Two timelines, one wedding veil, and four independent women…

The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Genre/Categories/Settings: Historical Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction, North Carolina, Virgin Islands

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary of The Wedding Veil:

A beautiful wedding veil connects dual timelines in this multi-generational story. The story opens as Julia anticipates her wedding and wearing a special veil, a family heirloom, that is believed to bring luck to the bride and ensure that she is marrying the love of her life. However, on her wedding day, a distraught Julia ends up as a runaway bride escaping to the Virgin Islands to reevaluate her love life. The past timeline (1914) introduces us to the Vanderbilt family as Edith is managing the estate after her husband’s sudden death and Cornelia, her free-spirited daughter, is torn between fulfilling her family obligations and striking out on her own. The Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina features prominently in both timelines.

My Thoughts:

Biltmore Estate

In some historical fiction stories, it’s the setting that provides the historical content. If you live on the East Coast of the U.S. or traveled there, have you been able to tour the Biltmore Estate? In this story, it’s interesting to read about Edith’s efforts and determination to save the estate in the early 1900s. Julia, our modern-day bride, sees a picture of a veil at the Biltmore Estate and suspects that it’s the same veil that’s been passed between generations of women in her family. But how could that be? What’s the connection between the Vanderbilts and her family?

Four Independent Women

Characters in The Wedding Veil include four independently-minded women. The present-day timeline features Julia and her grandmother, Babs. Their relationship is heartwarming and supportive. The past timeline is focused on Edith Vanderbilt and her daughter and their fragile relationship. Edith is devoted to the preservation of the Estate while her daughter can’t embrace the burden of that inheritance and yearns to carve out her own future.

The Wedding Veil

Both storylines feature the wedding veil and throughout the story, we are curious how the Vanderbilt veil ends up in Julia’s family. Is there a special item that has been passed down in your family?

Histfic/Romance

The Wedding Veil is a mashup of historical fiction and romance. The past timeline satisfies histfic fans and two romances in the present-day timeline appeal to fans of contemporary (mostly closed-door) romance. The only connections between the timelines are the setting (Biltmore Estate) and the veil. This reads like two separate stories.

Recommendation

Readers who appreciate a well-written and engaging story and a histfic/romance mashup will enjoy The Wedding Veil. Fans of Kristy Woodson Harvey will want this new release on their TBR.

Related: Two stories that focus on a wedding dress that you might also enjoy are The Gown by Jennifer Robson and The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan.

My Rating:  4 Stars

More Information for The Wedding Veil Here

Meet the Author, Kristy Woodson Harvey

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of seven novels including UNDER THE SOUTHERN SKY, FEELS LIKE FALLING, and the Peachtree Bluff Series. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing and a finalist for the Southern Book Prizeer. Her work has been optioned for film and her books have received numerous accolades.

She loves connecting with readers on kristywoodsonharvey.com.

Harvey is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism and holds a master’s in English from East Carolina University, with a concentration in multicultural and transnational literature.

The author is a proud member of the Tall Poppy Writers, serves on the board of Beaufort Historical Association, and is a member of the University of North Carolina’s Women’s Leadership Council. She is a frequent speaker at fundraisers, book conferences, and private events. Harvey lies in North Carolina with her husband and seven-year-old son where she is working on her next novel.

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QOTD:

Is The Wedding Veil on your TBR or have you read it?
Are you a fan of Kristy Woodson Harvey?

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