Okay, so I just finished reading Drummer Boy At Bull Run and wow... what a rollercoaster of emotions this book gave me!

First off, as a history buff (especially Civil War era), I LOVED the action and drama. The way it shows families divided by war felt so real - Jeff fighting for South while his friend Leah's family supports Union? That's some powerful storytelling right there.

The historical details seemed pretty accurate too! Battles felt authentic, and I got totally sucked into the suspense and even the subtle romance subplots. Finished it in like two days because I couldn't put it down!

BUT... (big but coming) I did some digging after reading and found out about the plagiarism controversy. Like seriously? Whole paragraphs copied from another book without credit? That's just not cool, especially from a Christian author who should know better.

The author apologized saying he was under deadline pressure, but come on man - that's no excuse for stealing someone else's work word-for-word. Makes me question everything now.

Still... can't deny it's a page-turner with great characters. Just wish it had been more original. Now I'm torn between wanting to read rest of series and feeling guilty about supporting questionable practices.

Final verdict? Amazing story if you can overlook the ethics issues. But maybe check out The Boys' War first since apparently that's where some of best parts came from originally *side-eye*