Carolina Gold ~ Blog Tour & $100 Visa Cash Card “Carolina Gold” Giveaway

Carolina Gold
by Carolyn Love
ISBN: 978-1401687618
$12.60 (paperback)
$9.99 (kindle)

About the book:

The war is over, but her struggle is just beginning.

Charlotte Fraser returns to her late father’s once-flourishing rice plantation on the Waccamaw River, determined to continue growing the special kind of rice known as Carolina Gold. But Fairhaven Plantation is in ruins, the bondsmen are free, and money is scarce.

To make ends meet, Charlotte reluctantly accepts a position as tutor to the young daughters of Nicholas Betancourt, heir to the neighboring Willowood Plantation. Then Nick’s quest to prove his ownership of Willowood sends Charlotte on a dangerous journey that reveals an old family mystery—and threatens all that she holds dear.

Inspired by the life of a 19th century woman rice planter, Carolina Gold continues Dorothy Love’s winning tradition of weaving together mystery, romance, and rich historical detail, bringing to life the story of one young woman’s struggle to restore her ruined world.

My thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book for the historical value as well as the romance & action in the story - although I have to say it took me a while to figure out what the title "Carolina Gold" is referring to. 

Carolina Gold takes place during the aftermath of the Civil War with Charlotte returning to her late father's plantation. The characters in the story are strong - you have the slaves who are still thought to be lazy and disloyal to the slave owners, you have children no longer in school and you have plantations that are being foreclosed on - they lie in ruins and many plantation owners have given up or after fighting in the war they are no longer fit mentally or physically to run their own plantations. Charlotte steps forward as a strong woman with a good head on her shoulders - she is determined to pay off the loan she took out to grow rice and ends up teaching two little girls from a plantation down the road. When their father disappears she takes the girls under her wings and then sets out to find their father.

Carolina Gold is very well written. It's an interesting look at the Civil War Period and the events and struggles that women and families faced after the war. If you know someone that likes period or historical fiction they should enjoy this one. 

Dorothy is very detailed and her writing makes you feel like you are witnessing the story first hand. She also wrote another favorite book that I've reviewed - Every Perfect Gift and is fast becoming a favorite historical author of mine.  Find out more about Dorothy at http://dorothylovebooks.com/. 

Readers are invited to join Dorothy Love on January 14, 2014 at 8:00 PM EST for a live Facebook chat. More details will be available soon on her Facebook page (Dorothy Love Books).

Between January 3–14, visit Dorothy Love’s Facebook Page to enter to win a new giveaway each day and be entered to win the $100 Visa Cash Card grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Facebook Author Chat party on January 14th! (Don’t have a Facebook account?Enter here.)

Dislaimer: I was offered a copy of Carolina Gold to read and review on GivingNSharing in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to have a positive review & no $$ exchanged hands.