Enemy Women: A Novel

The historical fiction novel, Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles, giv

The historical fiction novel, Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles, gives an extraordinary description of the Civil War with an entirely different perspective than other war novels.  In Enemy Women, there are many historically correct facts regarding the Civil War and the entries at the beginning of each chapter make it even more accurate.  However, this book goes deeper than just the obvious facts.  It gives the believable story of an eighteen-year-old girl (Adair) and her incredible journey during the war.  It provides details about the personal struggles individuals faced living in the Civil War era.  This book is perfect for historical fiction addicts and/or anyone who can enjoy a worthy romance novel that is not too overpowering and mushy.  
The unique young women Adair Colley, and main character, lived in the border state of Missouri.  This creates a conflict with the Union militia who abruptly kidnap her father.  Her quest to find him turns into a mess and she ends up in prison for being falsely accused of spying for the Confederate army.  In prison, Adair meets Major Neumann, a Union soldier, who becomes a very important part of the book later.  The Major and Adair fall in love and within a few days, these two lovebirds decide they refuse to be cooped up inside a rotten prison.  With help from the Major, Adair escapes with only $25 and sets out on a suspenseful journey to find her father and return home.   Through the struggles faced by both of the main characters, the author brilliantly used third person to tell the story giving every opinion and thought of Adair and the Major.  The eager mood of this book definitely makes it a page-turner and out of five, I give this book a four.  It was an extremely amusing and credible, however, there were a few parts where it irked me.  For instance, Adair was annoying at times and Major Neumann should have been more romantic, but there was a constant passion between the main characters, which I loved.  Overall, this book is skillfully written and I recommend it to anyone.  

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Two Thumbs Up!

Enemy Women was written by Paulette Jiles in 2002. This book takes place in Missouri during the time of the Civil War. This book is a story of freedom, love, and duty. Jiles shows that women are not weak and small minded, but rather they can accomplish and overcome many things. <BR/> During the Civil War, the men that made up the Missouri Sate Guard were sent to the Virginia, Tennessee, and the Southern part of the country, leaving only women and children at home. Meanwhile the other state militias soon began to invade Missouri, and with no men there to protect the women, these militias began to take and use whatever they wanted from these women. During the Civil War many women were arrested and convicted of being spies for the Confederate Army, these women were placed in special camps until the end of the war. These camps were harsh, cold, and a very poor environment for anyone to live in. <BR/>In the beginning we meet the Colleys, the father Squire, Adair, Little Mary, John Lee, and Savannah. The Colleys live on a farm in Missouri and their father is a Justice of the Peace. Their family has chosen to remain neutral in the war against the states and the men do not go to war, voluntarily anyway. Eventually Adair¿s father and brother are pulled into the war leaving Adair to care for her younger sister¿s. When the Union soldiers start taking over their land Adair and her sister¿s must leave. <BR/>Along the way, the girls meet up with some other migrants and travel with them. When Adair is betrayed by a member of the party she is arrested for giving information to the Confederate Army and placed in a camp. This novel tells of Adair¿s trying time in the camp, how she survived the interrogations and fell in love with one of the interrogators, and her journey as an escaped ¿enemy woman¿ to find her family. This plot appealed to me because it was very lively and was realistic. The plot was just complicated enough to keep me interested, but not so that I was confused. <BR/>This story is amazing and I recommend it to all who are interested in suspense, romance, or adventures. The Denver Post called it, ¿A remarkably engaging story¿.¿ I give this book two thumbs up. This book is full of suspense and adventure and left me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire time I was reading it.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The book Enemy Women is a book that consist of a family in the c

