New Release | Patriot's Blade by Susan Leigh Furlong #historicalromance #romanticadventure #romance #revolutionarywar #newrelease #mustread

Can their love withstand the secrets and trials of war, or will it be destroyed by the Patriot’s Blade?

Title – Patriot’s Blade

Author – Susan Leigh Furlong

Genre – Historical Romance/Adventure

Publisher – The Wild Rose Press

Book Blurb –

During the Revolutionary War, Sophie Dougal’s medical training saves the lives of many wounded, but she cannot save her own heart. Falling in love with Birch Johansen, a soldier dedicated to the cause of freedom, tests her skills as a doctor and her strength as a woman.

Birch Johansen’s body has been ravaged by musket balls and his spirit drained by the horrors of battle. Still a beacon of hope emerges: Dr. Sophie Dougal, a woman with the skills of a healer and the heart of a warrior. Can their love withstand the secrets and trials of war, or will it be destroyed by the Patriot’s Blade?

Patriot’s Blade is the second in the America’s series “Whispers in the Shadows” set around the Revolutionary War. The first book is Desperate Hope and is available at www.SusanLFurlong, Amazon.com, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, and all other online sellers in paperback and e-book. Desperate Hope and Patriot’s Blade are “partners” within the same time period and can be read in any order.

Excerpt –

Three days after the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 20, 1775

Birch Johansen stumbled along the worn path, pain racing through every muscle and bone of his battered body. Blood seeped out of the musket ball hole in his side and covered his shirt and torn breeches with splashes of grotesque crimson. Other men’s blood dripped off his shaggy blond hair and streaked his cheeks. He wiped it out of his eyes, but his vision blurred, and he had to fight to keep moving. Exhaustion was his only friend now.

Even the sounds of the woods, the birds chirping and the leaves rustling, couldn’t distract him from the echoes in his mind—the roar of musket fire, along with the anguished cries of his wounded and dying fellow soldiers. He lifted one arm to his head to stop the noises but to no avail. His feet shifted over the uneven ground, and he struggled to stay upright.

“Keep walking,” he muttered.

Then he saw it, a small house with the words “Dr. Samuel Dougal” painted over the door. Here was help, his beacon in the darkness. He took two more shaky steps before falling into unknown arms. His long legs gave out, and his knees hit the ground.

“Help me with him!” a woman called to two men who dashed up and took Birch from her. “Get him inside.”

For a moment, his weary eyes locked on hers, and time stood still.

Hers was the face of an angel sent to rescue him from the fear, despair, and brutality of the battle. An angel in a stained dress, a vision with dark auburn hair tumbling loosely around her head, held back by a yellow scarf, and round green eyes that spoke of a promise he was safe. He sighed and let his eyes close despite the unrelenting pain.

As they carried him over the threshold, the intense stench of death nearly overwhelmed him, along with the rancid smell of infection, and the sobs and moans of other injured Continental soldiers lying crowded together on the floor of the front room.

“Put him over there,” she said as she pointed to a door wedged between two overstuffed chairs in the front parlor. The men laid him carefully on the makeshift table.

“I know him,” said one of them who, although a shorter, huskier man, was still able to easily lift the taller, leaner one. “He’s Birch Johansen. We fought beside each other. Birch, it’s me, Joseph.”

Birch gasped, “Joseph. We made it.”

“Yeah, luckily we found this place after our army doctor was shot in the head.”

“Mark, get me a fresh bucket of water,” said the woman. “Find out how many bandages and pads are left and hand me my scalpel.”

A young boy took the instrument off the seat of the chair, wiped it on his pant leg, and handed it to her. “Here, Dr. Sophie.”

“No! You know better than that. I want a clean one. Put it in that pot of water on the fire and get me another one. Hurry, I’m going to need it soon.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said the boy as he scurried to do her bidding.

She tore open Birch’s shirt and saw the dirty ripped rag wrapped tightly around his belly and hips. Dried, crusted blood clotted along his left side. “Whoever tied this around you saved your life, but now it’s my turn. Hurry!” she called. “I need those bandages now!” She cut off the makeshift dressing on his stomach and carefully pulled it away from the dried blood.

“Get his shoes and breeches off him. This is starting to bleed again,” said his angel of mercy as she dipped a torn cloth in a fresh bucket of water and squeezed it over his stomach so she could wipe the blood away with her hands.

Joseph tugged Birch’s muddy shoes off his feet while another man ripped his breeches along both sides and yanked them down.

“Now, wait a minute,” said Birch in a raspy voice. His body stiffened. “Not…in front …of her.”

Sophie put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Listen, soldier, I say they come off.”

The taller man with an Irish accent said, “Stop being a wee one, Johansen.” His dark hair fell over dark eyes. “I didn’t believe a cailin could do it either, but she’s a grand doctor, and she’s seen all there is to see. She’s a fine fixer, and I’ve been soldiering in these colonies for five years, so I’ve seen it all. Quit giving it out.” He tore again at Birch’s stained and filthy breeches and pulled them off his legs.

Birch finally quit protesting when the woman draped a towel over his stomach and thighs…

Birch’s words came out in short gasps. “Are you really a lady doctor?”

Tom said, “Shut yer yap and let the cailin here work.”

Over the next hour, agony splintered through every part of him each time her knife bit into his side. He struggled to get free of the pain, but Joseph and Tom held him tight. “Stop digging that knife into me!”

“The musket ball went clear through your side, but the hole is already festering. I cleaned it out as best I could, and now I’ll stitch it only part way so it can drain.”

“Stop it!” he shouted. “I can’t stand it!”

She put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. “I can stop, and you can die, so make up your mind quickly. Others are waiting, and I’m too tired to argue with you.”

He opened his eyes to look at her, and in his muddled mind he could almost see the angel wings behind her. Even when she scolded him, her voice somehow comforted him.

Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub) –

Amazon amzn.to/4jKWfv4

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/232933666-patriot-s-blade

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/patriot-s-blade-by-susan-leigh-furlong

Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/patriots-blade-susan-leigh-furlong/1147348054?ean=2940184555133

Author Biography –

Susan Leigh Furlong crafts unforgettable tales of love, courage, and adventure set in the rugged Scottish Highlands and the turbulent era of the American Revolution. Her award-winning novels brim with passion, danger, and unforgettable heroes, blending rich history with gripping romance. Her life in a small town is ordinary until she starts writing about little-known historical facts. Grab your copies today and experience stories that will stay with you forever.

Social Media Links –

Email Address – sfurlong90@gmail.com

Instagram Handle – susanleigh

Twitter Handle @FurlongLeigh

Website link www.SusanLFurlong.com

Facebook – SusanLFurlong