Impoverished Southern belle Joelle Daughtry has a secret. By day she 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 the construction of a Negro school. With the Mississippi arm of the Ku Klux Klan gaining power and prestige, Joelle knows she is playing a dangerous game.
When childhood enemy and current investor in the Daughtry house renovation Schuyler Beaumont 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?
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 1/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 1/5
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Summary
"Sit down and tell me why you failed to keep my granddaughter from betrothing herself to that young Ichabod Crane."
Joelle Daughtry's accidental-on-purpose betrothal to the Reverend Gil Reese came about with no fireworks or heirloom ring attached; it just might have happened on the rebound after one of her most embarrassing, public humiliation moments, which of course included her childhood nemesis, Schuyler Beaumont. She intended to put as much distance as possible between herself and Schuyler; getting engaged seemed like a practical way to do it, until she finds herself weeping and praying beside a terribly distraught version of her family friend.
In post Civil War torn Mississippi, Joelle has manged to find a way to assert her independent spirit by using her gift of words; surreptitiously submitting potentially inflammatory articles, supporting the education of freedmen, to her local newspaper; thus earning extra money for her family and supplementing her efforts to fund a small school for members of the Daughtry House staff. When Schuyler's determination to solve his father's murder takes him deep into the web of clandestine Klan activities, Joelle and Schuyler come to an important crossroads; "Jesus, have mercy".
Quite possibly Beth White's best book to date, "A Reluctant Belle" skillfully navigates the treacherous waters of political and social discrepancies during the volatile years of reconstruction following the end of the Civil War. Adding a toe tingling romantic triangle to the mix was just the right ingredient!
I received a copy of this book from Baker Publishing through Interviews and Reviews.