The book Enemy Women is a book that consist of a family in the civil war, and as far a s genre has to do with this book it is a fiction novel with real things that happened. The tone of this book is a more of a standpoint from the civil war time period. How real people would have felt during the the civil war is how the tone of this book is said. The point of view is from the main characters eyes, which is Adair Colley . The mood of this book is a more sad and warlike feeling, as opposed to all the union troops running around where Adair is. Not to mention all the people who die in this novel. The main characters of this book are Adair Colley, Major Nueman, and Marquis Colley. The intended audience for this novel is for people who like the civil war, and want to not just learn about the civil war but have a story to go with it. This book has a lot of real things that happened in the civil war in the form of a story. In general, I did not like this book due to I am not a fan of the civil war; as far as other civil war books may concern this would have been one I would have read over others though. Getting down to the specifics, I did like how many exerts there were in this book that were from real people in the civil war. Some things I did not like so much were the fact that the author did not use and quotations in the dialogue. Another thing I did not really care for much was how information about characters was implemented. It doesn't really say to much at one time. As far as civil war books go, the author did a really good job writing and publishing this book. For her to go through all the trouble an get these first hand references to put in her book made a huge difference when she wrote it. I would say to improve this book, she could better deliver her detail about the characters, and she could also make point of view a little more clear to the audience to understand.

Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles is, quite possibly, the best Histo

Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles is, quite possibly, the best Historical Fiction written during the Civil War. The book carries an overall hopeful tone despite all of the tragedies that befall the main character, Adair Colley, and casts a dark mood. It is told from a third-person point of view, mainly following Adair throughout the novel. During the Civil War, women played a huge role. Because women were constantly being underestimated, groups began to use them as spies in addition to their support at camps through cooking and cleaning. Once the use of women became common knowledge, armies started to jail women on account of spying, cutting telegraph lines, and aiding the enemy. Adair Colley has her father taken away from her at the age of 18 by Union Militia and, in attempting to get him back, gets thrown into jail on false charges, the same being charged to women across America at the time. She meets Major William Neumann with whom she falls in love, and is forced to escape becoming an “enemy women.” Jiles did an excellent job in writing this novel which was extremely accurate due to her years of extensive research on the subject. At the beginning of each section are placed excerpts from old letters dating to the Civil War to provide the happenings in the story with some historical basis. The only downfall to this book would be the lack of quotations. It does take a little longer to comprehend, but one can get used to unique grammatical strategy. This book is targeted at young adults, especially with an interest in the Civil War. Enemy Women is different from most books about the Civil War in the Adair, the main character, is not directly involved in the war per say, but she is affected by it in such a way that makes her a part of it without the boring, repetitive battles that one would have to endure reading about if the main character were a soldier. This is a new breed of historical fiction.

¿Enemy Women¿ by Paulette Jiles is a historical narrative as wel

“Enemy Women” by Paulette Jiles is a historical narrative as well as a great read for everyone. The overall tone of the novel is serious and at some points suspenseful. The point of view is from a third person stance. The mood is definitely that of an adventure, the whole time you follow the character on their journey and you get just about every mood there is. At some points, it is suspenseful, and then the romance can kick in. At other times, you may even feel scared or worried. The two main characters are Adair Colley and Major Neumann, but throughout the story you meet multiple minor characters that play some pretty crucial roles. The intended audience for this novel is most definitely anyone. It is a good read for people who are interested in the history, or the story. This novel can attract people of all ages for sure. In general, I liked this book because it gave a little bit of everything. Specifically I liked the technique of using no quotation marks; this gave a better sense of being told a story. I thought it was very unique and creative the way it was written technically. Overall, I believe Paulette Jiles did a fantastic job because you can tell she worked really hard with all the historical evidence and accuracy, and it played a great role in the story. Also, she did an incredible job incorporating it into a story people of all ages would love. It could have been improved by giving it a slightly more realistic plot. While it is intriguing, it is just very unlikely for Adair to of accomplished so much. Things were different in that time period; women were unable to vote and participate in war. Therefore, it is likely that Adair would have been less successful. Although, &quot;Enemy Women&quot; is definatly a good read for all and I give it two thumbs up!

