Josette by Kathleen Bittner Roth

I was intrigued by Josette because of the New Orleans setting. I lived just outside of New Orleans, and while I don't miss the humidity and the bugs, I do miss the culture and history from that extremely unique city. To find a historical romance not set in Scotland or England is rare, so I immediately grew excited for this book.

The story itself is intriguing. Cameron and Josette have a past, albeit a little turbulent. His long-lost (and not known about) child brings the two of them together, and they have a second chance for love. It was a slow burn, which I always prefer. I don't always like second chance romances because the pining gets to be a bit much for me, but the suspense and twists and turns and secrets kept me engaged through to the very end. I loved the southern touches and the food descriptions, too!

I always love books that are set in the south but especially the southern belle type of heroines and plus their gowns are just beautiful. I found that this author handled the issues so well in this story with the level of sensitive topic it deserved while also delivering a wonderful historical romance that just won my heart. I definitely will be checking out this author much more and see how she handles her other books that are connected to this one and see more depths to the relationship built here.

Good pre-Civil War tale taking in one of my favorite cities -- New Orleans ... enjoyable easy read, lots of local color, good story and well-developed characters ... I recommend the entire series.