Denise

I first read about and became aware of Kate Chase Sprague when I read "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I didn't really like her that much after reading about her but I was interested in learning more about her rivalry with Mrs. Lincoln. Even though this book is titled "Mrs. Lincoln's Rival" there is only a small bit about her rivalry with Mrs. Lincoln. Maybe it was just me hoping for some more drama between the two. This was more a historical fiction view on Kate Chase Sprague's life a little before and during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. I did find it interesting following Kate and actually found myself liking her a bit more and feeling sorry for her. One problem I had with this book is that it felt long while I was reading it. There were so many events and things that the author covered in this book that I think that is why it felt so long to me. The author included a historical note at the end of the book which included a summary of Kate's life after the events of the book. Those events in the historical note seemed very interesting and I would have loved to have read more about them. I do understand why the author left them out as it would have made the book much longer (and I did just complain about it feeling long). I would definitely recommend this book to someone who is really interested in American Civil War historical fiction and also someone who is interested in reading more about Kate Chase Sprague.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the book.