Lacewood: A haunting love story that sweeps across centuries: Romantic Small Town Southern Fiction

Award-winning Civil War romance author Jessica James returns with a powerful book club novel about love and loss, roots and belonging...and spirits of the past that refuse to be quieted.Winner of the 2020 John Esten Cooke Award for Southern FictionTwo people trying to escape their pasts, find a connection through an old house and a destiny through the secrets it shares.MOVING TO A SMALL TOWN is a big change for New York socialite Katie McCain. But when she stumbles across Lacewood, an abandoned 200-year-old mansion in small-town Virginia, she’s enthralled by the enduring beauty of the neglected estate—and captivated by the haunting portrait of a woman in mourning she finds there. Katie buys the house on a whim and throws herself into befriending the colorful characters in the southern town of New Hope.THE PAST AND PRESENT converge when military veteran and hometown hero Will Durham returns and begins his own healing process by helping restore the memory-filled Lacewood house to its former glory. As Katie delves deeper into the mystery of the beautiful "widow of Lacewood," her ownership of the acreage around the estate comes into question. When developers begin work to destroy the beautiful rural landscape, the southern charm of New Hope is threatened...and the townsfolk see her as the cause.But destiny has bigger plans for Lacewood. To fulfill them, Katie and Will need to piece together the previous owner’s heartrending story, uncover secrets the house has held for centuries, and find the faith to accept their own painful pasts.Part contemporary romance and part Civil War historical romance, Lacewood: A Novel of Time and Place is an unforgettable book club novel about love and loss, roots and belonging…and spirits of the past that refuse to be quieted.A haunting story that connects the past with the present—and the present with eternity."Strong storytelling prose." - The BookLife Prize"Highly recommended for lovers of romantic stories full of history, mystery, faith, and most of all, true hearts." -Virginia Campbell, Goodreads reviewer"What a wonderfully absorbing read! The story is very good as it masterfully unfolds and draws the reader into the past history of an old abandoned home." - Jan, Amazon reviewer"This is a lovely story of healing & hope with a hint of spiritual guidance in the paranormal as well as Providential sense." - BookBub reviewer