Pick Up A Beauty So Rare (Belmont Mansion, #2) Penned By Tamera Alexander Shared As Digital Copy
book wasnt bad, there was just a lot going on, plotwise, that never seemed to go anywhere, For instance:
She was from a high social standing but was now poor, She helped out the doctors during the war and saw a lot of men die, She held on to a dying mans handkerchief and wanted to find his wife to return it, Her only brother died in the war, Her father had dementia and was put into an asylum, Her mother was dead. Her very rich aunt arranged a marriage for her but she didnt go through with it, The haughty womens league member and daughter didnt like her and spread lies, She disobeyed her aunt and started a charity kitchen, She got engaged to a different man she didnt love, She was too tall and too plain and too old, She thought he was an under gardener when he was an archduke, She thought his desires to make things beautiful just to be beautiful was frivolous, A man like that would never be interested in her, although he was just an under gardener, She started a home for widows and orphans, She runs out of money and is desperate, He was a European archduke incognito in Nashville, His father and uncle didnt approve of his pursuits, He was a reformed rake, maybe, His older brother committed suicide and shamed the royal family, He was a brilliant botanist, He was trying to create a specific color of rose for her aunt but never succeeded, He was trying to fix the issues with potatoes but never succeeded, He was engaged since childhood to an awful woman he didnt love, He was a brilliant architect who wanted to build new buildings but couldnt win any contracts because of the manipulations of the jerk mayor, The mayor spread lies about him and did shady deals, He befriended orphans and poor people, He was never forthcoming with the truth, He met and befriended her mentally ill father but didnt tell her, She hid her fathers condition from him because she was ashamed, He thought she was neglecting her father based on her fathers mentally ill ravings, He proposed multiple times and she turned him down, She decided on a remodel which hurt his feelings because he wanted to build a new building, Her aunt disapproved of her match because she didnt thatknow he was royalty, He refuses the throne and never return home, He convinces his fiancé to seek a different duke, but not until after she meets the heroine and ruins everything,
So many of these plot threads should have blown things up, caused dramatic problems that had to be worked on for a considerable time to be solved, But they didnt. It felt like nothing came to fruition, If someone was mad, they werent three paragraphs later, He hid his identity from her, shouldnt she care He caught her in hiding the truth about her father, shouldnt he confront her She promised to marry another man after she kissed him, isnt that a big deal He never said he was engaged, and then a beautiful and terrible woman just shows up and claims him, wouldnt that make her feel betrayed Shouldnt there be some kind of conflict and resolution after all this buildup So many plot lines went nowhere.
The author should have pickedthings from the above list and written a good book about them instead of dragging on forever trying to include everything,
rantover I enjoyed A Beauty So Rare even more than the first book of this series, I forgot how rich Tamera Alexander's writing is rich in culture, history, tone, and description, Her style made this book a delight to read, But the characters are what really brought it to life, Eleanor was phenomenal, both in her character and in the author's portrayal of her wisdom and strength, balanced with a touch of delicacy, If she existed in real life, I would highly respect and admire her which I don't often say of many main characters, regardless of the genre, Marcus made for a unique, wellcrafted character, a blend of gruff and compassionate, with an enjoyable sense of humor,
I'll admit, I'm not a regular romance reader, and there were a few times where the romance in this book felt a little excessive, though not inappropriate, Hence the four instead of five but again, this is more my preference than anything against the book, Part of what I said about the first novel of this series holds true for this second one: "I really loved this historical novel, It was a complex, sweet story, and I enjoyed the characters, " Also like the first novel, this second one was written well and had well developed characters however, there wasn't an element of suspense in this one as there was in the first, which I was a bit disappointed by, but I still really loved the novel and how the main characters gradually ended up truly becoming known to the other with no important secrets left between them.
So, this novel joins its predecessor on my favorites list, About this book:
“Eleanor Braddock, a spinsterplain, practical, no stunning Southern beautyhas long since dismissed any hope of marriage, But when a dying soldier whispers his final words, she believes her life can still have meaning and determines to find his widow, But this compassionate deed takes a harsh turn, and Eleanor finds herself dependent upon the richest woman in America and the most despised woman in Nashvilleher aunt, Adelicia Acklen, mistress of Belmont Mansion.
A clandestine act of kindness leads Eleanor to an unlikely path for her lifebuilding a home for destitute widows and children from the Civil War, And while Eleanor knows her own heart, she also knows her aunt will never approve,
Gerhard Marcus Gottfried, Archduke of the House of Habsburg and fourth in line to the Austrian throne, arrives in Nashville in search of a life he determines, instead of one determined for him.
Collaborating with botanist Luther Burbank, Marcus seeks to combine his own passion for nature with his expertise in architecture, But his plans to incorporate natural beauty into the design of the widow's and children's home run contrary to the wishes of practical, frugal Eleanor, who sees his ideas as costly nonsense.
Yet as the construction project continues, Marcus and Eleanor find common groundand a love neither of them expected, But Marcus is not the man Adelicia has chosen for Eleanor to marry, and even if he were, someone who knows Marcus's secrets is about to reveal them all, ”
Series: “Belmont Mansion” book, Can be a standalone novel, book, “A Lasting Impression” here!