Paulette Jiles does an excellent job writing a historical fictio

Paulette Jiles does an excellent job writing a historical fiction novel set during the Civil War. Most books written regarding this time period are strictly about the battles of the war or someone who fought in it. In this riveting novel, the story is told in the point of view of an eighteen year old girl, Adair Colley, and her forbidden lover Major Neumann. To make the story as accurate as possible, Jiles places letters or documents that were written during the Civil War to show that what was happening in the story truly did occur during that time period. The author did an excellent job at balancing the budding romance between Major Neumann and Adair with the hardships they both faced during the war. There was just enough romance to leave me wanting more. There were some dull points in the book, and the only reason I kept reading was because my curiosity got the best of me. I had to know if Adair would ever get her happily ever after. Because of the romance as well as the history in Enemy Women, many different types of people could find reading it enjoyable, such as romantics or history fanatics. The author’s tone changed throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, her tone was one of anger and melancholy, but during some parts her tone was even one of love and fear. The mood of the reader changed drastically as well, but for the most part the reader was anxious to find out what would happen next in Adair’s journey. The only thing I believe Jiles could have done better on was the ending of the novel. The ending did not specifically say what the future held for Adair and Major Neumann, or if there was even a future for them at all. Since the romance was my favorite part of the novel, the ending was a huge disappointment. Other than that, I found reading Enemy Women to be an enjoyable experience, and I would even recommend this book to others.

¿Enemy Women¿ by Paulette Jiles entertains civil war addicts thr

“Enemy Women” by Paulette Jiles entertains civil war addicts through the use of nonfiction; however, the book is based off of true stories. Present are excerpts and other factual information in the book before each scene or chapter, so there is high reliability towards the book. The book demonstrates the conflicts of the civil war through multiple view points of people both in the war and not in the war. The book is written in third person point of view in hopes to excite and offer readers suspense through the use of unfortunate events and lethal battles. The main characters in the book are Adair Colley, an eighteen year old courageous and ambitious girl on a mission to save her father from the Union militia, and Major William Neumann, a bold member of the Union Army who is Adair’s lawyer at first, but then looks to avenge the capturing of Adair’s father Marquis after Neumann realizes the Colley’s have done nothing wrong. The book demonstrates Adair’s perilous quest to find and save her father, and Major Neumann’s desire to start a new life outside of the war. The book is not all violence and dangers though a love story is evident throughout the book between Neumann and Adair with hopes of marrying each other one day after the war. Jiles set out to portray attitudes and actions of common people affected by the civil war in the 1860’s and that is exactly what “Enemy Women” demonstrates. Attitudes of common people, Adair, soldiers, Major Neumann, and other people looking for the right opportunity to strike, Tom Poth are all demonstrated in “Enemy Women” and little to no other books offer the same information. I personally enjoyed the book because of the unexpected results among characters listed throughout the book that adds large amounts of suspense to the story. I specifically enjoyed the personality change of Adair throughout the book. At first Adair is conceded and gullible, but through personal experiences Adair becomes cautious, brave, and alert at the end of her journey. Personally I did not like how the book never really offered information about the south or the Confederate States of America and their attitudes on war. This is really the only defect of this book along with potential improvements. Overall if one is looking for a suspenseful civil war book, “Enemy Women” is the one for you.

Enemy Women, a historic fictional novel written by Paulette Jile

Enemy Women, a historic fictional novel written by Paulette Jiles, takes place during the Civil War. Set in the boarder state of Missouri, the story is told through the eyes of an 18 year old girl named Adair. Adair’s father gets arrested by the Union which causes her to set out on a journey to find her father. Adair encounters many people that both help and hinder her journey, but the most important person she meets on her mission is her star crossed lover, Major Neumann. Major Neumann is very important to the story because he provides a different tone, mood, and point of view to the story. He lightens the threating aspect of the story, and adds optimism to both the tone and the mood. He changes the point of view by telling the story through his eyes as opposed to the customary story telling of Adair. The intended audience of this story is, without a doubt, the civil war buffs. This book gives a completely different outlook on the civil war. It causes the reader to look at the civil war from a predominantly women’s point of view. It also provides a view that isn’t all about battles. Overall, I enjoyed this book. Though it was at times hard to read due to the lack of quotation marks, it was an excellent way for me to learn about the civil war and not be bored to death. That being said, the author did an excellent job. The only thing I would’ve changed about this book is to add quotation marks. I think it would have furthered my understanding and caused me to have less questions at the end. All in all, this book was a good book, and I could give you my assured recommendation on this novel.

