A Reluctant Belle ~ Review

A Reluctant Belle
The Daughtrey House #2
By Beth Wise

Joelle Daughtry wants to bring education to those recently freed from the bonds of slavery - there is just one problem most of Tupelo, Mississippi, doesn't agree with her. In fact, she's considered by some to be the oddest of the Daughtrey girls. In the opinion of most Joelle thinks too much and has none of the necessary skills that a proper young lady should have with her head always deep in some book only appropriate for the facilities of the male brain. Her looks are her only redeeming quality though she seldom does much to properly display them.

With her sisters, Selah and Aurora, Joelle has begun to turn their family home into a resort. And she offers classes to their former slaves - after all if they can read and understand they will make decisions based on their own knowledge and not taken advantage of. Now if only women could get the vote... And Joelle is determined to influence those in Tupelo to her way of thinking with pieces that she secretly writes for the local newspaper. If her secret is ever discovered it could be disastrous not only for her but Daughtry House. And if the Klan finds out it could bring danger to all whom Joelle holds dear.

Schuyler Beaumont has become a partner in Daughtry House providing the funds the sisters needed to finance this restoration. To his way of thinking the Daughtry sisters are as close to his family as if they were family. And his ongoing war of words with Joelle is the highlight of any interaction with her, at least it was before he discovered that his heart had taken a fancy to her unique ways. But with her promise given to another, he knows that his friendship with her at its end - if only he didn't think she had made a mistake.

When a bullet ends his father's life Schuyler knows that if the truth about what happened is to be known he'll need to act. With racial tensions high and the Klan aggravating the locals discovering the truth just might cost him everything. But how far is he willing to go for the truth and justice?

This is a historical fiction piece that is set during the turbulent years of Reconstruction in the Post Civil War South. People are hurting on both sides and anger is simmering just below the surface being feed by fear and rhetoric. And those hiding in the shadows are more than willing to threaten all who stand in the way of their plans and no cost is too great to restore the South to its former glory.

This is a well-written book that doesn't shy away from presenting the harsh realities of what the post-war South was like. The characters are complex and well-developed - even some of the less-likable ones can elicit sympathy (briefly).  Able to be read as a standalone but better with the background of the first book.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

Joelle Daughtry has a secret.

By day, the impoverished Southern belle has been helping her sisters in their quest to turn the run-down family plantation into a resort hotel after the close of the Civil War. But by night and under a male pseudonym, she has been penning articles for the local paper in support of constructing a school for former slaves. With the Mississippi arm of the Ku Klux Klan gaining power and prestige, Joelle knows she is playing a dangerous game.

Loyalties shift when Schuyler Beaumont, childhood enemy and current investor in the Daughtry House renovation, takes over his assassinated father's candidacy for state office. Joelle finds that in order to protect her family and her home, she and Schuyler will have to put aside their longstanding personal conflict and develop a united public front. The trouble is, what do you do when animosity becomes respect--and even love--if you're already engaged to someone else?