Oh my gosh! I have learned so much from reading this book. It is full of history and shows both sides of the Civil War issues and the agonizing decisions so many were forced to make. I want to read more but will have a hard time doing so. It reminds me too much of the state of our country's political situation in 2024. I am not sure I will be able to handle the fact that politically history repeats itself.
Storm Clouds Rolling In (#1 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Series)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 26,033 ratings
Price: 0.99
Last update: 09-02-2024
About this item
Amazon Best Selling Author and Historical Fiction Series!
Warning: Prepare to be hooked along with millions around the world.
“Simply amazing! These books are like... "Gone with the Wind" meets up with "Eat, Pray, Love"; then whispers some "Secret life of Bees", forges some "Steel Magnolia's", and at times, wraps itself with the "Color Purple." ~Jeanette
“Simply the best historical fiction I’ve ever read – in all my 96 years of constant reading. I can’t a book down once I start it!” ~ Sophia
“Who knew I would love historical fiction? I’m 15. When my grandmother gave me this book, I secretly rolled my eyes. Just to please her, I read a few pages. Now I’m on book # 15. I thank her all the time! I even wrote the author!” ~ Shelby
“My wife and I have read every book together. Our eyes and hearts have been opened to the truth of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction years that followed. We devour each new book. We hope Ginny never stops writing!” ~ Graham
Unforgettable characters that will capture your heart. Rich, accurate, historical detail.
These are the hallmarks of Ginny Dye’s work. The bestselling Bregdan Chronicles novels have captured the hearts of fans all over the world. This enthralling saga encompassing the Civil War & Reconstruction has twenty books right now, but many more are coming.
Book Description:
Carrie had always lived a charmed life, but restlessness gnawed at her soul. She dreamed of a different future, but dramatic changes are taking place in the South. Her heart and mind would soon be tested by fire – sweeping away dreams of freedom as chaos descends.
Carrie Cromwell comes of age as the storm clouds of the Civil War swallow America. Born with a fiery spirit and a strong mind, she finds herself struggling between the common wisdom of the South and the truth she has discovered. The activities of the Underground Railroad and her close friendships with the Cromwell Plantation slaves create difficult choices. But when her decisions put her at odds with her heritage and challenge her dreams, will she be able to give up all that is precious to her?
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This first book of The Bregdan Chronicles historical fiction series will pull you in and never let you go. You'll experience the Civil War era (and all the years to come) through the eyes of both White and Black, Free & Slave, Southern & Northern - and you'll fall in love with every character.
Review: I never thought I would find a series to enthrall me like The Bregdan Chronicles has. I was wrong! I am struggling to find appropriate words to describe the awe I am in and find myself failing miserably. I absolutely could not put these books down. I would finish one, and immediately hop online to go get the next one, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, when my tail should have been asleep. The writing style of this author brings you right into the story as if you are a part of it. She has amazing talent to capture the imagination and bring you right into a virtual reality. I have fallen in love with every one of these characters - especially the strong women! - and have become completely entranced with each life represented.
The historical account of this time period was so right on, so very vivid, you almost feel like you've walked right into it. These books became so alive, I actually dreamed about them. But it goes further. There were conversations in these books that had me reading over them several times. Life lessons. Sage advice. The kind of wisdom that comes from everyday life. Moments that were so profound, they pierced my heart with an accuracy that I can't even begin to explain.
As characters changed, I changed as well. What a journey!
Thank you, Ginny Dye!
Top reviews from the United States
Kindle Customer5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2024Big Jim, Log Hauler4.0 out of 5 stars
Storm Clouds Rolling In
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024
Ginny Dye writes with such obvious clarity of thought and combination of History rewritten and fiction that it's difficult to separate the two. Her fictional personal dramas combined with real life guidelines to live by, entices the reader to keep reading - in search for more.
Janelle Davis5.0 out of 5 stars
A little hard to read due to the reality it has but well worth it!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2024
This book is full of a lot of experiences that we know actually happened! The bottom line I think is that right and Wrong will always be in our lives. How each of use choose our way is up to us and we can not blame others if it doesn't work out. It us a good book hard to accept how life is lived from different points of view. I encourage you to read this book with a open mind and a opened heart!
Reader Lady5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly an Epic tale of events leading up to the American Civil War
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2015
I found Storm Clouds Rolling In while re-reading Gone with the Wind a couple of months ago. I actually saw it advertised on Facebook. I am so grateful I found this astonishing book. While there are similarities between this book and GWTW, I actually like the characters in this one much better, especially Carrie Cromwell.
