An Unconditional Freedom

Starred review from January 1, 2019
The third book in Cole's (A Duke by Default, 2018, etc.) Civil War-era Loyal League series pairs a broken man bent on retribution with an inexperienced but courageous double agent.Daniel Cumberland was born free in Massachusetts, but his education and professional status did not protect him from being kidnapped and sold into slavery, an experience that destroyed his faith in God, country, and himself even after he's rescued. At night, memories of his time in captivity haunt him, but by day he is a detective with the Loyal League, one of the North's most important spy rings. Daniel is ruthless and heartless, motivated by an all-consuming thirst for vengeance that sets him apart even from his fellow spies, with their naïve optimism that the war can bring about a better life for people of all races. Janeta Sanchez had lived a pampered and privileged life as the daughter of a Cuban plantation owner who had settled in Florida. But when Yankee soldiers imprison her father and quarter themselves in her home, she agrees to travel to Ohio to infiltrate the Loyal League and spy for the Confederate cause. In unfamiliar terrain, where others' perceptions clash with her self-image, Janeta "was coming to understand both her place in this country and her own inner geography better; she was recharting the map of herself." Cole conveys the ways Janeta's and Daniel's layered identities pose challenges while affording them strengths of insight and character. Cole weaves a tense and gripping plot into a tapestry of fascinating and authentic historical detail, told from the distinct perspectives of people of color, without skimping on the growing feelings and strong desires that bring two lovers together.Forbidden attraction and the threat of betrayal are the initial hooks for what turns out to be a sumptuously written and meticulously researched tale of a country at war with itself and two damaged people who find themselves in each other's arms.

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February 1, 2019

Born free, captured by slavers, and then rescued, law student Daniel Cumberland--disillusioned, angry, and embittered--wants nothing more than to bring down the Confederacy. A member of the Loyal League, the shadowy organization of black detectives and spies who freed him, Daniel finds himself on a dangerous mission to Mississippi, saddled with Janeta Sanchez, a green-as-grass and far too curious recruit. Yet Janeta, pampered daughter of a Cuban plantation owner and his freedwoman wife, is more than just an annoyance--she is a double agent, coerced into spying for the South in exchange for her imprisoned father's freedom. The journey brings sometimes painful truths to them both. VERDICT A heroine torn by conflicting loyalties and a vengeance-driven hero haunted by the past struggle to come to terms with reality and their feelings in this emotionally compelling, information-rich story. Very nicely done. Cole (A Hope Divided) divides her time between New York City and Martinique. [An editor's pick, p. 22; previewed in Kathryn Howe's "Love Changes Everything," LJ 10/15/18.]

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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.

Starred review from February 1, 2019
After being kidnapped, sold into slavery, beaten, and broken, Daniel Cumberland is now free and wants his revenge. Torturous memories of what he endured on the plantation before he was rescued and brought back home to Illinois make it impossible for Daniel to live a normal life. Anger and trauma provoke him to join the Loyal League as a rogue agent hell-bent on destroying the Confederacy and, in some ways, himself. But then he meets his new League partner, Janeta Sanchez. The light-skinned daughter of a rich Cuban man and his enslaved wife, Janeta is more able to blend in, but her secret motive for joining this underground spy network is to protect her family, not to save her people. Once she finally sees the harsh reality of slavery, however, she realizes that she must decide which side of this uncivil war she is truly on. Their relationship grows slowly as Janeta and Daniel pursue their mission and try to determine if they're fighting for the same noble cause. This third and hopefully not last installment in Cole's Loyal League series, following A Hope Divided (2017), is historical romance at its finest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)