Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sarah Hanks for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Whatever It Takes coming out April 9, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really wanted more of the Civil War chapters. I feel like those were more interesting than the modern story. I just couldn’t really get into the modern story. It wasn’t for me. I would check out other books by this author.

A wonderful book with depth of characters. A great reminder of God's love and compassion towards me personally. The storyline is great and kept me engaged in the book and was very informative of life in another time.

I received an e-copy of Whatever It Takes by Sarah Hanks from the publisher through NetGalley. This is my own opinion about the dual timeline stories of sisters.
Could you do whatever it takes to help your family, your sisters in particular? This is what a sister in each timeline deals with. I usually have a hard time going back and forth between dual storylines, but this went surprisingly smoothly for me. The Civil War story of Henrietta "Henry" Fordyce was intense. The eldest of six girls couldn't count on her father to provide for her starving family so she dressed as a man and left to find work. She ends up serving as a soldier in the Confederate Army. I felt that the depiction of war was quite good yet not overly graphic. The inclusion of quotes from civil war participants were an emotional touch.
The contemporary story of two sisters was quite realistic too. Everly is a chiropractor in a successful business with her husband. She has promised her mother that she will take care of her younger sister, Ivy. A medical transcriptionist, Ivy is a character who to me is irritatingly spoiled. She asks Ev for an ultimate sacrifice. I really had a hard time with her character. I do appreciate that over time she did change for the better.
I like that faith is important to characters in this book. It gave strength to the women who leaned on God. I give this book a 4-star rating. Anyone who enjoys U.S. Civil War era stories should enjoy this if you like a romantic touch added in. The contemporary portion deals with tough subjects including cancer and surrogacy in an interesting way.

Thank you SonFlower Books for this ARC.

Whatever it takes is the 3rd in the series- each book can be read separately and are not intertwined.

I decided to start with the first book in the series and read through to this one. I absolutely loved it and I normally don’t care for stories that go back and forth in time.

It was slow to start but the stories were wound together wonderfully. The sisters in today’s time were a lot - but the more time you spend with them the more you care for their success. And their relationship and grew together - in the past and in the present.

It’s a well written book and I will definitely read more books by this author.

After her father is injured, Henrietta takes responsibility for supporting her four younger sisters - but the time around the start of the Civil War is not friendly to women wanting work. In the end, she disguises herself as a man and ultimately finds herself serving as a soldier. In the present, two of her descendants, Everly and Ivy, discover this ancestor and learn from her courage and resourcefulness. Ivy has always wanted kids but ends up unable to have any, so Everly steps in to look after the younger sister she feels responsible for, becoming her surrogate - not without great cost to herself. But as the difficulties and stresses of the process take their toll, will this endeavour strengthen their relationships (including with their respective husbands) or break them?

Women soldiers during the Civil War aren't something I really know anything about, so the story was interesting as presenting one such perspective. Henrietta goes through a lot to try to take care of her family - but to me the most interesting part was actually how she settled back into regular life after her soldiering days ended, and I would have liked a bit more of that. Nevertheless, it was an interesting and intriguing addition to the story. As for Everly and Ivy, they have a somewhat odd (and unhealthy) relationship dynamic between them, and watching that play out and develop as they went through hard times was interesting too. But interesting is all it would have been had they not each come to various realisations that changed how they viewed life and each other, resulting in inspiring growth in both of them. It also explores the idea of surrogacy, which isn't something I've ever thought a lot about. The result is an interesting and inspiring story that was in various ways quite different to my typical read and made for a nice change.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

I was distracted in the beginning of this dual timeline novel "Whatever It Takes" by Sarah Hanks. I have read dual timelines before, but I kept wanting to stay with one timeline (Civil War of present day) and one set of characters (Henrietta/Henry or with Everly and Ivy). Each would have made an emotional read on its own, but Hanks wove these two together masterfully. A few tears were shed in each time period. However, the reliance on God and importance of family were such an important thread in the plot. And 'whatever it takes' to show that family is at the backbone of each character.

Released Apr. 9th. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Whatever It Takes part of the Sisters in Arms Collection by Sarah Hanks is a dual timeline of sisters. During the Civil War and in the present time both sets of sisters are close. However, a lot is put on the oldest sisters in both time periods. I will say while I liked all the women in the book, it was the Civil War time that held my attention the most. That is not really a surprise since Henrietta Frontenac, a past relative of Everly Moore and her sister Ivy are also fantasticated by this woman.

This is the first book that I have had the pleasure of reading, but it won’t be the last. I want to start with the first two books in this series since this is the third book. Not everyone can write dual timelines well, but this author does it well. The fact that this is a Christian faith-based fiction novel only makes it even better.
4.5 Stars

What would you do if you were a girl who supported your family at 20 and you couldn't afford a doctor or groceries in 1862?
Henrietta and her 5 sisters lived in an old house in North Carolina with their dad who probably had PTSD and was catatonic and did not work so Henrietta decided to cut her hair, dress as a boy and get a well paying job.

Henriettas' descendants, Everly and Ivy in modern day Wilmington, North Carolina, , face their own issues - Ivy has cancer, she is engaged to be married, and she has to have a hysterectomy to save her life. But Ivy has always wanted children and she doesn't want to adopt - she wants biological children.

Henrietta starts working as a dock worker, but she is then recruited as a Confederate soldier for 100 sign on bonus and a pay raise - so she can send money home. Can she learn to shoot and kill men and survive being in danger?

Can Everly help Ivy realize her dream? Will learning about her ancestry help her?

This is my 1st book by Sarah Hanks and the 3rd book in the "Split-Time Sisters in Arms" series and it can be read as a stand alone book.
As the title reads, it is a dual timeline Christian based historical story with the 1st fascinating story at the start of Civil War, with Henrietta Frontenac signing up for the Confederate Army as a way to provide for her 5 younger sisters disguised as a man. The 2nd engaging story opens in present day with older sister Everly, a chiropractor and younger sister Ivy, who is planning her wedding and receives devastating news regarding her ability to have children.
Henrietta's story has intrigue, suspense, hardship, some non-graphic violence appropriate for war, and romance with the historical details and prose pulling you in to the "Henry's" challenges of being in a wartime position in disguise. Her faith journey moves from feeling abandoned by God to seeing Him in her life and that of her family.
Everly and Ivy both have past histories and trauma as siblings and individually which are brought to the forefront when Everly becomes a surrogate for her sister. The challenges with fear, anxiety, forgiveness and growing in faith, letting God heal and bring blessings in those areas of their lives was very relatable, emotionally and spiritually. During this journey is their discovery of Henrietta, weaving the stories together and inspiring them through the pregnancy and beyond.
If you are looking for an inspirational historical story filled with sisterhood, triumph over circumstances with growth of faith in Jesus, romance, danger, suspense and family, I highly recommend this book! I'm going to read the other 2 in the series due to this engaging, inspiring, thought provoking and well written story.
A huge thank you to SonFlower Books publishers and NetGalley for the ARC, it was a pleasure and privilege, all opinions expressed are my own.

This is a new to me author and I enjoyed this book. I like to read books set during the Civil War and this one did not disappoint. I couldn’t put it down because I was wanting to see what happened next.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. All words are my own.

I really like this book it was a great tale with good characters and settings. I received a review copy from NetGalley but the views and opinions expressed herein are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This was a new to me author and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The relationship between sisters is complex and this book explores that and how the love for each other compels them to go to any extreme to support and protect each other. I recommend reading this. I plan to read the other books in this series.