After being stuck on Outlander, I have the feeling that I would've enjoyed this a lot more than I did. I was stuck on this book for ages, and just couldn't connect with the characters. The writing was strong, and the plot was interesting, but it was just not for me otherwise. I hope to try it again in the future, but for now...three out of five stars.

I think this is a 3.5 star read for me overall. It's a bit dry in places but the story is interesting for the most part.

Good tale of Native tribes from the northern states, revolutionary war times, and romance. Settle in for a good read.

For someone who is not American nor English this part of the American Revolution is not that familiar territory. In the story captain John Carlisle a disgraced English army officers is send to what is now Upstate New York to find out what the position towards the rebellion is of the Indian tribes forming the Six Nations empire. He ends up in a town near the Oneida homelands. His innkeeper is Dellis (Daylis) a woman of Oneida and Scottish decent who has quite a past with English regulars. While John is spying someone is murdering Indian women in the area.

I understood from another reviewer that the author wrote a historically correct story. I would not classify it as a romance novel. With all the other things going on is is more a historical novel.

Unlike most novels written by an American author and set during the War of Independence this novel is not pro Rebels. but neutral and I like that. Yes some English soldiers are very bad but also some rebels are bad and irresponsible.

The book has a slow space but as it gives us an in depth view on rural live at the beginning of the war and all kind of mysteries have to be solved I liked that. The writer says in her notes she used writing to cope with some devastating events. I think the way she describes guilt and trauma is very well done. For the prudes: That results in a bed scene but that is essential for this story it is certainly not an erotic tale.

There is one thing I am not that amused with. This novel is a part 1 of 3. So I have spend days reading it and then in the end there is no closure. And the other books are also not available yet. I wonder if there can be one other reason than profit to do it like that (but it is not expensive so why?) Not smart as people will have forgotten about it when book 2 is published. Because of that I deduct one star. For the rest; well done!

Published 11the May 2018, 4 stars out of 5
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This book was okay but it was hard for me to get into and really hard for me to finish. Really dry in places.

Nooooooooooo! Don't make me wait months for Book 2!

I love historical romances, but haven't read many set in the American Revolutionary War period. I used to love visiting historical sites as a kid, so I wanted to give this book a shot. Our hero John wasn't a hero in the beginning in any way, shape or form. He was quite pitiful, actually. But then he is given a second chance in life, and thus begins his redemption.

Dellis was an awesome heroine! She and her schizophrenic brother were the children of a Scots father and an Oneida Indian mother. Both were lost in tragic ways, leaving Dellis to run an inn to support herself and her brother. Though Dellis had been through hell and back, she was no wilting violet. She was a healer and a proud woman of her tribe. John and his men, on a mission, take accommodations in Dellis's inn. Then the story really takes off.

This story isn't perfect. There were times I had trouble keeping track of who was who, which tribes supported the Crown or the Colonials, and things such as that. However, there was intrigue, danger, excitement, suspense and yes, romance and chemistry. In other words, all the things that grab me and hold onto me in a book. Though I hated to end this book on a cliffhanger, it by no means ruined my enjoyment of it. In fact, I am impatiently awaiting the next installment!

I received a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I received this book via NetGallery for review.

The writing is fast paced and I really enjoyed the opening, which is very catchy, clever and intense. I can sense, immediately, the deep research of this talented author! TJ London, with her affectionate appendices, is dedicated I received this book via NetGallery for review.

The writing is fast paced and I really enjoyed the opening, which is very catchy, clever and intense. I can sense, immediately, the deep research of this talented author! TJ London, with her affectionate appendices, is dedicated to her craft. She seems to love her characters, and it shows. You will love them as well.

The plot is in layers, because of the circumstances which faced the Redcoats in this “foreign” land called the Colonies. One of the challenges, for General Howe, was how to handle the Native Americans. Upper New York is the scene, and Howe wants to split the colonies by seizing the Hudson Valley and refortify the crucial Fort Stanwix. Unfortunately, this is Mohawk Valley, home to the mythical “savages”: the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca. After 1722, they accepted the Tuscarora people from the Southeast into their confederacy, and became known as the "Six Nations".

But for this to begin, Howe must call on a superb map maker, John Carlisle, a banished British officer, a drinker, who sits in jail in the opening scene and laments:

“The sweet, spicy liquid burned a trail down his throat, making him wince. Too many shots to count, yet still, they stung just like the failure that ruined his once brilliant career. Two years! Two years since he'd been banished by the court-martial, doomed to spend his days in purgatory, overseeing a damned, stinking military gaol, first in Boston, now in New York. For what? Had he not done the right thing? Yet still, he was being punished.”

He is given the chance of redemption for a nightmare situation which stripped him of his honor. (can’t tell you too much here!) Under cover as a trader, he ventures into the world of the Oneida tribes, and, much like Marlow in “Heart of Darkness” not only travels into a strange culture, but also into his past nightmares.

Instead of finding Kurtz, however, he finds our heroine, Dellis McKesson, an Oneida member, whose grandfather rules the tribe.

