Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Reviews > Mustard Seed

I was worried it had been too long since I read the first in the series. There was enough in this to remind me where Yellow Crocus left off that I wasn't all at sea. In fact, one could read this without reading that one and be OK, but I think the experience is much better for reading them in order.

This begins in 1868, so three years after the end of the US Civil War. Soon we are set down in Virginia and the horrors of the post war are on the page in front of us. The hatred and venom of the southerners is almost too much to bear, but we know those who fought for the north also still suffer. I suspect this is true in any war, but perhaps more so in a nation's civil war.

Throughout the United States, so many families believed the conflict was behind them, but it wasn’t. In homes, cities, and states the war raged on—inside of those who had fought it. For all of them the certain line between good and evil had permanently blurred. They’d battled and lost, no matter the specific outcome of each skirmish. There was no winning when success meant you had destroyed another American—someone’s son, husband, or father.

Ibrahim's writing style isn't drop dead gorgeous, but neither does it get in the way of what she has to say. I like her story telling. I want to know what happens next in the lives of these characters. I am fortunate to be able to pick up the next in the series immediately. For me, this is 4-stars. Good and better than OK, but not literature worth another star.