To Wager Her Heart, Belle Meade Plantation Series by Tamera Alexander and published by Zondervan.
Set in Nashville’s historic Belle Meade Plantation, Alexandra is a young southern woman of wealthy upbringing in Nashville. She lives with her parents. Her father is controlling and is pushing her to marry a man older than her. Alexandra’s brother died during the Civil War and her fiancé died in a train accident. She tries to live in his example to follow her original dreams and goes into teach at the Freedman’s school of Fisk University. Alexandra meets Sylas Rutledge, the new owner of the East Line Railway who is eager for her to teach him all she knows about high society. As feelings start to stir, she wonders if the two can fulfill their dreams and be together.
