Love Held Captive by Shelley Shepard Gray (Review)

After the War Between the States, a Confederate officer longs to heal the heart of a beautiful woman—but first he’ll have to right the wrongs that were done to her.

Major Ethan Kelly has never been able to absolve himself of the guilt he feels for raiding a woman’s home shortly before he was taken prisoner during the Civil War. He is struggling to get through each day until he once again crosses paths with Lizbeth Barclay—the very woman he is trying to forget.

Life after the war is not much different for former Captain Devin Monroe until he meets Julianne VanFleet. He knows she is the woman he’s been waiting for, but he struggles to come to terms with the sacrifices she made to survive the war.

When Ethan and Devin discover that their former colonel, Adam Bushnell, is responsible for both Lizbeth’s and Julianne’s pain, they call on their former fellow soldiers to hunt him down. As the men band together to earn the trust of the women they love, Lizbeth and Julianne seek the justice they deserve in a country longing to heal.

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With the friendships four men formed while at a POW camp for Confederate soldiers during the civil war, it makes perfect sense that their lives are connected. Combining Ethan Kelly’s and Devin Monroe’s stories, Love Held Captive finishes out Shelley Shepard Gray’s Lone Star Heroes Love Story series.

I enjoy how Gray has used the time the men spent in the internment camp to give readers insight into the bond they formed as well as the ghosts and demons that haunt them long after the war.

This book deals with some of the atrocities that no one mentions—the raiding of homes and the actions not befitting a soldier. These hard subjects are handled delicately in Love Held Captive while conveying the life-altering, trust-shattering effects they had on the victims.

The contrasts between the relationships between the couples—Ethan and Lizbeth vs Devin and Julianne—are true-to-life. The way these four lives interconnect through one person isn’t contrived and it adds elements of suspense and danger as justice is sought out.

This book moved along quickly and brings the four men readers have gotten to know through this series together once again to seek out truth, honor, and justice as they protect the women they’ve grown to love. But don’t worry if you haven’t gotten to the first two books, this one can also be read as a stand-alone.

***I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.