In comparison to other historical fiction novels, Enemy Women is

In comparison to other historical fiction novels, Enemy Women is a good read. Not only does it stray away from basic facts, there is a story about a girl, Adair Colley, trying to reunite with her family, which leads to her romance with Major William Newmann. The only downfall was the absence of quotation marks whenever a character speaks. Other than that, Paulette Jiles did a great job.

Unlike many other books about the Civil War, ¿Enemy Women¿ by Pa

Unlike many other books about the Civil War, “Enemy Women” by Paulette Jiles is a thrilling story that keeps the reader’s attention throughout the book and leaves him wanting more. The events in the book are historically accurate, but they are told in a way to keep the book from becoming boring. It is told through the life of eighteen year old Adair Colley who was arrested by the Union and separated from her family. Although she is never in the midst of the fighting, the reader is able to follow parts of the war through Adair’s journey. As “Enemy Women” follows Adair’s point of view, it also becomes intertwined and told from Major William Neumann’s point of view. Major Neumann is one of the most important characters in the book because he not only helps Adair escape, but he provides her with another reason to finally finish her journey. Because the book is filled with scenes of action, adventure, and romance, it is appealing to the teen audience as well as the adult audience. These aspects of the book give it an exciting plot that allowed me to enjoy reading it. One of the parts I found especially enjoyable was in the end she did not lose everything. Although Adair lost all of her land, belongings, and became separated from her family, she did not lose hope and found her horse and the man she loved. At the end of the book, the author showed this hope and new life by describing the small sliver of a new moon peeking out from behind the clouds. However, despite all of the positive aspects of the book, there was one part that I believe the author should have done differently. She did not describe exactly what happened to the rest of Adair’s family and left me wondering about her brother and sisters. “Enemy Women” went above my expectations for a Civil War novel by combining historically accurate events with a meaningful and exciting plot. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this adventurous time in American history.

The Civil War is a tough topic to discuss for some individuals f

The Civil War is a tough topic to discuss for some individuals for it was a treacherous time in American history. Paulette Jiles, author of “Enemy Women”, produced an interesting and informative book about the Civil War. Jiles wrote her book from the point of view of an eighteen year old girl struggling to find her father and herself as the war progresses. The main character Adair Colley is faced with many challenges throughout her journey. Many of these challenges are ones that women who actually experienced the war would have faced. Along her journey Adair meets many individuals who influence her struggle. Some help her and some hinder her. One character who greatly impacts her life and maybe even saves it is Major Newmann. Historical fiction novels are not exactly my cup of tea. However, the little sidestepped love story between Adair and Major Newmann almost made this one bearable. Since most Civil War books are simply about war after war after war, the battle between lovers seems to make this book more appealing to young women. This book is also great for young men since the love story is not the main topic. When Jiles talks about an actual Civil War battle, she uses Major Newmann’s point of view since he actually fought in it. Jiles tones is serious yet entertaining. She uses the severity of the war to grab reader’s attention but she also uses the opening letters and love story to entertain her readers. Also, Jiles uses actual letters and journal entries from those who were actually in the Civil War. This helped me to relate to what actually happened to what was happening to Adair and Major Newmann. I think it would have been easier for me to really get into this book if there was a little more insight to Adair and Major Newmann’s relationship. This would have really grabbed my attention and made me want to know what happened. The struggle with the war could have possibly reflected the struggle in their drive to be together. One major improvement would be the addition of quotation marks! This would make the book much easier to understand and follow along with who is speaking. Other than that little change, the book was very well written and interesting considering it is about the Civil War.