Carrie Cromwell is a strong-willed eighteen year old that has very far-thinking views on life and all the rumors surrounding the year leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter. Her closest friends are the slaves that live on her father’s plantation. As the only child of Thomas Cromwell, she has been indulged, but not in the way that would have been expected. Her father has treated as an equal in many ways, allowing her to learn how to run the great plantation.
Her mother despairs of ever turning Carrie into a proper southern mistress for her future husband’s plantation. Since Carrie has no plans to marry in the near future, her mother will be sadly disappointed when she arranges for her daughter to meet a dear friend’s son, Robert Borden.
Robert Borden is immediately attracted to the high-spirited, raven-haired beauty. In fact he falls hard from the moment she gives him a lock of her hair as a token for the tournament being enacted at a neighboring plantation. When he wins, he picks her as his queen at the evening ball.
While Carrie is extremely attracted to Robert, some of his views on slavery are vastly different from Carrie’s when he tells her of his breeding program at his plantation, the breeding of slaves. Carrie is appalled by this, yet is still drawn to him, battling her conscience over her heart.
When Carrie’s mother dies and her father leaves her in charge of Cromwell Plantation, she becomes involved with the Underground Railroad and helps more than a dozen slaves in their bid for freedom. Her best friend, Rose and her husband, Moses stay by her side. Even though, Carrie has offered to help them escape. When Rose is attacked by the overseer, the head-strong young woman, with shot gun in hand, demands he leave her lands forever.
Thomas Cromwell is so steeped in grief; he no longer keeps his pulse on the plantation. Secure in the knowledge that his daughter, with the help of his overseer, will keep the property prosperous, he never knows Carrie has fired Ike Adams. He becomes deeply involved in the politics as his beloved Virginia marches closer to war, a war that will tear his country asunder.
This first volume ends as Virginia secedes from the union and with Carrie telling Robert she cannot marry him, even though she is in love with him. Storm Clouds Rolling In does end on a positive note, letting the reader know that all is not lost between Carrie and the dashing Robert.
While I thoroughly enjoy the romance between the hero and heroine, what is much more fascinating is the workings of Carrie’s mind as she grows in her belief that slavery is not God’s will, no matter what her father and the rest of the south believe. This story has a thread of spiritualism running through it, but is not over done at all. It only enhances this amazing epic tale.
Carrie is a marvelous character, so fierce, as she develops into an independent woman, determined to help her friends gain their freedom if they choose to travel down that path. While Carrie would love to become a doctor, she puts those dreams to the side to continue her work in freeing any of her father’s slaves who seek their freedom. Her ability to walk the thin line between outright lying to her father and evading the truth is incredible. Carrie Cromwell is truly an unforgettable character.
This is a book with a great deal of historical detail regarding the thoughts and times leading up to the Civil War. As I read, I wished that I had discovered this epic series while my mother still lived. She would have enjoyed this book and series immensely as I know you will as well. If you love a well-written historical fiction novel with strong romantic elements, then this is a book you will not want to miss. Happy reading!
Carrie Cromwell is a strong-willed eighteen year old that has very far-thinking views on life and all the rumors surrounding the year leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter. Her closest friends are the slaves that live on her father’s plantation. As the only child of Thomas Cromwell, she has been indulged, but not in the way that would have been expected. Her father has treated as an equal in many ways, allowing her to learn how to run the great plantation.
Her mother despairs of ever turning Carrie into a proper southern mistress for her future husband’s plantation. Since Carrie has no plans to marry in the near future, her mother will be sadly disappointed when she arranges for her daughter to meet a dear friend’s son, Robert Borden.
Robert Borden is immediately attracted to the high-spirited, raven-haired beauty. In fact he falls hard from the moment she gives him a lock of her hair as a token for the tournament being enacted at a neighboring plantation. When he wins, he picks her as his queen at the evening ball.
While Carrie is extremely attracted to Robert, some of his views on slavery are vastly different from Carrie’s when he tells her of his breeding program at his plantation, the breeding of slaves. Carrie is appalled by this, yet is still drawn to him, battling her conscience over her heart.
When Carrie’s mother dies and her father leaves her in charge of Cromwell Plantation, she becomes involved with the Underground Railroad and helps more than a dozen slaves in their bid for freedom. Her best friend, Rose and her husband, Moses stay by her side. Even though, Carrie has offered to help them escape. When Rose is attacked by the overseer, the head-strong young woman, with shot gun in hand, demands he leave her lands forever.
Thomas Cromwell is so steeped in grief; he no longer keeps his pulse on the plantation. Secure in the knowledge that his daughter, with the help of his overseer, will keep the property prosperous, he never knows Carrie has fired Ike Adams. He becomes deeply involved in the politics as his beloved Virginia marches closer to war, a war that will tear his country asunder.
