Share <Embed>

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Alyssa Cole

An Extraordinary Union Hardcover – Large Print, 17 May 2017

by Alyssa Cole (Author)

315 ratings

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$11.65

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

—

$21.10

—

Audio CD

"Please retry"

$85.99

—

"Richly detailed setting, heart-stopping plot, and unforgettable characters." --Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author
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 . . .
Praise for the novels of Alyssa Cole:
"Rich in atmospheric details and rife with unexpected dangers."--RT Book Reviews
"Sweet, sensual, and suspenseful . . . rousing and entertaining."--Publishers Weekly

Special offers and product promotions

Buy this item and get 90 days Free Amazon Music Unlimited. After purchase you will receive an email with further information. Offer valid for a limited time only. Terms and Conditions apply.” Learn more here.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Alyssa Cole
180
Library Binding
$74.32
Alyssa Cole
111
Library Binding
$51.97
Alyssa Cole
2,026
Paperback
$21.54
Alyssa Cole
369
Mass Market Paperback
$13.18
Beverly Jenkins
499
Paperback
$24.58
Alyssa Cole
275
Mass Market Paperback
$11.84

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Alyssa Cole
180
Library Binding
$74.32
Alyssa Cole
111
Library Binding
$51.97
Alyssa Cole
2,026
Paperback
$21.54
Alyssa Cole
369
Mass Market Paperback
$13.18
Talia Hibbert
1,753
Paperback
$15.59
Beverly Jenkins
499
Paperback
$24.58

Product details

Publisher : Thorndike Press Large Print; Lrg edition (17 May 2017)
Language : English
Hardcover : 451 pages
ISBN-10 : 1410497909
ISBN-13 : 978-1410497901
Dimensions : 15.24 x 3.18 x 22.23 cm

Customer Reviews:
315 ratings

Product description

About the Author

Alyssa Cole is a science editor, pop culture nerd, and romance junkie who recently moved to the Caribbean and occasionally returns to her fast‑paced NYC life. Her writing has been featured in publications including Vulture (New York Magazine's entertainment blog), Heroes and Heartbreakers, and The Toast. When she's not busy writing, traveling, and learning French, she can be found watching anime with her real‑life romance hero or tending to her herd of pets.

Customer reviews

5 star		62%
4 star		20%
3 star		10%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

How are ratings calculated?

Review this product

Write a customer review

Top review from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Mish the Maverick

Love endures

Reviewed in Australia on 20 July 2020

Verified Purchase

I'm here for this couple, their respective missions and I can imagine them happily growing old together despite ongoing challenges. Great and important book!

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Hazel

Commendable, but A Lost Opportunity

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2017

Verified Purchase

I had a difficult time getting into this, and I feel disappointed because it was so enthusiastically recommended. It is brilliant to read books about people whose voices and perspectives are often overlooked in history texts and in popular fiction. Cole Is doing a service to all readers of historical romance by setting An Extraordinary Union during the American Civil War and making the heroine a black Union spy, working undercover as a slave. The hero is the son of a Scottish family which came to the colonies in the Highland Clearances. He is also a spy working undercover for Allan Pinkerton as a Confederate soldier. This is a very exciting premise, and Cole has lots of meaty material to work with. She has clearly gone to some trouble to reference actual historical personages and events and includes a partial bibliography at the end. All of this is commendable.

As you can imagine, the dynamic between heroine and hero is rather richer than the typical adventure-romance. She is a free black woman, voluntarily living as a slave so that she can collect and pass on information. She has an eidetic memory, too. He is a white man, pretending to be a Confederate soldier. In public they keep up these roles. In private they develop a relationship. There is tension and conflict, resentment and mistrust for reasons that go beyond the usual romance fare. And of course there is deadly peril from the people around them, and their success or failure could have major consequences for the lives of others and for the war effort. Lots of meaty material,

But I had real difficulty with Cole's use of language. At first I thought it was just a matter of style, which is purely subjective. But after struggling through a third of the book I had to take a break and go off and read something else. When I resumed, I realised that there was absolutely nothing in Cole's narrative or her dialogue that gave me a sense of time and place. There were only a couple of jarring anachronisms, so that wasn't the problem. Rather, the language was bland and colourless. I couldn't tell that this was the middle of the 19th century, in Richmond, Virginia. Neither vocabulary, nor cadence of speech, nor sentence construction distinguished the slaves or masters or soldiers (or spies pretending to be these) as living in that place at that time. And surely, the time and place are paramount to the story. In fact, the time and place were the reasons that I bought the book.

