4 out of 4 stars
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The Deserving by Efren O'Brien is a self-published historical fiction. It was released on August 16, 2017.
The story starts in mid-1862 when General Henry Hopkins Sibley and 3000 volunteers involving his Confederate Brigade rode over the abandon from San Antonio Texas to the New Mexico Territory. Sibley and his men needed to vanquish New Mexico and Colorado, at that point just regions and build up a Confederate government all through the whole Western US. Amid this time a youthful New Mexican named E'mile Deschampes who was only eighteen at the time enrolled in the Union Army as a scout to restrict the Confederates in New Mexico. E'mile is almost murdered at the Battle of Valverde Ford close Socorro, New Mexico in February of 1862. He is saved from the combat zone by a neighborhood villager Carmen Reyes. Together, at Valverde, they start their relationship and peculiar odyssey with a merciless Confederate Lieutenant, Aubrey McGrath. Their conflict with McGrath will keep going for over twenty years and about cost them their lives. Also, as fortunes and destiny have an influence in life's occasions, the couple experience McGrath after the war in Santa Fe in the late 1800's. McGrath tries again without progress to murder E'mile. E'mile plans for one last fight against his long-term match as Carmen is captured in Santa Fe, while the city manages the Reconstruction of that time.
Will Carmen and E'mile survive and live to tell the story of their experience with their previous enemy from the Civil War? Or, on the other hand, will New Mexico's future be devoured by the severe methods in its past, and McGrath and his group win out?
The Deserving is an elegantly composed historical fiction. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. The plot of the book is full of twists and turns which makes the story exceptionally intriguing. While the reader may have some knowledge about the Civil War, this story is completely unpredictable throughout the narrative right to the last page. To me, this makes this book an awesome read as I didn't simply hop to the last part to affirm I had effectively made sense of the storyline and conclusion. Additionally, a portion of the history and relics of the New Mexico Territory as depicted all through the storyline motivate me to investigate going by New Mexico. The landscapes of Mexico are delightfully depicted in the book.
The characters of the book are very strong. They provide a depth to the plot of this book. I liked E'mile’s character the most. He is portrayed as a warrior in the book. His courage to fight till the end has motivated me a lot. Besides, he is an extremely brave and gutsy person. Further, the battlefields are wonderfully depicted in the book. The portrayal appears to be realistic to the point that the reader could feel being present there. The story of the book satisfies the title of the book.
The author has spent a lot of time in researching the facts and did very well to include them in this story. He did well to honor the real men who battled in this war and also nurtured his main character to play a very outstanding role in the story. I definitely look forward to a sequel to this story, or maybe another story in the same genre. I enjoyed reading this book.
The language of the book is easy to read and understand. Further, I could not find any major mistakes in the book that could hinder my reading. The chapters and paragraphs are properly separated, which facilitates the readers. I would recommend this book to those who like to read historical fictions.
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The Deserving
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