Happy Release Day!!
Congrats Kristy
on the release today of
The Wedding Veil!!
The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Historical Fiction, 416 pages
Published March 29, 2022 by Gallery Books
The New York Times bestselling author of Under the Southern Sky and the Peachtree Bluff series brings “her signature wit, charm, and heart” (Woman’s World) to this sweeping new novel following four women across generations, bound by a beautiful wedding veil and a connection to the famous Vanderbilt family.
Four women. One family heirloom. A secret connection that will change their lives—and history as they know it.
Present Day: Julia Baxter’s wedding veil, bequeathed to her great-grandmother by a mysterious woman on a train in the 1930s, has passed through generations of her family as a symbol of a happy marriage. But on the morning of her wedding day, something tells her that even the veil’s good luck isn’t enough to make her marriage last forever. Overwhelmed and panicked, she escapes to the Virgin Islands to clear her head. Meanwhile, her grandmother Babs is also feeling shaken. Still grieving the death of her beloved husband, she decides to move out of the house they once shared and into a retirement community. Though she hopes it’s a new beginning, she does not expect to run into an old flame, dredging up the same complicated emotions she felt a lifetime ago.
1914: Socialite Edith Vanderbilt is struggling to manage the luxurious Biltmore Estate after the untimely death of her cherished husband. With 250 rooms to oversee and an entire village dependent on her family to stay afloat, Edith is determined to uphold the Vanderbilt legacy—and prepare her free-spirited daughter Cornelia to inherit it—in spite of her family’s deteriorating financial situation. But Cornelia has dreams of her own. Asheville, North Carolina has always been her safe haven away from the prying eyes of the press, but as she explores more of the rapidly changing world around her, she’s torn between upholding tradition and pursuing the exciting future that lies beyond Biltmore’s gilded gates.
In the vein of Therese Anne Fowler’s A Well-Behaved Woman and Jennifer Robson’s The Gown, The Wedding Veil brings to vivid life a group of remarkable women forging their own paths—and explores the mystery of a national heirloom lost to time.
My thoughts about The Wedding Veil ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First lines—"June 5, 1879 - Six-year-old Edith Dresser's skates moved heavily, as if she were rolling through sand, across the patterned wool rug in her mother Susan's bedroom."
I love historical fiction and Kristy Woodson Harvey is one of my must-read authors so when I found out that her new book was historical fiction, I was through the roof excited. I couldn't wait to read the story she created. I've loved everything that she has written so I knew this would be excellent.
The Wedding Veil did not disappoint. Four generations sharing the same beautiful wedding veil. Oh, the stories that veil could tell. I loved reading about the love that the veil came to mean to each bride as well as learning about each woman and the lives that they lived. What an amazing group of strong, independent women forging ahead with their lives.
As with any historical fiction story I read, I love learning the actual history that the author has researched and placed into their story. To weave such an entertaining, enlightening story around history is truly special.
I absolutely loved everything about The Wedding Veil and highly recommend it, especially for historical fiction fans. And if you have not read KWH's stories yet, this one would be a great one to start with.
I received a ARC of The Wedding Veil and this is my honest opinion of the book.
About the author
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the bestselling author of Dear Carolina, Lies and Other Acts of Love, Slightly South of Simple, The Secret to Southern Charm and The Southern Side of Paradise. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing, a finalist for the Southern Book Prize, her work has been optioned for film and her books have received numerous accolades.
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. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Southern Living, Traditional Home, Parade, USA Today, Domino, Our State and O. Henry. She has been seen in Today.com, Women’s Health, The Washington Post, US News and World Report, The Huffington Post, Marie Claire’s The Fix, Woman’s World, Readers’ Digest, Bustle, New York Live and North Carolina Bookwatch, among others.
She 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. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and seven-year-old son where she is working on her next novel. ~ Goodreads
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