Reviews tagging 'Violence'

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

14 reviews

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It's hard to capture how remarkable this is, both as a stand-alone and as a series start, and for historical romance readers who have read *any* Civil-War-era romance by white authors, this is a must-read series that reflects authentic people and stories (Alyssa Cole truly lights a match to the lost cause narrative that underlies the majority of books in this corner of historical romance). This installment centers the story of Union operative Elle Burns (inspired by the real-life spy story of Mary Bowser). Elle is a free Black woman working undercover as an enslaved woman in a Confederate officer's home. She meets Malcom McCall, a white Union operative, while he is working undercover as a Confederate officer visiting the region. The progression of their relationship centers honest communication around the stark power imbalance between them, and Cole deftly used open-door scenes to further deepen their communication. I would consider this a blend of historical romance and romantic suspense, with clear and historically accurate world building that is driven by Cole's obvious commitment to thorough research. Moreover, the writing is beautiful. I highly recommend this book and this series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Slavery

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Confinement, Blood, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

traceyanderson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexism

nabecker13's review

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Slavery, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, War, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Death, Death of parent, and Trafficking

bergamot_breeze's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Really enjoyed this! I LOVED Elle and I was so invested in her day to day life. If this had just been about her I think this would have been a new fave. Despite going into it knowing it was a romance, the romance became my least favorite part. It felt as if it detracted from the rest of the story. Overall, though this was very good and I’ll keep reading the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual content, and Slavery

Moderate: War, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Suicide, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexism

mandi4886's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Rape, Violence, Confinement, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Racism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, Blood, Grief, Sexism, Slavery, and War

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Body horror, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Abandonment, Ableism, Cursing, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Xenophobia, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Stalking, Torture, and Vomit

unsuccessfulbookclub's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

My Hissy RoNo era continues, this time with one set in America during the Civil War. This is not usually a historical setting I seek out, for many reasons, not the least of which being the potential for the “Lost Cause” narrative and attempts by white authors to romanticize human trafficking and chattel slavery (looking at you, Margaret Mitchell). In short: the potential for extremely problematic storylines is HIGH. 

IF I was going to read a Civil War romance, it was absolutely going to be one written by a Black woman and one written within the past decade. Enter Alyssa Cole’s An Extraordinary Union.

Allllll that said: I loved this! Both MCs are Union spies based on actual people. Elle’s character is based on Mary Bowser, a Union spy and free Black woman who posed as an enslaved person in Jefferson Davis’s house for years - shuttling untold secrets to the Union while evading detection. Malcolm is based on Timothy Webster, a top Pinkerton detective. If you read this, read the author’s note! Alyssa provided great details on the inspiration for her characters and how she came to write this story.

Malcolm is a white man and Elle is a Black woman and so much of the conflict in their relationship is driven by Elle reconciling her feelings for Malcolm the person with her fear and distrust of white men. Additionally, Malcolm wrestles with the power imbalance and works hard to help Elle feel safe with him. The nuances of the relationship and the depth of feelings between the two of them move quickly but sparkle on page.

Beyond their relationship…well, there’s a war and they are spies. So there is A LOT of plot in this along with some excellent portrayals of the Southern Belle archetype and the Southern “gent.” This book is an example of why books can outstrip movies specifically when you need to be in a character’s head. Thoughts and internal monologue bring depth to each interaction that would be impossible on screen.

👍🏻Recommended! If you are looking for an exciting Hissy RoNo set in America with a diverse cast, this is for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Slavery, and War

heydebigale's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

CW: racism & graphic violence

Romances where I learn history are top tier books! The book opens up the same year that *that incredibly racist popular book is set* this book is from a Black perspective & is SO good.

Elle is a spy for the union who has an impeccable memory. Malcolm is also a spy for Pinkerton but is posing as a Rebel soldier. The pie work together to uncover a confederate plot to break up the union blockade. 

Elle is based off of a real Black spy named Mary Bowser who had an eidetic memory who was placed in the Jefferson Davis whitehouse who funneled information to the Union. Definitely read the authors note!


This book addresses many of the issues faced by enslaved and free Black people during the civil war. I appreciated the discussion on repatriation & Elle’s realization that America was her home. 

Highly recommend this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, and Violence

kaylasonlyheart's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, and Racism

emfass's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I really wanted to like this book. I'm updating my review a week after finishing it--the more I think back to this book, the more I think it just overall didn't work for me. Both the romance and the spy plot weren't compelling to me; I was SO STRESSED for the two main characters at all times, and I didn't find the development of their relationship very convincing.

I did appreciate how Malcolm was maybe the first person to make Elle feel really seen, but otherwise I just was not impressed with where he sat in his privilege, and didn't think he grew enough to deserve to be with Elle. 

Also, for being a spy plot romance, I found things moved pretty slowly. The switching back and forth between trying to further the romance and trying to further the action felt choppy throughout. There was also so much redundancy in their inner monologues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Death and Suicide

memoriast's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Violence, and Racial slurs

Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Infidelity