An Unconditional Freedom

Karen Chilton narrates a powerful story about freedom, choice, and responsibility during the Civil War. Daniel Cumberland and Janeta Sanchez have been paired up and sent on a mission for the Loyal League--a secret group of black spies. Neither is happy with the arrangement. Chilton captures Daniel's struggles after his experience with abduction into slavery: He is a broken man who does not want to heal because he cannot forgive himself. Janeta has a different but no less complicated struggle to overcome: her guilt at causing her father's imprisonment and her increasing discomfort at being a double agent for the Confederacy--all of which Chilton evokes with ease. Janeta's frequent use of Spanish poses no problem for Chilton, who seems to speak it as easily as English. K.M.P. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 1, 2019
Cole completes the Loyal League trilogy with a hopeful look at interracial romance during the Civil War. Daniel Cumberland, a detective for the pro-Union Loyal League, has recently been reliberated after he was kidnapped back into slavery. He wants to kill the men responsible for his suffering. Janeta Sanchez, descended from Cuban immigrants, has never truly understood her own tenuous relationship to slavery. Forced by her former lover to spy for the Confederacy, Janeta infiltrates the League and joins Daniel on a mission to uncover Britain’s involvement in the war. Janeta and Daniel’s love story is a slow burn as Daniel deals with the echoes of past trauma and Janeta learns the true meaning of slavery. Both characters have much more on their minds than romance, which is exactly what makes the romance so real. Neither is perfect, and they still see the good in each other. Even a slightly hurried ending can’t diminish this triumphant conclusion to an outstanding series that has redefined the possibilities of historical romance. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency.