-wrenching Wild Swan trilogy continues, available in eBook for the first time. Perfect for readers who love Poldark, Outlander and Daphne du Maurier.
A Wild Heart was originally published as Swan’s Chance.
My Thoughts
The first book of the trilogy, A Wild Hope, concluded in 1831 with the marriage of Alex Carrington to Rane Falconer at Wild Swan, the thoroughbred horse farm which Alex and her first husband, St. John Carrington, had established in Maryland.
A Wild Heart picks up Alex's story five years later as she and Rane prepare to welcome visitors from England, her old friend Hugh Bettingdon, who she hasn't seen for 16 years, and his wife, Angelica.
The first part of the book deals with the years leading up to the outbreak of the American Civil War and encompasses significant historical events that affect the lives of those at Wild Swan and beyond. The financial crisis of 1837 triggers a depression that lasts until the mid 1840s, threatening the viability of the shipyard owned by Caleb Jennings and Rane. Morgan Falconer, Alex and Rane's son, and Boston Thaine, Alex's brother, witness the expulsion of the Cherokee from Georgia under the Indian Removal Act. Political tension between the North and the South continues to escalate and despite attempts to avert it, war is inevitable.
This brings us to the second part of the book: the years of the American Civil War. Alex's sons and grandsons are determined to do their duty. However, it is not only the males that risk their lives in the conflict. Gincie, the daughter of Alex's youngest son, risks her life on the Underground Railroad and the other females of the family find their own ways of helping, whether it be nursing the wounded or teaching literacy to the newly freed slaves.
Although tragedy comes to Wild Swan, and the family suffers heartbreaking loss as the war rages, it still remains a place of refuge. Alex's presence there acts as a magnet, drawing the family back where they can heal from physical and emotional trauma secure in the love and sanctuary she offers so freely.
I loved the first book and can wholeheartedly say that I loved this one even more despite the emotional roller coaster it took me on. With the American Civil War and so many of the males of the family at the right age to be involved, it was always going to be a heartrending read, but I wasn't expecting the role that Gincie played. Her love and bravery took her away from the relative safety of the family and Wild Swan into the Confederacy.
I have truly fallen under the spell of this superb trilogy. As in A Wild Hope, love, resilience, sacrifice and heartache combine once more in A Wild Heart to continue the enduring love story of Alex and Rane.
Although I know the final book (A Wild Legacy) will be just as emotional as the previous two with Alex and Rane passing into old age and the inevitable happens, I can't wait to see what becomes of Wild Swan and the family in the post Civil War years.
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