Palmetto Moon by Kim Boykin

After reading several suspenseful mysteries, I decided I needed to read a light-hearted romance and that is exactly what I found by reading Palmetto Moon.

Amazon Description

June, 1947. Charleston is poised to celebrate the biggest wedding in high-society history, the joining of two of the oldest families in the city. Except the bride is nowhere to be found…

Unlike the rest of the debs she grew up with, Vada Hadley doesn’t see marrying Justin McLeod as a blessing—she sees it as a life sentence. So when she finds herself one day away from a wedding she doesn’t want, she’s left with no choice but to run away from the future her parents have so carefully planned for her.

In Round O, South Carolina, Vada finds independence in the unexpected friendships she forms at the boarding house where she stays, and a quiet yet fulfilling courtship with the local diner owner, Frank Darling. For the first time in her life, she finally feels like she’s where she’s meant to be. But when her dear friend Darby hunts her down, needing help, Vada will have to confront the life she gave up—and decide where her heart truly belongs.

Review

Having the story set in 1947 Charleston gave everything a classic southern charm that really added to the characters and setting. After watching the Notebook when I was younger, I have always wished that men were still as gentlemanly as they were in the 1940's, but there is no way I would want them having some of the beliefs as Vada Hadley's father and fiance Justin. Come on- they blatantly laughed at the idea of a woman being a man's equal and partner in marriage. In Justin's words, a wife should be "submissive." Justin also thought the wife was the only person in a marriage that should be monogamous. Yeah, he really said those things. 

Vada Hadley is a woman by my own heart in this story. She is learning how to stand up for herself and what she wants out of life. She is also one of the most caring women I've read about when it comes to taking care of her friends and those she loves. 

If you have not read Palmetto Moon and enjoy a good romance, this is a good one to choose.