And, so the stage is set. John must dupe the tribe into a peace treaty with Britain and map out the path for Howe’s victory, under the watchful and hateful eyes of a tribe , ripped apart by military violence.

The plot set forth here is quite a literary juggling act. Complex in its scope and territory, the reader is challenged to understand the why and the where of John’s mission. With the addition of the attractive Dellis, we get another angle: the stormy, unexpected plot line of a love story.

My reader’s cap is doffed to TJ for a superb job to mix all these elements, while still writing in history. The author does the complex decanting brilliantly. We are led, behind the lines of Truth and Deceit, in 1776 America, to be swept up in not only the proud culture of the Mohawk Valley, but also to a man’s quest of redemption and rebirth.

The only weak parts, to this reader, were the explicit love scenes. Other readers may swoon, some will skip to them, but I found them unnecessary and too much like commercial chicklit/romance novels. The topics here, to me, are high above liquid sex connection descriptions. I know about the love between the characters. The bedroom scenes could be inferred, in case the kiddies want to learn about History by a read of his novel.

This is a two part saga, and this part leaves us guessing, but very satisfied to read the sequel. TJ, start your engines and let us know what happens! to her craft. She seems to love her characters, and it shows. You will love them as well.

The plot is in layers, because of the circumstances which faced the Redcoats in this “foreign” land called the Colonies. One of the challenges, for General Howe, was how to handle the Native Americans. Upper New York is the scene, and Howe wants to split the colonies by seizing the Hudson Valley and refortify the crucial Fort Stanwix. Unfortunately, this is Mohawk Valley, home to the mythical “savages”: the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca. After 1722, they accepted the Tuscarora people from the Southeast into their confederacy, and became known as the "Six Nations".

But for this to begin, Howe must call on a superb map maker, John Carlisle, a banished British officer, a drinker, who sits in jail in the opening scene and laments:

“The sweet, spicy liquid burned a trail down his throat, making him wince. Too many shots to count, yet still, they stung just like the failure that ruined his once brilliant career. Two years! Two years since he'd been banished by the court-martial, doomed to spend his days in purgatory, overseeing a damned, stinking military gaol, first in Boston, now in New York. For what? Had he not done the right thing? Yet still, he was being punished.”

He is given the chance of redemption for a nightmare situation which stripped him of his honor. (can’t tell you too much here!) Under cover as a trader, he ventures into the world of the Oneida tribes, and, much like Marlow in “Heart of Darkness” not only travels into a strange culture, but also into his past nightmares.

Instead of finding Kurtz, however, he finds our heroine, Dellis McKesson, an Oneida member, whose grandfather rules the tribe.

And, so the stage is set. John must dupe the tribe into a peace treaty with Britain and map out the path for Howe’s victory, under the watchful and hateful eyes of a tribe , ripped apart by military violence.

The plot set forth here is quite a literary juggling act. Complex in its scope and territory, the reader is challenged to understand the why and the where of John’s mission. With the addition of the attractive Dellis, we get another angle: the stormy, unexpected plot line of a love story.

My reader’s cap is doffed to TJ for a superb job to mix all these elements, while still writing in history. The author does the complex decanting brilliantly. We are led, behind the lines of Truth and Deceit, in 1776 America, to be swept up in not only the proud culture of the Mohawk Valley, but also to a man’s quest of redemption and rebirth.

The only weak parts, to this reader, were the explicit love scenes. Other readers may swoon, some will skip to them, but I found them unnecessary and too much like commercial chicklit/romance novels. The topics here, to me, are high above liquid sex connection descriptions. I know about the love between the characters. The bedroom scenes could be inferred, in case the kiddies want to learn about History by a read of his novel.

This is a threepart saga, and this part leaves us guessing, but very satisfied to read the sequel. TJ, start your engines and let us know what happens!

Great story and a glimpse into the history of the Revolutionary War! The story line that one faces dieting the time of war was definitely intriguing.

“The Tory” by T. J. London was very intriguing and insightful. I enjoyed the book, but had a hard time deciding who was on which side of the conflict. During a war, some men act honorably and some are beasts who take the opportunity to act with extreme savagery. Lieutenant John Carlisle is a Tory who is sent into upstate New York to try to induce the Ojibwa and Oneida tribes of the Iroquois to join their side against the patriot rebels. He is to establish himself as a trader willing to trade with the Indians. His headquarters is at the inn of a half-breed woman, Dellis McKesson. Dellis is trying to make the inn profitable and also try to rein in her schitzophrenic brother, who hates the British because of what they did to his family.

It was difficult for me to keep all the players straight. At one point, I didn’t know if the Lieutenant’s men were Tories or Patriots. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the book until I came to the end and realized that the book was not a stand- alone book and that I would have to read the subsequent novel in the series. I was not happy reading only to find that the story was not resolved in this book.

I received a complimentary Kindle of this book from NetGalley.com., and was not required to write a review.

I wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't my style. It has wonderfully-research historical moments, and I learned a lot from it, but it didn't resonate like so many others do. In fact, it was rather unisex...so men would probably enjoy it much more than the typical historical-fiction-romances that I gravitate toward. It's not a bad book, just not for me.