The novel unfolds in dual storylines. Some people don't like this format for novels. I don't mind.
The historical fiction storyline is about the Vanderbilt family, the building and maintaining of Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. Edith Vanderbilt is determined to preserve her husband's legacy after his untimely death. Their daughter, Cornelia, would also like to preserve the legacy, as well as maintain her "safe" home away from the spotlight in the mountains. Until she comes to the realization that she needs to make her own mark on the world.
The romance storyline is about runaway bride, Julia, and her determination to find out more about the history of the wedding veil that her great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother all had worn before her. It was while putting on the wedding veil, which comes with the promise of a "happily ever after" that Julia realizes the guy she's about to marry at, where else, but at the Biltmore, isn't going to be her happily ever after.
It doesn't hurt that Julia and her grandmother, Babs, my favorite character in the novel, have a special connection to the Biltmore. Babs has a mountain home in Asheville. It's a place where both Babs and and Julia go to think about life.
After reading this, I'm more excited than before to make my trip.
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