- by Alyssa Cole
In her author’s note, Alyssa Cole shares that while she always wanted to write historical romance, she’d “never want to write about THAT. The Civil War, that is.” But after reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’s blog post on the Civil War in The Atlantic, Cole was deeply influenced to bring that time period and its remarkable Black historical figures to life. The heroine, Elle Burns, is based on Mary Bowser, a former slave with an eidetic memory, who spied for the Union. Elle joins forces with another undercover agent—Pinkerton detective Malcolm McCall. Sparks fly as they take on the Confederate Army and risk their lives, and love, for justice. (Note: this one includes open-door romance).