Review + Book Spotlight: Dreams of Savannah

 

Dreams of Savannah

by Roseanna M. White

About the Book

Cordelia Owens can weave a hopeful story around anything and has long since won the hearts of Savannah’s society with her whimsy. Even when she receives word that her sweetheart has been lost during a raid on a Yankee vessel, she clings to hope and comes up with many a romantic tale of his eventual homecoming to reassure his mother and sister.

But Phineas Dunn finds nothing redemptive in the horrors of war. Struggling for months to make it home alive, he returns to Savannah injured and changed. The beliefs he once held about slavery and the entire war are upended, and he is all too sure he is not the hero Delia seems to make him.

When the Confederacy deems Savannah a lost cause and the future wavers, Phin and Delia must both decide where the dreams of a new America will take them–and if they will go there together.

My Thoughts

From a shining voice in inspirational fiction comes a tender tale of love, loss, and hope.

What I love about Roseanna M. White’s stories is that whichever era she writes about comes to life as you read. She’s proven her deft ability at writing about England in the Edwardian era and during WWI, and now has shown her talent with the South during the Civil War. It takes a skilled hand and sensitivity to weave a tale that leaves a reader feeling hopeful after reading about the darkest chapter in our nation’s history, and White has both in spades.

The characters in this story feel like people you know in real life. Cordelia was a delightful heroine. As a writer, I totally related to her overactive imagination and true appreciation for words. In the beginning she was a bit naïve, especially when it came to the lives of slaves. Yet there was so much growth for this character over the course of the story. I loved how she came to see that every person has a story worth telling and worked to tell the story of those who were all too often overlooked. I also loved Salina. Brave and strong with a big heart, this young woman was the definition of a heroine. She’s the type that you would want to befriend in real life. In the beginning, I wasn’t so sure about Phin. He didn’t seem to notice the slaves or the way they were being mistreated, which got to me. But as the story progressed, so did this character, and I believe this was the author’s intent; to show that people can change for the better. And then there is Luther. A brave and faithful man, his devotion to Eva was lovely, as was the kindness he showed toward Phin.

While this is very much a character-driven book, the setting is rich as well. The scent of magnolias will curl through readers’ heads and images of Spanish moss dripping off buildings and trees will dance before their mind’s eye as they flip through the pages. 

Thoughtful, hopeful, and faithful, Dreams of Savannah is a resilient story that depicts the strength of the human spirit in the face of tragic circumstances. Readers across the board will want to read this book.

MY REVIEW OF A PORTRAIT OF LOYALTY

About the Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy award-nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, designing book covers, editing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books… to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.roseannamwhite.com 

All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Many thanks to the author and publisher for a complimentary copy of this book.