Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Cynthia Roemer & Beyond Wounded Hearts

It’s always a pleasure to chat with author Cynthia Roemer, and I’m excited to have her on the blog today to talk about her new historical romance, Beyond Wounded Hearts! I loved this book, as well as the first book in the series – Beyond These War-Torn Lands.

BEYOND WOUNDED HEARTS by Cynthia Roemer
SERIES: Wounded Hearts #2
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Fiction
PUBLISHER: Scrivenings Press, LLC
RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023
PAGES: 373

They were North and South ~ Faithful and Faithless

After suffering disabling burns during the fall of Richmond, Adelaide Hanover awakens in a hospital alone and destitute, escalating her already stanch hatred for Yankees. When the Union soldier who freed her from the rubble begins paying her visits, she wants nothing to do with him … or his faith. Yet, his persistent kindness penetrates her resolve and forges a much-needed friendship. But after a dangerous man threatens Addie, she flees Richmond, intent on solving the mystery to her aunt’s dying wish before he does.

Haunted by a tragic failure in his past, Corporal Luke Gallagher takes Adelaide’s plight on as his own. Though his strong beliefs collide with his growing feelings for her, he offers his family’s home as a place to convalesce. Adelaide’s initial rejection, followed by her sudden willingness to accept his benevolence, hints there’s more to the decision than a mere change of heart. When trouble follows her, endangering her safety, as well as his family’s, Luke must lay his life and his convictions on the line to save them.

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opposites attract – civil war style

by Cynthia Roemer, author of Beyond Wounded Hearts

One of the challenges I enjoy about writing Civil War era fiction is bringing two opposing sides together. My hero and heroine from Beyond Wounded Hearts are a prime example. As the book’s tagline reads: They were North and South ~ Faithful and Faithless. Opposites in every way. And yet, the Lord has a way of bringing opposites together (I’ve decided God either has a great sense of humor or enjoys watching us mature in our love by drawing upon each other’s strengths.)

At the onset of Beyond Wounded Hearts, we meet a very bitter, angry heroine. Adelaide Hanover is young and headstrong with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Seventeen, with raven-black hair and violet eyes, she has an outward beauty many would admire. But, inwardly, her heart has grown cold from the sorrows she’s endured.

Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, her Southern roots run deep. She’s suffered a great deal of loss at the hands of Yankees and despises everything about them. But her grudges don’t stop there. The faith in God she once professed has soured. Blaming Him for her troubles, she turns her back on her faith, unwilling to believe in a God who would allow such pain and anguish.

Then…in comes Corporal Luke Gallagher, a Union soldier from Elmira, Pennsylvania with a heart eager to share his faith with anyone who crosses his path. Handsome with his wavy blond hair and vivid blue eyes, this ruddy, good-natured soldier is the very picture of young David from the Bible—ready and willing to do the Lord’s bidding at the snap of a finger.

But Luke has an internal “Goliath” of his own to battle—a sense of guilt from a past loss that eats away at him and drives him to prove himself. The more time spent with Adelaide, the more determined he becomes to win her over not only to himself, but to the Lord.

Though intrigued by this congenial Yankee who seems bent on helping her, Adelaide (Addie) initially spurns Luke’s attempts to share his faith and show her Christ-like love. Eventually, his kindness bores a hole through her hardened shell, and she finds herself softening to his attentions…while still denying his faith.

When circumstances unwittingly throw them together, they embark on an unlikely journey of both their hearts and their souls. These two opposites are about to find out what the Lord can do despite their failings and insecurities. I pray you’ll be touched by their story and challenged by their example to grow in faith.

Favorite lines from the book

Favorite lines (Adelaide):  “He was either the most genuine man she’d ever met, or the most naïve.”

Luke’s mom (Martha):  “It’s God’s job to change hearts. Not ours.”

Luke’s thoughts: “The thousands of flickering campfires dotting the landscape didn’t hold a candle to the splendor of God’s creation.”

Luke’s thoughts:  “This was gearing up to be a battle of the wills. He could only pray it would end peacefully and not prove the onset of another war.”

Luke’s thoughts: “Luke knew enough not to kindle a flame that was certain to scorch him.”

Luke’s thoughts:  “These were the innocent ones, caught in a web of war they had no control over.”

Favorite Scenes

Among my favorite scenes were when Adelaide is taught to milk a cow, when Adelaide faces off against one of her worst enemies—a Union spy, when Luke tries numerous times to get a bite of food and keeps getting interrupted, and when Adelaide receives a valuable life-lesson from a neighbor-lady and the eggs she’s toting.

Cynthia Roemer is an inspirational, award-winning author with a heart for scattering seeds of hope into the hearts of readers. Cynthia enjoys spinning tales set in the backdrop of the mid-1800’s prairie and Civil War era. Beyond Wounded Hearts is Book Two in her Wounded Heart Series set during the American Civil War era. She resides with her husband on their family farm in central Illinois. Visit Cynthia online at: www.cynthiaroemer.com

Cynthia Roemer is offering a print copy of Beyond Wounded Hearts to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Beyond Wounded Hearts by Cynthia Roemer?