VENICE

If you are a fan of Rhys Bowen, Kristin Hannah, Nancy Bilyeau, or Amy Harmon, you will revel in this story of love, the brutality of The Great War, extreme greed and deception, and how Venice Arial will again believe in the power of forgiveness.

Born into wealth and privilege, Venice Arial is a product of the elite society in New Orleans, and lives a life arranged for her and rigidly overseen by her hateful mother, Lorraine. Venice feels her home, Arial Mansion, is a palatial prison, and her only escape is the family’s summer home, Belle-Haven, on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain.

While at Belle-Haven in the summer of 1916, Venice meets and falls deeply in love with a poor local boy, Etienne Armand. After Venice and Etienne are viciously torn apart by her mother, they meet unexpectedly in New Orleans. They are soon married but are faced with another hurdle- The Great War.

With Etienne overseas, Venice has a child and tries to become self-reliant, but after no letter from Etienne in months, she is desperate for any word on her husband- until the dire information of his death arrives by telegram.

After many years of denial and grief, Venice remarries but learns that her second husband has concealed traumatic and heartbreaking secrets from her. Will she retreat to her beloved Belle-Haven in hopes of starting over, or will she continue to live with the pain and anguish of the past?