Saturday, April 26, 2014

A Beauty So Rare - Review


“A Beauty So Rare” by Tamera Alexander, should rightly be called “A Book So Rare.” Truly. Books as beautifully written as this one are rare indeed. Eleanor and Marcus were portrayed so vividly that they will no doubt live on in the hearts and minds of readers long after “The End”

Every scene blossomed before me- just as Marcus’s roses did.  A field hospital, a kitchen, or a conservatory, the descriptions were spot on. As was the romance and historical detail. I would definitely recommend this novel to all lovers of historical romance!

 I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Pink is not what Eleanor Braddock ordered, but maybe it would soften the tempered steel of a woman who came through a war--and still had one to fight.
 
Eleanor Braddock--plain, practical, no stunning Southern beauty--knows she will never marry. But with a dying soldier's last whisper, she believes her life can still have meaning and determines to find his widow. Impoverished and struggling to care for her ailing father, Eleanor arrives at Belmont Mansion, home of her aunt, Adelicia Acklen, the richest woman in America--and possibly the most demanding, as well. Adelicia insists on finding her niece a husband, but a simple act of kindness leads Eleanor down a far different path--building a home for destitute widows and fatherless children from the Civil War. While Eleanor knows her own heart, she also knows her aunt will never approve of this endeavor.

Archduke Marcus Gottfried has come to Nashville from Austria in search of a life he determines, instead of one determined for him. Hiding his royal heritage, Marcus longs to combine his passion for nature with his expertise in architecture, but his plans to incorporate natural beauty into the design of the widows' and children's home run contrary to Eleanor's wishes. As work on the home draws them closer together, Marcus and Eleanor find common ground--and a love neither of them expects. 
 
But Marcus is not the man Adelicia has chosen for Eleanor, and even if he were, someone who knows his secrets is about to reveal them all.