I was assigned the book ¿Enemy Women¿ to read for my American hi

I was assigned the book “Enemy Women” to read for my American history class. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this amazing novel
 about a young woman named Adair Colley. The reader gets to read along as the protagonist sets out on her journey to find her father
 Marquis. Along the way she faces life endangering situations and dilemmas that she must overcome. The book is set place during
 the American Civil war and follows historical events. Enemy Women falls under the category of a Historical fiction.. Since the book is
 about what life would have been like for an American family during this time period. The overall tone of this story is very dull, serious,
 tragic, sad, and occasionally some humorous. In Enemy Women the main characters are Adair Colley, and William
 Neumann. These two characters fall in love throughout the story for the romance part. Having both of the characters being young
 adults that fall in love makes me believe that the intended audience is for young adults.  At the end of the book I was able to fully
 understand the beauty of it. Although It took a lot of time getting used to the Author not using quotation marks. Once you learned the
character’s personality it was much easier to understand who was talking, or if it was inner thoughts of the characters. Paulette Jiles did an
outstanding job at getting all of the information needed to create her book. The Author really has a unique way of telling a great story!
 If there was one thing I could change about it, it would to add quotation marks.

¿Enemy Women¿ was an incredibly fascinating book for me to read

“Enemy Women” was an incredibly fascinating book for me to read. I personally enjoy reading novels about the Civil War era and Paulette Jiles had done an extraordinary job interpreting how life was during the time into the book. The novel would fit into the historical fiction/adventure genre. There was a very dramatic and melancholy tone to it as you read Adair’s difficulties during her journey. I liked how Jiles had made the book have an adventurous mood and how a little bit of romance was added to it between the main characters, Adair and Major Neumann. The attended audiences would be young adults who are interested in historical fiction and the Civil War period. The novel is mainly from Adair Collie’s point of view. It shows her struggles throughout her journey alone as she tries to make it home. The book than includes her love, Major Neumann’s point of view as well and his difficulties. Jiles had done an incredible job including bits and pieces of letters from the Civil War into the beginning of each chapter, which gave readers a little peek of how life was during the war. The book, however, doesn’t include quotations around dialogue and can become very irritating, but eventually readers become use to it. My favorite part of the book would have to be the ending. The ending leaves the readers on edge with an incredible cliffhanger about Adair and Major Neumann’s future together. Overall, I loved the book and it left me on edge after every chapter, making me want to read it more and more.

¿Enemy Women¿ by Paulette Jiles is a wonderful fiction novel tha

“Enemy Women” by Paulette Jiles is a wonderful fiction novel that has real historical events. Majority of the novel is told through Adair Colley who is one of the main characters, so the tone is mainly based off her attitude and how it changes throughout the novel. Besides Adair, the other main character that we get to live the novel through is Major William Neumann, which shows his change as a character just like Adair. The focus of the novel is during the Civil War (1861-1865). The main characters show us the point of views of a civilian, Adair, and by a Union military officer, Neumann and how the war affected and changed them both. The novel was written for any Civil War fanatic or any person looking for a good read about war, but what makes “Enemy Women” so unique for the other Civil War novels is that it is fiction, yet it contains events from what happened during the war. After completing the entire novel, I found myself disappointed that it was over because the more I read the more I found myself continuing to read even when I finished what the class assignment required. The main plot of the story was well written and was easily able to grab the attention of the reader. I loved the fact that even though the novel was fiction, it was able to tie in real events about the Civil War. Also, in the beginning of each chapter, Jiles inserted quotes, letters or information about events that took place during the Civil War by real people and made it go with the main plot. The biggest negative about this novel is that when the characters have dialogue there are no quotations, so at times during the conversation you might think it is the same person talking when it is someone else. Overall, Jiles does an outstanding job constructing the novel. The story she made is on point with how the people during this era acted and showed how the men, women, and soldiers were changed and treated during the war. All the research that Jiles did learning about the Civil War era to make this novel was as accurate as possible even though it is fiction, but truly did pay off in the end. Finally, I give this book 4 stars mainly because the author did not use the quotations during the dialogue which made it a little harder on the readers, but besides that one change the book was absolutely fantastic.

