Over a hundred years have passed since the American Civil War and yet new facts are still coming to light. There are stories of female spies and women serving as male soldiers, men of color owning slaves and soldiers from both sides singing together on Christmas Eve. Perhaps, there are even more untold tales lying hidden in the killing fields, tales so strange that no one has been willing to tell them until now. J.M. Snyder reveals one such tale, not only a forbidden love story, but also one on the hairy side.

Remembrance Brenneman, usually called Brance, is the eldest son of an Amish minister. Brance rejects the faith and ways of his pacifist family, especially after being an attacked by a bobcat which is more than a mere feline. He enlists in the Union Army to spite his father, to lose himself in the War and to find a life worth living.

Caleb, a Southerner and a rebel, does not look for a hook up in the Union Camp. Eager to prove his devotion and worth, he does hook up with Brance, an older, more somber soldier. The two of them drift away from the war, civilization and the associated disapproval. On their own in the woods, wild and free as the trees and streams, they find their lives threatened by unexpected evil.

Beneath a Yankee Sky plays fast and loose with genres. It wants to be a paranormal erotica complete with bobcat men instead of the usual werewolf or vampires. Gay vampires would have worked, bobcats, no. There was no jumping-off point to have bobcat man, no explanation about the original bobcat. Caleb, with his eagerness to please and constant begging for sex, is at best an irritant as opposed to a fully fleshed out character, who could serve as a dynamic partner. Brance’s internal dialogue plus actions indicate that even he is tired of his besotted young lover. The characterization is heavy. Everyone is evil except Brance and Caleb. There is no backstory about Caleb. The threat of the hunters did not inspire any thrill of terror. Over all, the book was one long sex scene between Caleb and Brance in both male and bobcat form with a very thin plot to try to hold it together.

Beneath a Yankee Sky begins weak, stays weak and goes on too long. I would not recommend this book, although I am sure there are those who would enjoy it. The fact that the central relationship does not have an authentic feel, that it seems Brance or Caleb would have made do with anyone was my main complaint, along with no real plot and poor characterization.

Reviewed by Morgan Wyatt
© September 2007