Book Review: A Lady Divided

Welcome to the Blog Tour for A Lady Divided by Sandra Ardoin, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: A Lady Divided
Series: House of Fire #1
Author: Sandra Ardoin
Publisher: Corner Room Books
Release Date: August 28, 2025
Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Just when she thinks she’s defeated the past, it returns with a vengeance.

Fighting to keep her late husband’s dream alive and her land-grabbing neighbors at bay, Laurel Tillman longs for a peace she knew before the war. But when her skill with a rifle saves a stranger from a mountain lion attack—a man whose life she once wouldn’t have hesitated to take—wartime memories rush back.

While raising her daughter and taking responsibility for the stray women who work on her sheep ranch, Laurel can’t wait to get the injured Yankee out of her house. Getting him out of her heart is an entirely different matter.

Quinn Spencer, a former Union cavalry officer, owes Laurel a debt, but his career as a new lawyer in town comes with a warning to stay away from the unconventional women of La Casa del Fuego. Then, with the discovery of a dead man on Laurel’s ranch, Quinn must choose between his career and justice for a woman who can’t bear the sight of him.

As they battle an unknown adversary who sets out to destroy Laurel, will she join forces with her former enemy? Or will she allow the past to overcome any chance of a truce between them . . . and, possibly, something more?

Meet the women of La Casa del Fuego—House of Fire—as they are forced by circumstances to live their lives outside the bounds of accepted femininity.

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Laurel Tillman isn’t a conventional lady. She lives on a sheep ranch with her mother and daughter, and the ranch is staffed solely by women. Due to life circumstances, these women have sought refuge at La Casa del Fuego, and they’re doing their best to make a go of the ranch, to keep the promise Laurel made to her husband, who was killed fighting for the Confederacy.

Laurel is trying to put her past behind her, too. She’s got her own difficult circumstances she’d just as soon forget. But when Laurel saves Quinn Spencer from a mountain lion’s attack, those memories are soon front and center. Quinn, newly arrived in town to learn the practice of law, can’t figure out why Laurel is so prickly. And learning Quinn fought for the North doesn’t improve Laurel’s disposition toward him.

Sandra Ardoin gives us an engaging story of two people looking to find better situations after the Civil War. The story felt a little slow at first. We knew Laurel had some reason to dislike Quinn so much, and we knew she had done something she felt God could never forgive her for, but all we got were hints and mentions for what felt like a really long time. I didn’t check exactly how far I was into the book when we finally got to know what had actually happened, why Laurel thought she was unforgivable and rightfully being punished by God, but it was a good way in.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Through the slow unfolding of motivation for both Laurel and Quinn, we get to know them. Laurel may be unconventional, and she may be a bit abrupt, but she cares deeply for her people. The women at her ranch all have their own situations they’re trying to leave behind, and Laurel doesn’t push them to share more than they’re comfortable with. She just gives them an opportunity to make a living and a place they can call home. And Quinn could have gone along with the low opinion many had of Laurel and the women at the ranch, doing such “unwomanly” things, but he observed and listened and got to know Laurel. Then he came to his own conclusions.

The rest of the characters are well-developed, too. Laurel’s greedy neighbor, Royce MacMahon, is so deliciously smarmy as the man who will stop at nearly nothing to get his hands on La Casa del Fuego. When Laurel is wrongly accused of killing some of MacMahon’s cattle, Sheriff Ruiz proves that he doesn’t go along with whoever is yelling the loudest in his investigation. Much like Quinn, he listens, he observes, and he draws his own conclusions. And Laurel’s daughter Becky is precocious and adorable and could probably talk the hind leg off a dog. If there’s ever a story written about her when she grows up, I expect she’ll be a world-changer!

Ardoin weaves faith gently into the story. Quinn encourages Laurel to believe that God can forgive even her if only she will let him. His faith is a quiet one, and Laurel’s struggles to believe that he’s right, that nothing she has done is unforgivable, are very realistically written. The romance between them is compelling while keeping the spice level low, and I was cheering for them to figure things out.

If you appreciate good historical fiction, a story of God’s love winning a wayward child back, and a clean romance, pick up A Lady Divided. It’s the first of Sandra Ardoin’s books that I’ve read, and I can’t wait to read more!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from JustRead Publicity Tours. I was not required to leave a review. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

About the Author

As the author of reader-described heartwarming historical and contemporary romance, Sandra Ardoin engages readers with page-turning stories of love and faith.

She is the married mother of a young adult and co-sitter for a granddog. As well as being a team member in her church’s library, she reads Christian fiction, binges TV shows with her husband, and seldom says no to eating out.

Visit her at sandraardoin.com. Connect with her on BookBub, Facebook, X, and Goodreads. Subscribe to the newsletter and keep up with what’s new, discover what’s upcoming, and learn of specials.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon eGift Card and two (2) ebooks of their choice from Sandra Ardoin’s Published Books!

(1) winner will receive three (3) ebooks of their choice from Sandra Ardoin’s Published Books!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight August 25, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 1, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

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