A Beauty So Rare

The Synopsis:

“Eleanor Braddock, a spinster–plain, practical, no stunning Southern beauty–has 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 Nashville–her aunt, Adelicia Acklen, mistress of Belmont Mansion. A clandestine act of kindness leads Eleanor to an unlikely path for her life–building 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 ground–and 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.“

My Review:

This book is fantastic! Absolutely in my top 5! I knew this book was going to be good as soon as I saw the cover (about the cover, I have always wanted to know how the covers are made so perfectly to match the book, well, here is a blog link to the photo-shoot that was taken specifically for A Beauty So Rare. Enjoy!)

Okay, to my review! The characters in this book were amazing! If you have been following my blog for a while, you probably have it figured out that the characters are always the first thing I look for in a good book, and these were some of the best I have ever read about! The story itself also kept me reading and I loved the setting.

Subplots are also a big deal to me, I sometimes find myself wishing for the subplot to be solved before the overall story is complete! Anyways, A Beauty So Rare has one of the best subplots I have ever read. It wasn't overwhelming the story but you were reminded of it every now and again, keeping you hoping for a good ending. It was also surprising, totally did not see it coming!

The only things that might keep this book at an older audience, are:

A background character commits suicide, but there are no details whatsoever, no one even knows why this characters did so... Also, there is kissing and a few “thoughts” on being married on Eleanor's part, but those are very few.

Again, I loved this book and highly, highly, highly, recommend it to anyone and everyone!

“I received this book from Bethany House publishing for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are my own.”