I am drawn to
words, and have never been one to notice book covers and illustrations, not
even in children’s books. Many was the time that my students pointed out an
element of the story provided by the illustrator that I had overlooked.
However, I frequently found myself flipping back to the cover photo of The Magnolia Duchess, inserting the
cover designer’s image into my mental image of the many faces of Fiona Lanier.
(Hmmm, that might make a good subtitle: The Many Faces of Fiona Lanier.) There
is Fiona the horse wrangler, Fiona the patriot, Fiona the nurse, Fiona the
independent, and Fiona the beautiful to name a few. Charlie Kincaid might not
have recalled meeting Fiona prior to the day he washed up on the beach near her
home, but she made a lasting impression during his period of recuperation among
the Lanier family, creating inner turmoil between love of a woman and duty to
his country. Many unexpected events occur as Charlie learns to trust God, and
to trust the plans He has for his life. Just how will Fiona and her family fit
into those plans, or is there a place for them at all? Answering that question
is the reader’s quest.
The Magnolia Duchess is book three in the Gulf Coast
Chronicles series. The series features independent, brave women who work
alongside the men they love to safeguard the growing country they hold dear.
Each book can be read as a stand-alone read, but much pleasure can be had by
reading them all in sequence. Readers will enjoy meeting the Lanier family and
welcoming new generations. It would be amazing if the author continued to
expand the family line. We might even one day meet Fiona’s namesake that we
might identify as Fiona the western pioneer or Fiona the suffragist.
Below are
links to my reviews of the first two books in the series: http://christianfictionandmore.blogspot.com/2014/04/pelicanbrides-by-beth-white-book-review.html
written in April of 2014.
http://www.christianfictionandmore.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-creole-princess-by-beth-white-book.html
written in April of 2015
I thank Revell Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for
providing The Magnolia Duchess for my honest
review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and
the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
