Review and September Baking Challenge: The Vacant Chair by Kaylea Cross

Now that we've all had a chance to read September's book club/baking challenge book, I'd like to share my review with you.

I loved The Vacant Chair. The vivid scenes of war, written with heart-wrenching simplicity, are historically and emotionally accurate. Justin's struggle with his part in the war, the conflict between the cause he believes in and the questionable ethics of orders along with the harshness of his experiences capture the duality many soldiers struggled to handle. Each detail Kaylea included in the book was accurate and well-written.

My favourite part of the story was the correspondence between Brianna and Justin. Watching the pair grow closer through their letters reminded me of my own special soldier and the way we held on to each other during his deployment. Kaylea captures the emotions of this in a way that shows she has not only done her research, but also truly understands what it means to be a military family in any century.

Rating:

Baking Challenge: In The Vacant Chair, Brianna sends Justin homemade cookies with her letter. What would you send to a soldier? Bake it and link up your post or picture at the end of the month.

Don't forget to comment below to let us know what you thought of the book (no spoilers, please!). Did you connect with the story and characters the way I did? Did it feel emotionally real to you?

September 2013 Baking Challenge Book: The Vacant Chair

This month, I've chosen The Vacant Chair by the wonderful Kaylea Cross as our Book Club and Baking Challenge pick. Kaylea usually writes military romantic suspense, but the Civil War buff tried something new with The Vacant Chair.

The Vacant Chair is a historical romance. It follows Brianna Taylor, widow turned nurse at a Union hospital, and Captain Justin Thompson of the Union army. After their first chance meeting, Brianna and Justin meet again at the hospital where he has been left to die. Nurse and patient grow closer, but both know it's only a matter of time before Justin heals and is sent back to the fight.

I've already finished reading my copy and, while I'm saving my review for the Baking Challenge post on the 15th of the month, I will tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope Kaylea tries some more historical fiction very soon!

As a special bonus and because I love supporting Kaylea's work and want to encourage you to participate in the book club/baking challenge, I'm offering readers the chance to win a digital copy of The Vacant Chair! It's formatted for Nook, but even if you don't have one, enter! There are free Nook apps that will work on other devices so you'll be able to read it anyway.

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