The Cost of Hope — G.S. Carr

Second place winner of the Romance Writers of America HHRW Chapter's Romance through the Ages Contest- Civil War Romance Category

Quarter Finalist in the BookLife by Publishers Weekly Prize Contest

What can a former slave without a penny to her name and no memory beyond the last five years ask from life?

Soleil has no delusions of living a grand life. Or even a happy one for that matter. The only thing she wants is safety for her daughter. But when even that seems impossible she takes matters into her own hands. Only life has a different plan, sending her into the arms of a handsome plantation owner. The strangest part is, he claims to already love her.

Alexander Cummings had long ago accepted that love was lost to him. After picking up the pieces of his broken heart, he threw himself into the duties of owning one of the largest plantations in Elba, Alabama. But life shows him mercy when the woman he thought he lost appears back in his life as if conjured from his deepest desires. Only she returns far from the same and with secrets he never imagined.

As society threatens, and lives could be lost, only together can they both get what they want. But neither will come out unscathed and they must ask themselves, is the cost of love to high?

Carr's attention to emotional detail, be it the caustic dialogue of the antagonists or the tender interactions between the lovers, is certain to resonate with readers. ~BookLife Prize Judge

This well-told historical romance is intense and powerful. ~Publishers Weekly Reviewer