A Beauty So Rare

Author: Tamera Alexander
Publication date: March 25, 2014
Series: Belmont Mansion #2
Pages: 471
Genre: Historical, Romance, Christian
Synopsis: Plain, practical Eleanor Braddock 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.

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My Opinion

After finishing To Whisper Her Name (excellent book!), I decided to try out A Beauty So Rare. And lets just say, I love Tamera’s historical’s based in the south centered on or after the events of the Civil War. She is just magnificent on her storytelling.

The book stars out with Eleanor in medical tent tending to the wounded soldiers. The way Tamera wrote that scene with the dieing soldier, I could just picture that scene in my head, which created a sad feeling inside me. Very well written.

I didn’t think I would like Marcus’s character as well as I did since he was Austrian and not a good ‘ol southern boy but I was wrong! I ended up really liking him and enjoying his witty humor towards Eleanor and how he decided to seek her out due to that she snubbed him – which no other woman has ever done before, it was a first for him and because of that, it peeked his interest in her. I also loved how he befriended and treated her father, which warmed my heart.

And the ring….how sweet what he had inscribed (Best friends makes the best lovers) on the inside of it. Cue the awww moment!

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought an I can’t wait for more of Tamera’s historical’s centered around the South/Civil War.