Belle Meade Plantation Novels · Book 2
To Win Her Favor
2016 Christy Award Finalist | 2016 Library Journal Starred Review | 2016 Audie Award Winner Best Inspirational | 2016 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award Winner | Named Top 15 Novels of 2015
Zondervan · 2015 · ★ 4.33/5 on Goodreads (4,800+)
A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race, Maggie Linden is determined that her horse will become a champion. But the one man who could help her has vowed to stay away from thoroughbred racing forever.
An Irishman far from home, Cullen McGrath left a once-prosperous life in England because of a horse racing scandal that nearly ruined him. He has come to Nashville for a fresh start—but starting over proves harder than he wagered, especially when Maggie Linden's father makes him an offer he cannot possibly refuse.
Maggie is certain that her mare, Bourbon Belle, can take the top purse in the inaugural Peyton Stakes, the richest race ever run in America. To give her that chance—and to save Linden Downs from being sold to the highest bidder—Maggie's father makes a barter with one tiny, troublesome detail: Maggie must marry a man she has never met. A man she never would have chosen for herself.
Set against the real history of Nashville's historic Belle Meade Plantation, To Win Her Favor is a passionately stirring, highly acclaimed marriage-of-convenience story involving overcoming post-Civil War obstacles and racial discrimination.
A note for readers: While there is nothing gratuitous in this novel, To Win Her Favor is Tamera's most romantic story to date and contains a greater degree of marital intimacy than her other novels.
Praise for To Win Her Favor
"Alexander continues her ode to the magnificent Belle Meade Plantation, using it to illustrate questions of race, faith, and loyalty that continue to haunt today."
— Publishers Weekly
"Strong characters, a sense of the times, and the themes of love, friendship, and the importance of loyalty and determination make this a triumph."
— Library Journal ★ Starred Review
"I have rarely read a more wonderful book than To Win Her Favor. Rich with historical detail and fully developed characters, this novel held me spellbound until the last page."
— Colleen Coble, USA Today Bestselling Author
"Tamera Alexander has done it again! To Win Her Favor is peopled with fascinating, richly-drawn characters that drew me into their very hearts and souls."
— Deborah Raney