Bookrate

Forbidden love. Family secrets. A twist of fate. The stunning generational saga from Belinda Alexandra, bestselling author of Tuscan Rose and White Gardenia. In New Orleans - the city of genteel old houses and ancient oak trees covered in Spanish moss, of seductive night life, of Creole culture, voodoo and jazz - two women separated by time and tragedy will find each other at last.Amanda, orphaned as a child and suffering the loss of her beloved grandmother, has left Sydney in search of a family she never knew.Ruby, constrained by the expectations of society and class, is carrying a lifetime of secrets. Amanda's arrival sparks revelations long buried: a double life, a forbidden love, and a loss that cannot be forgotten.Southern Ruby is a sweeping story of love, passion, family and honour. Alternating in time between the 1950s and the eve of Hurricane Katrina, it is also a tribute to a city heady with mystery, music, and superstition, which has borne the tumults of race and class and the fury of nature, but has never given up hope.PRAISE FOR SOUTHERN RUBY:'This is a big, bold novel with an evocative sense of place that will captivate Alexandra's many fans' Canberra Weekly'For a book with such deep themes, Southern Ruby is an easy read, told in an entertaining narrative that draws us along like a conversation with a close friend. It is a thought-provoking novel that should leave the reader feeling satisfied as well as entertained.' Newtown Review of Books'Unforgettable ... intrigue, passion, betrayal - all the ingredients for a must-read novel. And that is this author's specialty' Woman's Day'A passionate and powerful family saga' Australian Women's Weekly'Filled with glamour, heartbreak, drama and suspense' The Age'Totally enthralling' Herald Sun