Finding an intriguing historical fiction set during the Civil Wa

Finding an intriguing historical fiction set during the Civil War can be a difficult task; most contain battle after battle and can be very dull and uninteresting. Jiles does a good job of shaking it up by writing from the point of view of an eighteen year old girl who never actually sees any of the fighting. I believe this makes the book more appealing to women who want to read a Civil War era book. Though sticking true to the Civil War setting Jiles inserts a battle scene through Major Neumann’s point of view. Adair is a highly independent and stubborn young woman, who seems to be more of a twentieth century woman as opposed to a woman of the Civil War era. This is clear when she is compared to other female characters in the book, who seem to belong in the time period. Personally, I am not a big fan of Civil War era historical fiction. I found the book very hard to get into. Some chapters were better than others, such as the section when Adair is staying with the Spencers. The Spencers provide a certain level of drama that made the book better to read. Most of the book seems to drag and there were many points in the book where I became very frustrated with both Major Neumann and Adair. Both of them are very stubborn, therefore they do not always make the best choices which I found very frustrating. I enjoyed having the snippets of real events start each chapter. I felt it was a good way for the author to explain to the readers why certain events in the book happened the way that they happened. Reading the snippets made the storyline feel much more realistic. I believe that the use of quotation marks would have improved the quality of this book greatly. The tone of this book is melancholy and anxious. Overall the book was very well written and did a good job of telling a Civil War era story, without copying many other books in the same genre.

¿Enemy Women¿ by Paulette Jiles is a thrilling historical fictio

“Enemy Women” by Paulette Jiles is a thrilling historical fiction set back in the 1800’s in the time of the Civil War. Jiles perfectly depicts a passionate, courageous, and suspenseful tone throughout her book. The story was told in third person; however, the characters spoke in first person. The main characters in the book are Adair Colley and William Neumann. Adair is a seventeen year old girl living with her father, brother, and two sisters in Missouri. The Union Militia come and capture her father.Her and her sisters set off to find him along dangerous roads. From the time she sets off she is met with misfortune. She is separated from her sisters and sent to prison. While in prison however, she meets William Neumann, Major Neumann is to be her interrogator; however the two fall in love and he helps Adair escape. This book is primarily about Adair travelling alone on her way home. We see her struggles as she wanders through the dangerous territories of the Civil War. The intended audiences for this book are those who enjoy reading historical fiction and those who want to get a different take on life during the Civil War. So many books based on the Civil War are from the perspective of a soldier however; this book is different in that it is shown form a civilian’s perspective. I generally enjoyed reading this book however; there were some parts in it that the reader would need a background in Civil War to understand what was going on. This book was an easy read but Jiles did not use quotation marks. For the first few chapters the reader has to really pay attention to the book because it gets confusing but as the book progresses it gets easier to understand. Jiles did an excellent job in portraying the life of a civilian woman during the Civil War and the fact that she used real events made the book even more interesting to read. This book could be majorly improved by adding quotation marks to it to make it more understandable. Also adding a more detailed ending to the story could have made the book a more memorable piece of literary work.

Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles is a lovely, informative historica

Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles is a lovely, informative historical fiction piece set during the American Civil War. Although for a majority of the piece the tone is sad and rather pathetic, towards the end of the book, things begin to look up for the main characters, and leave the reader filled with hope. The main characters in Jiles’ story are the striking Adair Colley, who, when taken from her home and forced to endure the long, bump-filled road back to home, meets one Major William Neumann-a handsome Union military man who is bored of his every day, run of the mill desk job. Jiles writes her story for those who are interested in a side of the Civil War that does not involve battles day in and day out, but rather focuses on the more day-to-day journeys of the Civil War. In general, I did like Enemy Women, and Paulette Jiles did do a decent job at writing the book. Historically speaking, she did an excellent job in her writing. Unfortunately, her lack of quotation marks is extremely annoying, and although exciting, Adair’s story is one that is highly unlikely in the real world. I did enjoy, however, the literature excerpts from the time period at the beginning of each chapter, and the subtle love story woven throughout the book.

