Review: Romance Under the Oaks by B. J. Robinson
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 14, 2014
Romance Under the Oaks by B. J. Robinson is the story of Jacques Roman who loves the quiet country life and his wife Celina who loves the glamour of New Orleans, especially the grand balls and the shopping. Jacques buys a choice piece of land and builds a magnificent home near the banks of the Mississippi River in Vacherie, Louisiana. There are twenty-eight live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss that form a walkway from the river to the house that is named Live Oaks Plantation. Celina is not completely happy living in the bayou and she travel to New Orleans to attend balls and shop and leaves her two small children at home with the nanny. To be fair she did shape up during the war, even helping at the Union hospital that was located in one of the plantation homes very near her home. She also cared for her slaves and treated many of them like family, even teaching some to read even though it was not legal. But when her life took a tragic turn, she tried to make life better by going on a shopping spree in New Orleans which brought the plantation to the brink of bankruptcy.The author brings the characters to life and in fact Celina was so real that I really did not like her all that much but she did become more likeable later in the story. I liked Jacques from the very beginning for he was such a laid back man who just wanted to enjoy the simple life in the country with his wife and children. All the characters came to life in the story and I could almost feel all the emotions that ran through the entire story. B. J. did an excellent job in the description of all the action scenes. I was right there in the middle of what was happening, especially when the characters were dealing with the Yankees.I recommend this book to everyone that likes a good romantic and historical novel that takes place during the Civil War.Thanks to the author, B. J. Robinson, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.