1867 . . . Southern lawyer and Civil War veteran, Reed Jackson, returns to his family’s plantation in a wheelchair. His father deems him unfit, and deeds the Jackson holdings, including his intended bride, to a younger brother. Angry and bitter, Reed moves west to Fenton, Missouri, home to a cousin with a successful business, intending to start over.
Belle Richards, a dirt poor farm girl aching to learn how to read, cleans, cooks and holds together her family’s meager property. A violent brother and a drunken father plot to marry her off, and gain a new horse in the bargain. But Belle’s got other plans, and risks her life to reach them.
Reed is captivated by Belle from their first meeting, but wheelchair-bound, is unable to protect her from violence. Bleak times will challenge Reed and Belle’s courage and dreams as they forge a new beginning from the ashes of war and ignorance.
Reconstructing Jackson by Holly Bush
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am so pleased I was able to give this a five-star rating. This is the third Holly Bush book I have read, and when I first began reading it, I was afraid I would not like it. It took me a good couple chapters to get into the story, and I guess I was prejudiced. The fact that Holly featured a man as the main character of a romance failed to capture my attention–that is, at first. Once Belle entered the story, I was hooked! And I found myself appreciating Reed for who and what he was.
This book was full of everything that makes an amazing historical novel: romance, humor, social injustice, mystery, and more. This book deals with the horrors of this country following the Civil War. It was something to see a book feature a crippled vet as a main character. I don’t think I realized just how bad things were for the free blacks in this country following the War. My heart bled for the blacks in this book. Yes, there are some derogatory terms used for blacks in this book, but when you take into account the time period, I believe these terms must be used. There are racist people in the book, and then there are those who truly care about these free blacks. And then there are those whose views change.
The romance is unbelievable, and I mean it. I love the fact that a marriage of convenience becomes passionate love. There are some bedroom scenes, but it is typical Holly Bush. The people get married first and then they move to the bedroom–not before! There is some profanity, but it is minimal. I also appreciate the fact that God always makes an appearance in the book. The characters always give credit to God for helping them through difficult times and ultimately changing them.
This is a book that may take some time to get into it, but the book is certainly just as good as her other books. So if you like historical fiction and romance, this is the book for you!
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years and recently worked as the sales and marketing director in the hospitality/tourism industry and is credited with building traffic to capacity for a local farm tour. Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject. Currently, she works in the Quality Assurance Office of a large farming enterprise building databases and writing technical manuals.
Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She writes historical romance novels, all set in the U.S. or Victorian London in the mid to late 1800’s. Her most popular series is The Crawford Family and her newest is The Gentrys of Paradise. She frequently attends writing conferences, and book fairs. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, and is a sponsor of the Lancaster Lady Jane’s Salon held quarterly.
Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, and was a member of her local library board for years. She loves to spend time near the ocean and is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few years her junior.
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1 Comment
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Morning Ruth! Thank you so much for the glowing and thoughtful review. Have a wonderful day!
