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Be Not Afraid

Continuing with the year of “everything goes back to Hamilton,” Alyssa tweeted that this novella took place around the point of “Guns and Ships.” It does not feature America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman (LAFAYETTE), but it does touch on a facet of the Revolutionary War that isn’t often mentioned: Black soldiers and how the British used the promise (sometimes illusion) of freedom to get Black people to…well, not so much fight, but to basically be slave labor for the British army, with the promise of resettlement and freedom somewhere else after the war is over. (This is also a subplot of AMC’s Turn, the drama about spies during the Revolutionary War.)

The hero is Elijah, a Black man who was promised freedom and land by his owner if Elijah went and fought for the Patriots in his owner’s place. The heroine is Kate, a woman who escaped from where she was enslaved to join up with the British. They meet after Elijah is captured by the British and a complicated romance ensues.

I liked how, in just 63 pages, Cole lets Kate and Elijah discuss and explore their reasons for picking the sides they did. It’s complicated, and difficult, and painful to decide whether to fight for home or for the people who stole you from your home. Cole sketches this conflict out in confident, bold strokes.

Kate sums it up by saying, “…the devil you know is still a devil, and when this war is over, he’ll send you straight to hell whether he wins or loses.”

My main complaint about novellas is that it rarely feels like enough time for two people to meet and fall in love and decide that they are The One for ever and ever. War time, though, can absolutely throw that timeline into high gear, and I liked the two of them together very much. I haven’t read any of Cole’s historical before (loved Radio Silence, BOY HOWDY), and you bet your ass I’ll be reading more.

This was originally published in the For Love and Liberty anthology with Lena Hart, Kate McMurray, and Stacey Agdern.

– Redheadedgirl

New York, 1776

Elijah Sutton is no fool, despite his love of a country that enslaves people like him. When he’s offered land, livestock, and—most importantly—his freedom if he fights in his Patriot owner’s stead, Elijah believes he’ll soon have everything he ever wanted…and then he meets Kate.

The Crown has promised freedom to slaves who escape their Patriot masters and join the British side, and Kate intends to take them up on it. She’s eager to leave America—and the painful memories it holds for her—far behind…and then she meets Elijah.

Their attraction is undeniable, but their goals couldn’t be further apart. When Elijah is captured by the British while helping Kate, they’re thrown into close proximity and forced to choose between their hopes for the future and their hearts.

Be Not Afraid originally appeared in the anthology For Love and Liberty: Untold Love Stories of the American Revolution.