To Have and To Hold Bridal Veli Island by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

To Have and to Hold by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

This is the first novel in the Bridal Veil Island series. This is a fictional island near Savannah, Georgia.  The name Bridal Veil refers to how the Spanish moss on the trees look like the lace of a brides veil. I happen to love this part of the country--so I have a natural curiosity about that area. I am also a fan of Eugenia Price novels which all take place in St. Simons Island or Savannah. So the comparison occurred naturally for me. I would say this novel is not quite as epic as a Eugenia Price novel. It takes place in a shorter period of time and almost everything occurs on the island or on the nearby coastal city.

I really enjoyed the main character, Audrey. She seems lost on her native soil after returning home having been raised in the North following the civil war. Her father had moved his young family north to make a living for his family after the island and the South are destroyed by the civil war. Instead of prosperity in construction, he found a life of alcoholism and the loss of his wife. Prior to moving with her father to their ancestral home, Audrey is a household servant. She comes to Bridal Veil to be with her father in his new life of faith and sobriety. I liked that she is able to forgive her father, but is still haunted with prejudices and suspicions. I like that she has a struggle to imagine the worse and let the proposed drama get the best of her. She is also old for a heroine in this time period. She is in her late twenties and never been married at a time when most barely teens are becoming wives and mothers.

Audrey and her father in order to relieve a family tax burden begin to take in boarders as their northern friends begin to build on the part of the island that the family sold long ago. This brings many men to the island which begins the drama for Audrey. This is even more complicated by a family friend "Aunt Thora" who hated northerners especially after the war. There are opportunities for love, dealing with prejudices, mistrusting people,a mystery and dealing with loss.

Sometimes the novel seemed a little predictable like with the title you are sure there is a wedding coming.  I did like that the faith seemed genuine and a part  of their lives unlike many inspirational novels where it is sometimes seems to be in the background.

I could relate to the character and her struggles. So for me it taught me when I am to quick to figure out a situation or to judge someone when I do not have a clear picture. then I like Audrey let my imagination run wild. I need to hold by every thought captive to Christ. I'm so thankful he forgives me. Oh grace it is amazing!!

I received no compensation for this review other than the book that I did receive free from Bethany House.