FROM AMAZON: Houston in the 1920s is a city of established cotton kings and newly rich oil barons, where the elite live in beaux art mansions behind the gates of Courtlandt Place. Kirby Augustus Allen, grandson of the Allen brothers who founded Houston as a real estate deal, is grooming his daughter Hetty to marry Lamar Rusk, scion of the Splendora oil fortune. Instead, at the No-Tsu-Oh Carnival of 1928, beautiful, rebellious Hetty encounters a mysterious man from Montana dressed in the gear of a wildcatter--an outsider named Garret MacBride.

Hetty is torn between Lamar's lavish courtship and her instinctive connection to Garret. As Lamar's wife she would be guaranteed acceptance to the highest ranks of Houston society. Yet Garret, poor but powerfully ambitious, offers the adventure she craves, with rendezvous in illicit jazz clubs and reckless nights of passion. The men's intense rivalry extends to business, as rumors of a vast, untapped ocean of oil in East Texas spark a frenzy that can make fortunes--or shatter lives and dreams beyond repair.

A sweeping, sumptuous debut that evokes the turmoil and drama rippling through the history of the Lone Star State, Magnolia City is a story of love, greed, jealousy, and redemption, brought to life through the eyes of its unforgettable heroine.

I didn’t notice at first that a man wrote this. I think he writes very well in a woman’s voice, not all men can do that. Magnolia City by Duncan W. Alderson. The book cover looks like a historical romance to me. I love historical fiction and not so much romance so I was a little leery at the beginning. I was worried that there may be too much romance for me. The main character, Esther Arden Allen, aka Hetty, did remind me a little of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. She was flirty and eager to have new experiences. She did seem a bit more intelligent to me than Scarlett O’Hara.

Hetty was living the high social life of Houston in the late 1920s and was really enjoying the new freedoms for women in her social class. She had to decide between the suitor from a very rich family that her parents had picked out and one that she discovered. That one, Garrett McBride, was not rich but had a fire inside of him to succeed. Also, there were family secrets kept from her, even one connected to her birth.

Since that I now live in Texas, I really enjoyed learning about Houston and the social classes at that time period, about the culture that goes with wildcatters and the financiers. Also about the condition of the hospitals care for the blacks back then. The book reminded me a little of Giant too, especially when it got into oil and the events and culture around it. I did enjoy more than I thought I did. The sex scenes were just a tad too graphic for me but once I got past that I loved this book. I enjoyed it enough to want to read more of the author’s books. I think I understand more about Texas now!

The characters were developed and the story is rich with historical details. I highly recommend Magnolia City.

I received this book as a win from FirstReads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in my review. ( )