An Extraordinary Union

By: Alyssa Cole

Narrated by: Karen Chilton

As the Civil War rages between the states, a courageous pair of spies plunge fearlessly into a maelstrom of ignorance, deceit, and danger, combining their unique skills to alter the course of history and break the chains of the past.

Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. Trading in her life of freedom in Massachusetts, she returns to the indignity of slavery in the South - to spy for the Union Army. Malcolm McCall is a detective for Pinkerton's Secret Service. Subterfuge is his calling, but he's facing his deadliest mission yet - risking his life to infiltrate a Rebel enclave in Virginia. Two undercover agents who share a common cause - and an undeniable attraction - Malcolm and Elle join forces when they discover a plot that could turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy's favor. Caught in a tightening web of wartime intrigue, and fighting a fiery and forbidden love, Malcolm and Elle must make their boldest move to preserve the Union at any cost - even if it means losing each other.

©2017 Alyssa Cole (P)2017 Recorded Books

good read

I like the story of a forbidden love. At times the story was slow but predictable. I am always a sucker for a happy ending. overall I liked this story.....

Great plot, but flawed writing and narration

I loved this story and I really liked the characters. But the writer used lame analogies and anachronistic modern expressions. The narrator used awkward emphasis often, and mispronounced many words. There were also many continuity errors. For example, "he was holding a bag of apples", and then one sentence later "he dropped the bag of grain." I hope this author hones her craft and writes more books. I would like to see what she can do with a little more mature writing technique.

Excellent Read...

This book had me wishing for more chapters. I truly enjoyed the story and hopes there's a part two.

Extraordinary!

As the title expresses "Extraordinary". Absolutely loved this book and plan on reading the remainder of the series. Well done!

Trying to finish, but must give first impressions

If you could sum up An Extraordinary Union in three words, what would they be?

When I the plot, I was so excited. I admit that I am a mystery/detective genre fan, not romance. I keep thinking, this would be so great if they didn't keep talking about their feelings. If it were a true detective/mystery I would be thrilled.

Would you be willing to try another book from Alyssa Cole? Why or why not?

I am going to finish this tedious romance, but I doubt it because I can't sit through the tedium of will their love last.

Which character – as performed by Karen Chilton – was your favorite?

It was good

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was intrigued with the history of the spying in the Civil War era.

Surprisingly Good

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters, the history, the love story all came together perfectly.

Great!

Loved the black history throughout and complexity of this unusual love story. I was happily surprised.

An Extraordinary Story

This is a wonderful suspenseful historical romance book. The author expertly hooks the readers with the story of 2 individuals who work to free slaves and are spies for the Union who fall in love. The trials they face going undercover to find out secrets of the "Rebs" and get the information to Mr. Lincoln's army and the trials of fighting the live the is growing between them. A wonderful book. Very well written story.

Loved the history, but…..

Loved the story, really loved the narrator, but did NOT love the back to back fairly explicit intimate scenes throughout. Would have been nice to have a little of that but I found myself rolling my eyes over and over. Felt like it was a “romance novel”, but I’ve never actually read a romance novel so I wouldn’t actually know. I almost threw in the towel but stuck with it and was rewarded with the last 1/4 full of adventure and suspense ……. so I’m happy I stuck with it.

Fantastic glimpse into the past through vital lense

This story was a wild ride full of intrigue, passion, and hard historical truth. I really appreciated the perspective that I gained from this book and the love story is captivating. I'm so excited to read the next two!