A Ballad of Love and Glory: A Novel

Reyna Grande

Mar 2022 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this eBook

2023 International Latino Book Award Winner
Finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters’s Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Fiction

A Long Petal of the Sea meets Cold Mountain in this “epic and exquisitely wrought” (Patricia Engel, New York Times bestselling author) saga following a Mexican army nurse and an Irish soldier who must fight, at first for their survival and then for their love, amidst the atrocity of the Mexican-American War—from the author of The Distance Between Us.

A forgotten war. An unforgettable romance.

The year is 1846. After the controversial annexation of Texas, the US Army marches south to provoke war with México over the disputed Río Grande boundary.

Ximena Salomé is a gifted Mexican healer who dreams of building a family with the man she loves on the coveted land she calls home. But when Texas Rangers storm her ranch and shoot her husband dead, her dreams are burned to ashes. Vowing to honor her husband’s memory and defend her country, Ximena uses her healing skills as a nurse on the frontlines of the ravaging war.

Meanwhile, John Riley, an Irish immigrant in the Yankee army desperate to help his family escape the famine devastating his homeland, is sickened by the unjust war and the unspeakable atrocities against his countrymen by nativist officers. In a bold act of defiance, he swims across the Río Grande and joins the Mexican Army—a desertion punishable by execution. He forms the St. Patrick’s Battalion, a band of Irish soldiers willing to fight to the death for México’s freedom.

When Ximena and John meet, a dangerous attraction blooms between them. As the war intensifies, so does their passion. Swept up by forces with the power to change history, they fight not only for the fate of a nation but for their future together.

“A grand and soulful novel by a storyteller who has hit her full stride” (Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies), A Ballad of Love and Glory effortlessly illuminates a largely forgotten moment in history that impacts the US–México border to this day.

Ratings and reviews

The Saint Patrick Brigade In the year of 1846 the Mexican-American war was fought over the Annexation of Texas and the boundary of the Rio Grande River. This is a forgotten war, but it was fought all the same. In the American army were many immigrants from foreign countries fighting as soldiers for the Americans. They were treated very cruelly over ever minor incident, beaten, branded and other inhumane treatment. One soldier, John Riley, an Irish immigrant fighting in the American army defended the army until his friend was murdered trying to escape the cruel treatment. He then escaped and joined the Mexican army. After he joined the Mexican army he recruited fellow Irishmen to leave the American army and join the Mexican army. When there were enough men Santa Anna gave John Riley his own brigade called the Saint Patrick Brigade. They were gunners and manned the large cannons. This is a story of the war, the two armies and the men who fought on both sides. The Mexican people living in the towns where the war was fought and even the resistance fighting outside the army itself. It was a horrible time of hunger and bloodshed. John Riley met a Mexican war nurse named Ximena and fell in love. They both fight to su rvive the war and to survive their love for each other. Will they live or will the war take their lives. It was interesting to read about a war I never even knew about. Everyone knows about the Alamo, but this is a different war after the Alamo. I love learning new historical facts and it was quite interesting about the Irish fighting in this war as they neither belonged to the U.S. nor to Mexico. I think all war is bad and a horrible experience, but it goes on even today. How nice it would be if there were no more wars. Sadly that will never happen as long as there are power hungry men in the world. My wish would be for peace and acceptance for everyone. I really did enjoy reading this book, it took me longer than most as I kept having to look up places and facts but that made me more informed about the history of our country and that of the countries of Mexico and Ireland as well. I love to read and if I can learn something while enjoying my read that is an inspiration for me to read more. I would definitely recommend this book as a great Historical Fiction read. Thanks to Reyna Grande for writing a great story, to Atria Books for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

Reyna Grande’s novel A Ballad of Love and Glory is a historical fiction novel that will remind the reader not only of the romantic atmosphere between the main characters but the tension of living on the boarder between Mexico and the United States. Ximena is the main character who lives with her husband Joaquín, who dreams of starting a family in a post-war context. The author treats with great care the bond between the couple and how affection developed between them. And she does the same to narrate the tragic death of Joaquín during an attack. After his death Ximena joins the war effort as a nurse where she meets John Riley. The two form a bond over shared sorrows. The narrative takes place in two worlds, the ability to experience the context of Ximena in Mexico and at the same time of the Irish soldier John Riley. The suffering of the two characters is described clearly and strongly, as they both experience significant dramas until one day they meet in Mexico. The torrid romance between the two becomes more and more intriguing for readers, after all, what seems improbable is exciting, thus keeping the reader increasingly entertained and engaged in the story. The story will incite a variety of emotions with the impending war and the bloody scenario that comes from it, and at the same time the narrative being unfolded for the forbidden couple, who become prisoners of their feelings. A Ballad of Love and Glory takes readers back in time to a place where war and survival are all the inhabitants know. Finding love in this chaotic environment seams impossible but readers will find hope and see that through all the sufferings, there is a chance for happiness. Romance and historical fiction lovers alike will find something to cling to in this impassioned romance novel.

About the author

Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US–Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels A Ballad of Love and Glory, Across a Hundred Mountains, and Dancing with Butterflies, the memoirs The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and A Dream Called Home, and the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com for more information.