A Reluctant Belle by Beth White continues the Daughtry House Series.  It takes place during the reconstruction period of the Civil War.  If you haven’t read the first book, you can pick this one up and follow it just fine, but there is a much better understanding of characters and their motivations if you read the first book.

The book tackles many of the hard issues of the day that still continue in varying forms today.  Racial prejudice and sexual discrimination play prominent roles in this story.  Beth White does not sugar coat some of the harsh realities of living in the Deep South. 

This story takes a while to develop and it does feel a little sluggish, but eventually it gets moving.  At times readers may want to reach into the book and give a few characters a solid shake.  As a whole, this is a solid second addition to the series.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Revell

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None 

Violence/Gore:  A character reports that another has been shot and killed; There is a five page scene in which lots of gunfire is exchanged, throats are slit and there is a description of someone’s gore being blasted all over a wall; multiple times where a man is tied up, and either threaten or whipped and beaten; a church is burned by an arsonist; several instances where a character threatens to shoot another with a gun; buildings are set on fire as part of acts of hatred.

Sex/Nudity:  Non-married character imagines unbuttoning a woman’s dress and sliding it off, no further details; it is mentioned that a woman is raped; non-married characters kiss and embrace.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of parents; Ku Klux Klan; racial hatred; sexual discrimination.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Several characters are drunk; characters have ale with a meal.