Spiritual Content Prayers are said Eleanor amp Marcus have a Faith and trust the Lord in their lives,
Negative Content In the prologue, Eleanor is a nurse and theres a bit of blood, but its not detailed,
Sexual Content A couple kisses one lightly detailed
Eleanor Braddock
Marcus Gottfried
P, O. V. switches between them.
pages !!
Set inPrologue in
Pre amp New Teens Four Stars
only because its a large book with a pretty deep story line
High School Teens Five Stars
My personal Rating Five Stars
Reading the first book in the “Belmont Mansion” series, “A Lasting Impression” got me hooked me Miss Tamera Alexanders writing as soon as I finished “A Lasting Impression” I was counting down the days till the next book in the series “A Beauty So Rare”.
When that day came and the mailman handed me the packagewell this was my reaction:
Excited Who, me Maybe a LOT!
Miss Tamera Alexander has put “Visit Belmont Mansion” on my Bucket List and the way she makes you feel like youre there I could almost check off that Ive been there! I cannot wait tillwhen the next book in the “Belmont Mansion” series comes out.
:
And if youre like me, I love seeing behind the scenes of how the author wrote this book:
sitelink youtube. com/watchvrVVE
BFCG may Read the review to see recommend this book by this author, It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author,
I received this book for free from the Publisher for this review, But I was going to buy it with my own money I was that excited about this book!
Hugworthy! Gushworthy! I adoredADORED!!!this book, from beginning to end!
Eleanor won a place in my heart as one of my favorite leading ladies to ever pass through my reading imagination.
She's considered "plain" as far as her outward appearance goes, She's exceedingly tall for a lady, taking her looks from her father, and well past the "marrying" age, With so many men lost to the war, combined with her "plainness", she's given up hope of a husband, Inward, though, she's as beautiful as they come! Her father suffers from Alzheimer's and barely remembers her, When he does, it's with anger, Despite missing him terribly, and knowing she has to make a way for herself, she doesn't roll around in self pity, She rolls her sleeves up and tackles the world with her humble stubbornness, and I loved that about her,
Marcus! He won himself a place in my reading heart, too! I'm not typically a fan of the whole "bad boy" thing, Marcus is Austrian, and has a bit of an arrogant attitude about him, He was also once a "bad boy", Within this story, he's anything but, though, I enjoyed all the "plant talk" and creative architect imaginings that he brings into the story,
A Beauty So Rare is seriously one of the sweetest romances I've ever read! It's not all romance, though, There's an abundance of layers added within this book, There's a little mystery that I almost forgot about through part of the story, There's encouragement to pull ourselves out of our own little world and help those in need, I was left with many things to ponder as I closed the last page with a happy sigh, And, again, there's the sweetso very sweet romance, It's not a quick read by any means, I encourage you to read it slowly and simply enjoy your time in it, It's what I consider a "chunkster", but well worth the time investment, I'd also encourage you to read A Lasting Impression first, just so you can have a better appreciation for Adelicia, You probably won't like her at all without reading A Lasting Impression first, Otherwise, it's perfectly fine as a standalone,
I loved this book so much, I'm determined to convince you to put all other reading aside, and read the two books in this series! I smiled, laughed, cried, and ended the book with a little hug.
What more could you ask for from a book!
Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion! I don't know what it is but I really enjoy these books.
The look at post Civil War in Nashville and the society rules, roles and norms just fascinates me, The stories and characters are original and fun to read,
Highly recommend. I adore Tamera Alexander's historical romances set in post Civil War Nashville, They capture the essence of reconstruction in a realistic way while telling a story I can disappear into, This storytelling sets a high standard and leaves me wondering if she can do it again, She does!
In A Beauty so Rare, Eleanor Braddock is not a beautiful woman in the traditional southern sense, so she has resigned herself to a life of singleness.
because of her father's illness she has to find a way to support herself, The story weaves in the plight of war widows and orphans while also pulling in an element of European royalty, Trust me: it works beautifully, And in the telling, the author addresses true beauty and the importance of looking beyond the superficial to the heart and essence of a person, I finished the last page with a happy sigh for a story well told, quickly followed by a sad sigh because now I have to wait for her next book!
If you love antebellum historical romance with strong Christian threads, you will adore this story that transports you to that time in Nashville.
This book was hard to put down! As
many have said before, Tamera Alexander weaves a GREAT story with multiple, unique subplots going onI love that, When I choose to read one of her books its because Im in the mood for a movie type of story that is long, detailed and has lots of facets.
The romance in A Beauty So Rare was so rich, Its based on two people who are immediately attracted to each other but remain just friends this is part of the story so I wont divulge more, The story was so romantic, I was completely captivated by the way the hero, Marcus, loved Eleanor, The story is so, so sweet, I just cant get enough of a man who loves a woman for who she is and her character, The way the ending is unraveled was especially beautiful to me, The dialogue is awesome.
It was really wellwritten and Im pretty sure you will fall in love with Marcus if you havent already,
I was so worried it was going to be wrapped up quickly and their communication would be subpar, If it wasnt satisfying I probably wouldve hated this book because of my stress levels! Rest assured, the ending is the best part, This is what separates Tamera from other writers, I trust her enough to read a story like this and know that shell make it worthwhile in the end, .