The American Historical novel ¿Enemy Women¿ takes place during t

The American Historical novel “Enemy Women” takes place during the Civil War. The author, Paulette Jiles, writes a believable story about what would happen during the life of an average citizen during the war. The novel follows the journey of Adair Colley after her life is turned upside down after her house is ransacked by the Union Militia. The story shows how dark and gritty the time period could really be and makes the reader understand the conflicts that people went through during the Civil War from Adair’s point of view. Aside from following Adair, the novel also follows Major William Neumann, a military man that Adair meets while in a woman’s prison who becomes one of the main characters as well. The book was very enjoyable and kept me wondering about what would happen next. The only thing that I did not care for about this book was the fact that it did not use quotation marks. If the book had quotation marks, then it would be very difficult to find anything “irritating” or “wrong” with the book. Jiles also did a good job about doing a lot of research beforehand regarding the history of the war, which led to the story being more believable. One piece of evidence that shows that Jiles did a lot of research was the primary source(s) at the beginning of each chapter. The only major improvement I see that could be made would be to add quotation marks. It is a little thing that makes a huge difference, but the reader is eventually able to tell the difference between narration and dialogue. “Enemy Women” is a very good book that I would recommend to other people.

For my dual enrollement history class, I had to read the book hi

For my dual enrollement history class, I had to read the book historical fiction novel, “Enemy Women”. Generally speaking, I enjoyed the book. I liked it because it was about history and war and those topics interest me. I also liked how the author used actual information from the Civil War. It helped me realize that Jiles actually knew what she was talking about and that she was creative enough to take that information and reference it into a fictional story. Another thing I liked was that the journey Adair went on drew me in. I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what would happen to her and with her and Major Neumann. The tone of the story; the seriousness and somberness of it, also really drew me in. Two things I did not like however were the ending and how Jiles did not use quotations. The ending made me so mad. It was so open ended and personally, I just don’t like that style of endings. The quotations part of the book confused me at first but thankfully Jiles would include “…Adair said…” so I would know that she spoke. The only thing that confused me throughout the entire book was if the characters inner thoughts were them speaking out loud or their actual inner thoughts. Overall, I would say Jiles did a good job because like I said before, she obviously knew what she was talking about, hence all the primary sources withtin the book. She also did a good job with drawing the readers in with all the characters, minor and major (Adair, Whiskey and Neumann), and the journey Adair went on. The feelings this book made me feel; the anxiousness of wondering what would happen to Adair, Whiskey, Neumann, etc. and the happiness of Adair and Neumann falling in love were a thumbs up for Jiles as well. If anything could be improved, it would just the ending and use of quotations. The ending should be a closed ending and Jiles should use quotations. This is a great book for any age and anyone that loves romance, history, the Civil War, or a good adventure!

Enemy women is a historical fiction novel centered around a youn

Enemy women is a historical fiction novel centered around a young woman named Adair Colley. The way the book was written it can appeal to teen and people centered around history books alike.  Jiles wrote it from the point of view of Adair to help give first person insight as the events unfolded.  Jiles writes the novel with a very serious tone, as to not take lightly all of the disheartening events that occur, but through those events a compassionate mood is set as Adair grabs a hold of the reader’s heartstrings by overcoming the obstacles she faces.  Overall, despite what I would have expected, Enemy Women wasn’t exactly my favorite book.  It had some good elements such as the development of characters throughout the novel.  It was very interesting how the journey Adair took changed her.  On the other hand though, personally the love story she twisted into the novel wasn’t for me.  I’m not saying it was written terribly it just wasn’t really my style of book.  Most of the journey that she took was a good read but her relationship with William and the lack of quotation marks made for a confusing and boring read to me.  Jiles did a very good job of describing the situations that Adair faced and creating emotions from the reader by almost bringing them into the challenges that Adair was facing.  Overall it was a good book to those who enjoy a book with romance entwined in it and she didn’t have much to fix other than the lack of quotation marks.  The only other terrible problem I had was the style and that can’t really be fixed because to some it would be perfect.  Just please, add quotation marks?