Alyssa Cole’s Loyal League trilogy takes a romance to a little explored era, the Civil War. Okay maybe it’s explored a bit but this is a lot more than star crossed southern belle and Yankee soldier. This series follows three detectives of the Loyal League, freed and enslaved people who follow Loyalty, Liberty, Love and Lincoln using espionage to defeat the South. As you can imagine these protagonists have a lot more at stake than the average citizen so they’re wholly dedicated to the cause but what happens when love presents more than a few wrinkles to their mission?

1. A Hope Divided: This was an extremely intriguing book full of character development as it explores the muddled lines between logic, and morality and love between two people who don’t fit into this world of black and white. Marlie goes through a tumtulous personal journey of learning her heritage and the extent of freedom in society. You see, she was a born a free girl and because of the blood of her white father, she is granted a place in the Lynch family (who are Unionists. Any other Southern family wouldn’t care). But she can’t fully fit in with the slaves whose lives are dictated by their masters nor will she ever be accepted in white society because of the color of her skin so her world is confined to the house.

Ewan seems to be on the spectrum not that they’d recognize it at the time because mid 1860s but he often feels like an outcast as he wasn’t a good soldier, but he was an excellent interrogator. Though his interrogation of Confederates were for a good cause, he feels like a monster for how easily he could break bones without a care.

Even so, the grey areas that they both live in make them perfect each other. Despite Marlie’s expertise as a healer she also has a dangerous side for poisons and Ewan’s distress at his sadistic interrogation tactics prove him to be more than the monster he believes he is. The story not only explores these nuances in this war that is more than just black and white, but it also brings about the chilling inclusion of the Sons of the Confederacy and the Head Guard with even worst villains. It also introduces other rural Southerners and Quakers who fight against the Secession soldiers and mutiny for various reasons bringing about the South’s crumbling forces.

2. An Unconditional Freedom: Daniel Cumberland was born a free man until the day he was captured and sent to the Deep South. Unlike many, he was lucky enough to sold to undercover Loyal League agents and set free again with the chance to work for them, and for his vengence. However, Daniel feels like a broken man for only surviving a few months and still suffering PTSD flashbacks. He was enslaved for such a little time, others had it harder but he can’t handle the trauma. So he is a surly, hot-head to many of his collegues and the most disliked agent when Janeta comes in.

Janeta is a Cuban muletto who has been largely shielded from the reality of slaves and other people. In fact she was encouraged to believe she was better than the other enslaved people because she was lighter and free and treated well to her face. So that’s why she falls in love with a Confederate soldier and agrees to infiltrate the Loyal League. Her skill of blending in and being what people expect her to be make her an excellent spy but as she travels down South, and sees the experiences of other slaves she can’t believe how blind she has been.

It’s a moving story exploring trauma and the complexity of race as she finds out that no matter her family’s protections in Cuba, or how well she behaved, her skin color was the true defining feature of how people treat her. Furthermore, it unveils the little-talked about European powers of English, France and Russia sticking their own agendas into the War and which side to support adding an international flair to the intrigue.

3. An Extraordinary Union: If you’re familiar with history books particularly more obscure Civil War heroes, Ellen may sound very familiar to Mary Browser which Alyssa Cole confirms in her author’s note. So if you know what Mary Browser is most famous for, the climax should be no surprise. Anyway, this was an enjoyable introduction to the Loyal League, detectives and spies loyal to the Union and Lincoln.

Ellen was a special girl for her great memorization skills which she used to be paraded out as an example for her race. Now she plans to use her skills as a spy and a detective but her new partner brings greater danger to her heart than she first believed. Malcolm believes the Confederacy is an abomination and love is a twisted thing that can make good men turned into obssessive monsters. The latter is about to be tested when he meets Ellen.

This story explores the strength of black women and how they’re always expected to handle things themselves, be an example, be a piller of which Ellen tries so hard. It also explores the futility of an interracial relationship during the Civil War and the ever present power imbalance between Ellen and Malcolm that brings simmering doubts to whatever potential they have. I also enjoy Malcom’s character development in that even though he is against slavery as a concept, it isn’t until he meets Ellen and other slaves does he realize that African-Americans deserve freedom because they have hopes, dreams, personalities, and are capable of intelligence. A shocking concept for that time.

They’re all good books but the other two are lifted a bit because of the more morally grey actions of the protagonists that make them interesting to probe and see their interactions play off each other.