Carole J. (PianoLady357) reviewed The Magnolia Duchess (Gulf Coast Chronicles, Bk 3) on + 157 more book reviews
Beth White has another winner with The Magnolia Duchess actually, the whole series is a winner with me. Each story is highly entertaining and can stand alone because of different generations being featured, but reading the series in order will provide the most fulfilling reading experience. Book #2, The Creole Princess, was my favorite by a slight edge and it was wonderful to see Rafa and Lyse again, "still in love with one another after more than thirty years, eyes flirting, finishing one another's sentences."
Beth brings the early American Gulf Coast setting to life with a knowledge and passion about this area that I found fascinating. I mean, who knew that the Pensacola/Mobile/New Orleans area had such a tumultuous past with English, French and Spanish involvement in the fight for control? Add Indian tribes and pirates to the mix and things get even crazier. The Magnolia Duchess is a perfect blend of wartime themes and personal stories, with the essential military elements never becoming overpowering.
Romance fans will certainly be pleased with not one, but three exciting relationships. Great chemistry between Charlie and Fiona! "Charlie's sudden arrival had yanked aside the curtain of time, flung open the window, and all but blinded Fiona." Rafa and Lyse's daughter, Maddy, and Desi, General Jackson's interpreter, are strong secondary characters. Their romance is one of my favorite parts.
As I think back over this story, the words freedom and patriotism come to mind. There's an emotional complexity involved because it was a time in which loyalties were divided, and hearts struggled with the conflict over duty vs. feelings.
"Could one really go to sleep as a Briton and awaken as an American? How to settle the conflict between responsibility and treason?" (Charlie)
I loved how Charlie grew spiritually, but there was something especially moving in seeing things afresh through Charlie's eyes, things we sometimes take for granted. . . A commissioned officer in His Majesty's service gradually coming to understand the value America placed on freedom, and that Americans wouldn't give up.
Recommended to all who enjoy historical romance.
Thank you to Revell for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Beth brings the early American Gulf Coast setting to life with a knowledge and passion about this area that I found fascinating. I mean, who knew that the Pensacola/Mobile/New Orleans area had such a tumultuous past with English, French and Spanish involvement in the fight for control? Add Indian tribes and pirates to the mix and things get even crazier. The Magnolia Duchess is a perfect blend of wartime themes and personal stories, with the essential military elements never becoming overpowering.
Romance fans will certainly be pleased with not one, but three exciting relationships. Great chemistry between Charlie and Fiona! "Charlie's sudden arrival had yanked aside the curtain of time, flung open the window, and all but blinded Fiona." Rafa and Lyse's daughter, Maddy, and Desi, General Jackson's interpreter, are strong secondary characters. Their romance is one of my favorite parts.
As I think back over this story, the words freedom and patriotism come to mind. There's an emotional complexity involved because it was a time in which loyalties were divided, and hearts struggled with the conflict over duty vs. feelings.
"Could one really go to sleep as a Briton and awaken as an American? How to settle the conflict between responsibility and treason?" (Charlie)
I loved how Charlie grew spiritually, but there was something especially moving in seeing things afresh through Charlie's eyes, things we sometimes take for granted. . . A commissioned officer in His Majesty's service gradually coming to understand the value America placed on freedom, and that Americans wouldn't give up.
Recommended to all who enjoy historical romance.
Thank you to Revell for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
