The Colonel's Lady

The Colonel’s Lady is a Christian-based historical romance from Laura Frantz.

Roxanna Rowan is determined to reach the remote Kentucky fort her father is serving at – now that her mother has died and her betrothal has ended in humiliation, she has nothing left in Virginia. She’s desperate to reunite with her father, whom she’s always been close to, and with whom she hasn’t seen in a long time – due to the war for America’s independence in the year we are following: 1779.

However, once the campaign returns to the fort Roxanna is told her father died in action. She has no options, no family, and no money. She’s in strange, wild land not quite civilized among the immense dangers of battle. To brave leaving the fort’s walls without her father by her side seems impossible.

So, when Colonel Cassius McLinn, an Irish patriot highly respected by his soldiers, invites Roxana to stay on as scrivener, her father’s position, she feels she has no choice but to accept. He’s offering her wages and safety, after all, and once she earns enough she can try to get back to Virginia once the exacting winter turns to spring.

Yet as Roxanna gets used to the daily grind and begins to warm to Colonel McLinn’s magnetism and disarming attractiveness, intrigue and danger begin to take shape and turn a protected fort into a potentially enemy-infiltrated war zone. According to her father’s ledgers, he had been suspecting a spy among Colonel McLinn’s men before his death.

Secrets and falsehoods seem to abound – and though Colonel McLinn appears the most trustworthy as he becomes her friend, and sometimes she imagines maybe more, he may be the one hiding the most from her…

When I read Laura Frantz’s Courting Morrow Little I was carried away in a gorgeous Kentucky landscape, elegant prose, and a stunning story – and she has done it again!

The Colonel’s Lady is a lovely story rich in historical detail that spotlights war and soldiers in a respectful way. She doesn’t try to water it down, she doesn’t judge, she just writes it as it is. War isn’t pleasant but it’s oftentimes necessary – and in Colonel McLinn she has created a robust, caring, tough leader that is determined to keep his men in line, alive, and well. Plus, she fleshes him out by showing us his fears, his weaknesses, and of course letting us know the role he played in Roxanna’s father’s death (read it to find out!) which haunts him. He’s an excellent male lead!

And with Roxana we have a feminine, clever, vulnerable woman that has become insecure over her imperfections over the years, in no small part due to a demanding mother that was never contented. She’s now twenty-nine and husbandless, not the best situation in 1779. She was born with a physical imperfection that makes her hobble unless she’s wearing special shoes to hide it. Her previous fiancé was embarrassed by it, and then he ended up jilting her. You can see why she is less than sure of herself. Though sometimes I became frustrated with her continued doubting and distrusting of her own worth and beauty, I also felt Laura Frantz provided enough psychological reason for me to understand.

Now, the two together – ooh boy! Roxanna and Cass (the Colonel) has a chemistry that sizzles! Once again, I love that the author doesn’t hesitate to show legitimate attraction in a book that has Christian characters – it never goes too far, of course, but she provides realism and a romance that sometimes other inspirational romance writers seem to fear.

I really, really enjoyed it! The Colonel’s Lady had unforeseen twists related to the war and potential spy, killer moments of humanity dealing with guilt, forgiveness, grief, betrayal and compassion, and a love story that was built on a foundation of friendship. Beautiful!

The Colonel’s Lady has goose bump-inducing, lump-in-the-throat gratification and is truly a tender, sweeping novel. I look forward to more from Laura Frantz!