Lynn Spencer's Reviews > Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress

When I saw this month’s “After the War” prompt, I immediately thought of Diane Gaston’s Three Soldiers trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book, Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady (my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ), and I had been looking for an excuse to continue. This trilogy focuses on three soldiers who met in the aftermath of Badajoz, and follows them as they adjust back to civilian life after their experiences in the Napoleonic Wars.

Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress is the second book in the trilogy, and focuses on Captain Allan Landon. As the younger son of a landed family, he took on a career in the army. The main action of the book opens at Waterloo, and just as the fighting is about the begin, Allan discovers a lost young boy near the battlefield. The young boy turns out to be a young woman named Marian Pallant. Marian had snuck out with her best friend as the friend went to see her sweetheart before the battle, and then became lost after falling off their horse.

Allan takes Marian to a chateau where he thinks she will be safe. These opening chapters are actually quite exciting as the author provides detail on the battle and we see Marian helping to evacuate people to safety. I loved that she could show Marian as levelheaded and good in a crisis, while also still making it clear that she’s still a naïve, untrained upper-class girl. Marian has empathy and good instincts, but she doesn’t suddenly morph into a superhero.

The romance which blooms after the war is anything but smooth for the protagonists, but I did enjoy the story. The two end up courting very soon after the war ends, though there are plenty of obstacles in their path. Some come from Allan’s military career since the cessation of hostilities doesn’t mean the end of his service assignments, and then there is the son of Marian’s guardian. This cousin isn’t an evil supervillain, but he is a feckless troublemaker.

This is a partial review. You can find the complete text here: https://allaboutromance.com/tbr-chall...