Am I beautiful, Daddy? The cry of every girls heart, young and old, is to hear that their father thinks they are beautiful. As a child Altheas father made sure she knew she was beautiful and cherished. But that all changed the day her parents were killed and she and her sister were taken captive and made slaves in the home of the odious Sir Walter. Because of the girls mixed parentage they were seen as less than human in his eyes, plus he was just evil. He abused the girls in a multitude of ways, until finally Althea is able to escape and make her way by ship to Charleston and start a new life as a healer and physicians assistant. She lives a quiet, happy life and is continually worried that people will discover her past as well as her parentage. For in 1812, black slavery is rampant. Enter Morgan Rutledge, second son of a wealthy plantation owner who is captivated by the beautiful Althea and pursues her despite her reservations and efforts to dissuade him. When his little sister falls ill and none of the doctors can help her, Morgan calls Althea to see what she can do. Althea goes and prays for the little girl, who is almost past the point of no return. Miraculously the little girl is healed and Althea becomes the talk of society. Morgan pursues her even stronger after this, and he finally breaks down her resistance and escorts her to a party, where she begins to admit she is developing feelings for him. Along the way people get jealous of the relationship and sabotage it in various ways that I cant share or else it would give away big plot points :) There is a happily ever after, the best part of which is Morgan ensuring Althea knows that she is beautiful to him and cherished by him no matter what :)
This was a wonderful book that I highly recommend. I laughed, I cried at least twice, and I am contemplating reading it again in the next few weeks. It was a great encouragement to me as I am still on the lookout for my prince, and now I have added a few of Morgans qualities to my list for my prince :) Thank you to the author, MaryLu, for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Share/Like this Review?

Veil of Pearls has a magnificent storyline with a bit of a Cinderella theme but is certainly more realistically told. It also tackles the plight of the slaves as our main protagonist is a runaway slave trying to hide her true identity in efforts to escape an abusive owner and begin a new life for herself. Adalia doesn't fit in right away in her new town of Charleston because high society has taken notice of her.. Morgan Rutledge in particular. He senses a kindred spirit and is immediately entranced by Adalia, much to the chagrin of his admirers. Adalia's fair skin gives no hint that she was once a slave, and the attitude of the day was that slaves were property and nothing more. It is because of the scorn of society that Adalia seeks to hide the very personal reasons behind her stand against slavery, but secrets have a way of coming out at the worst times. Adalia knows in her heart that any courtship would lead to heartbreak or ridicule, and she spurns the wealthy Morgan Rutledge's many chivalrous advances. With each denial, Morgan becomes more and more determined. Meanwhile, the good Dr. Willaby whom Adalia is assisting tells Adalia to stay away from those Rutledges. True love, however, cannot be thwarted, and the two become closer despite the demands of high society. Vicious slave owners, jealous women, sweet slave girls and jovial ship owners are all just a sampling of the mix of characters portrayed in Veil of Pearls. From romance at a ball to heroes of the sea, this is a story that begs the question if we should be shameful of our heritage or embrace it as a gift from God? All together it gives us an important story with purpose, as it teaches that God has a plan. I loved this story of opposite worlds colliding, and it was the first novel from the author that I had read. Based on the writing skill demonstrated here, it won't be my last. Highly recommended!

Original from: http://www.burtonbookreview.com/2012/07/veil-of-pearls-by-marylu-tyndall.html
Copyright BurtonBookReview.com - All Rights Reserved

Share/Like this Review?

New author for me. I enjoyed the backdrop of the story as well as the story line itself. Christian fiction set just before the War of 1812 in the deep south. Predictable "fairy tale" ending, but a good read.

Share/Like this Review?