This first volume ends as Virginia secedes from the union and with Carrie telling Robert she cannot marry him, even though she is in love with him. Storm Clouds Rolling In does end on a positive note, letting the reader know that all is not lost between Carrie and the dashing Robert.
While I thoroughly enjoy the romance between the hero and heroine, what is much more fascinating is the workings of Carrie’s mind as she grows in her belief that slavery is not God’s will, no matter what her father and the rest of the south believe. This story has a thread of spiritualism running through it, but is not over done at all. It only enhances this amazing epic tale.
Carrie is a marvelous character, so fierce, as she develops into an independent woman, determined to help her friends gain their freedom if they choose to travel down that path. While Carrie would love to become a doctor, she puts those dreams to the side to continue her work in freeing any of her father’s slaves who seek their freedom. Her ability to walk the thin line between outright lying to her father and evading the truth is incredible. Carrie Cromwell is truly an unforgettable character.
This is a book with a great deal of historical detail regarding the thoughts and times leading up to the Civil War. As I read, I wished that I had discovered this epic series while my mother still lived. She would have enjoyed this book and series immensely as I know you will as well. If you love a well-written historical fiction novel with strong romantic elements, then this is a book you will not want to miss. Happy reading!
Resa3.0 out of 5 stars
Eh, this novel is just okay
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2022
The quality of the characters is what makes-or-breaks a novel, and -- in this case -- the main character just doesn't have a lot going on. She's an 1860s girl trying to think like a 2020s girl, and it just doesn't work. Her revisionist history thought processes are highly unlikely for a plantation-raised girl. Even if she'd been so sympathetic to the plight of the slaves, her father would've put a stop to her actions -- otherwise, he'd lose his plantation and his livelihood. It was the 1860s. With the exception of Carrie's father and Robert, the characters are all much too simplistic; that is, they're either all good or all bad. For example, the villain of the story does nothing but drink and whip slaves -- so why did they hire him? Why do they keep him employed, given that he does more harm than good? No one in real life is completely good or completely bad, so characters that lack this depth seem unrealistic. The author includes some characters that really have no point; for example, Adam's family -- they serve only to characterize him as an abusive drunk. They had no reason to be in the story. Likewise, Carrie's girlfriends come and go -- she doesn't even correspond with them.
The historical accuracy is spot-on when it comes to "the big things"; that is, the author really nails the harrowing details that led up to South Carolina's succession from The Union and the various viewpoints held by individuals on both sides. Kudos on placing the story in Virginia, which was very much a swing state in the Civil War.
However, she really falls short on the more personal details. Realistically, Carrie's dad would never have allowed his daughter this much freedom (riding alone? unlikely), she never would have been given so much responsibility, and she never would have set foot in the Slave Quarters -- yes, she liked helping sick slaves, but they would have been brought to the Big House. This just isn't the way the world worked in those days. And it's loads of little things, like girls wearing hoop skirts didn't give each other big hugs -- not unless they wanted to show off their butts.
The author's writing /grammar is good -- don't underestimate this fact; it's not a given any longer. However, she over-uses adjectives where stronger verb choices would be better; this is a trap into which young authors often fall, and it sounds a bit middle-schoolish.
Overall, the storyline is okay, if unrealistic, but I'm not even tempted to purchase Book 2.
The historical accuracy is spot-on when it comes to "the big things"; that is, the author really nails the harrowing details that led up to South Carolina's succession from The Union and the various viewpoints held by individuals on both sides. Kudos on placing the story in Virginia, which was very much a swing state in the Civil War.
However, she really falls short on the more personal details. Realistically, Carrie's dad would never have allowed his daughter this much freedom (riding alone? unlikely), she never would have been given so much responsibility, and she never would have set foot in the Slave Quarters -- yes, she liked helping sick slaves, but they would have been brought to the Big House. This just isn't the way the world worked in those days. And it's loads of little things, like girls wearing hoop skirts didn't give each other big hugs -- not unless they wanted to show off their butts.
The author's writing /grammar is good -- don't underestimate this fact; it's not a given any longer. However, she over-uses adjectives where stronger verb choices would be better; this is a trap into which young authors often fall, and it sounds a bit middle-schoolish.
Overall, the storyline is okay, if unrealistic, but I'm not even tempted to purchase Book 2.
Kindle Customer5.0 out of 5 stars
The Civil War and Freedom
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2024
A wonderful understanding of the feelings and understanding of the start of the Civil War. The involved feelings and acts open the understanding of what led to the Civil War