I do wonder whether this was a deliberate choice. Did Cole intend to cater to her target audience by making her language more accessible, thereby stripping it of distinguishing characteristics? As a reader, the effect on me was to make it difficult to believe, difficult to immerse myself in the story and so neither the romance nor the intrigue/adventure had an impact. It seems to me to be a lost opportunity.

8 people found this helpful

Justine (I Should Read That)

A gorgeous Civil War-era romance that deals with the realities of war and slavery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2019

Verified Purchase

It has been a long time since I’ve read historical romance, despite it being a favourite genre of mine, and I've been craving it lately. Pretty much everything that I have read in historical romance has been set in Regency or Victorian England, and I needed to read something different while in a reading slump last month. I thought I’d branch out to Alyssa Cole’s Civil War-era Loyal League series. An Extraordinary Union has high stakes, gripping tension, and fantastic characters and I just loved it.

Romance novels often have stakes, that’s just part of the genre. However, I’ve never read anything with such high stakes and tension as An Extraordinary Union. A huge part of this is the fact that it is set in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Cole does not shy away from the realities that slaves faced at this time -- particularly enslaved women. Although Elle is a free woman, she is posing as a slave in a Confederate senator’s household. The fear for Elle’s safety grips you from the very start of the book, however it is woven in well and doesn’t make it an unpleasant or anxiety-inducing. The differences between herself and Malcolm are made very apparent -- despite the fact that they're both fighting on the same side, their lives and lifestyles will never be the same and their relationship wouldn't be accepted by others on the side of the Union.

Elle and Malcolm are both fantastic characters. Elle is one of my favourite heroines -- she is so intelligent and fierce and has so much agency. She’s fighting for a higher purpose, to release the US from the grip of slavery, and damn you believe in her every step of the way. She’s so fierce and fantastic and was one of the reasons the book is so compelling. Malcolm is a lovely hero and the perfect fit for Elle, but she was really the star of the show and the most memorable character for me.

If you're looking for historical fiction or historical romance, I'd highly recommend you pick up An Extraordinary Union. It's not an easy read at times, but it is a fantastic story packed with passion and heart.

Kindle Customer

Strong Elle and compelling Malcolm make for a diverting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 January 2020

Verified Purchase

Elle's strength, courage and determination in her fight for the union is inspiring. The romance with Malcolm is both sweet and salty. The treatment of the pain and cruelty of the civil war years is unavoidable but manageable. One editors' error perhaps: The french translation of Art of War was available at the time the novel was set but not the english version. So perhaps Elle was quoting from the french version.

Sarah Carter

Brilliant stuff, even if historical romance is not your thing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2018

Verified Purchase

I keep stumbling into romantic fiction and I'm not sure why. Genuinely not my thing. But this book is absolute gangbusters. Forget trashy saccharine romances around the Civil War & slavery, this is the real deal. Beautifully researched, no holds barred examination about life for slaves on Southern estates, with a nuanced and honest view.

This story of spy and Pinkerton agent is engaging, gripping & really well written, with enough plot & tension to have me read it virtually all in one day. Seriously considering buying the next installment.

One person found this helpful

DelphineSnow

An Unmissable Romance

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2018

Verified Purchase

Absolutely loved this book! Absorbing plot, engaging characters and a fan-bloomin-tastic romance. I’m not a fan of (explicit) sex scenes but I’d didn't even mind them! Maybe helped that it was done in flowery, not-modern language — so no technicalities to take me out of the story. You get a real feel of the timezone and what it is to be black — and a woman — then but that’s not all there's to the story, it doesn’t overpower it. My only complaint is I wish I didn’t have to leave these characters behind.

See all reviews

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

An Extraordinary Union Hardcover – Large Print, 17 May 2017

Special offers and product promotions

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Product details

Product description

About the Author

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top review from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries