A Note Yet Unsung

Starred review from January 30, 2017
Christy Award–winner Alexander crafts a music-lover’s delight in this third Belmont Mansion novel (after A Beauty So Rare), set in the 1870s and featuring Mrs. Adelecia Acklen Cheatham, a woman of fierce independence who loves art, nature, and music. Rebekah Carrington, grieving her grandmother’s death, returns to her Nashville home after a decade of studying music in Vienna. Her relationship with her mother and stepfather is strained, and she is determined to make her own way. When she auditions for the Nashville Philharmonic, Maestro Nathaniel “Tate” Whitcomb praises her performance but slams the door on her hopes because of her gender. Mrs. Cheatham hires Rebekah as a violin tutor for her daughter, but also mandates that she assist the ailing Tate in finishing his symphony, which must be ready for the opening of the new opera house. Rebekah and Tate engage in a battle of wills as soon as they attempt to work together, but they both have too much at stake to walk away from the arrangement. This fast-moving work of inspirational historical romance highlights both classical and Appalachian music. Thanks to Alexander’s vivid writing, one can almost hear the music resonating off of the page.

February 1, 2017

Violinist Rebekah Carrington scores an audition for a position with the Nashville Philharmonic. Unfortunately, in 1871, female musicians are frowned upon because of their "inability" to handle the "rigorous" work. No amount of cajoling can persuade either the conductor, Nathaniel Whitcomb, or Rebekah's new employer, Mrs. Cheatham, the mistress of Belmont Mansion. Devastated at Whitcomb's refusal to let her play, she is less than pleased when he asks her to help him finish a symphony he's writing for his ailing father. However, neither Nathaniel or Rebekah can deny the growing attraction between them. Featuring a swoon-worthy courtship, this delightful historical also offers a vivid portrait of a lesser-known chapter in the 19th-century classical music scene. VERDICT This final entry of Alexander's historical romantic trilogy (A Lasting Impression; A Beauty So Rare) will leave devotees on a high note.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2017
It's 1871, and violin virtuoso Rebekah Carrington has just returned from Vienna after 10 years of study with the masters. Although she has an extraordinary talent, the Nashville Philharmonic won't accept her as a member because she is, after all, a woman. Suffering from increasingly debilitating headaches, conductor Nathaniel Tate Whitcomb sees Rebekah as just one more stress in his life. Yes, she is the most talented violinist he's ever heard, but women have no place in an orchestra. Then Tate becomes so ill he can't finish transcribing the music he hears in his head. Since he's determined to finish his symphony before his ailing father dies, he reluctantly hires Rebekah as his assistant. But Tate has many secrets, as does Rebekah, hidden truths that made her the strong woman she is. Alexander is an inspirational fiction star. Her novels possess a lyricism that draws readers in and keeps them close. As Alexander brings her superb Southern Belmont Mansions series (A Beauty So Rare, 2014) to an end, readers will remember her well-crafted, multi-dimensional characters, especially Rebekah and Tate, long after this tale is finished.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)