About the Book

Book: A Summer at The Niagara of the South

Author: Denise Weimer

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: June 28, 2024

She came to the resort to heal her voice, only to discover her heart needed healing more.

Breaking under the stress of being a rising star, opera singer Grace Galveston travels to Tallulah Falls in search of reprieve. With its multiple waterfalls, spectacular gorge and mountain scenery, and lavish resorts, “The Niagara of the South,” seems the perfect place to do just that. Even amid the crowds and excitement of an aerialist’s attempt to cross the gorge, Grace hopes to find peace.

Daniel Monroe basks in that peace as minister of a local church. He’s the perfect tour guide for Grace during her visit—until his heart gets entangled with the red-haired beauty with an angel’s voice. The trip sheds light on the secret pain in Grace’s heart. And does she even share the faith that’s so vital to his ministry? Can the blessing of friendship and the possibility of love guide her toward healing, or will the call of her life back in New York mean even greater heartbreak?

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My Thoughts:

I really like stepping back in time to the Gilded Age and getting to be a "tourist" through those grand resorts of old. This is the story of Grace Galveston, an opera singer, and Daniel Monroe, the preacher she falls in love with at the Georgia resort of Tallulah Falls.

Grace has a very scarred family. Her northern father married her southern mother after the devastating effects of the Civil War, and there wasn't really peace in their families. Grace never knew her mother, but her Aunt Martha raised her alone. Grace's father is still alive, and they do have some familial relationship repairing to do.

Daniel comes from a very loving family. And when he meets Grace, well he finally has found a woman he would like to marry. However, there are some major roadblocks in their way. Jealousies, of course, others who thought they had a claim on them, and most importantly their beliefs. Even though it was hard, and maybe his words did not come out the way they needed to, Daniel's conversation with Grace about her faith and his was a very crucial moment. It showed the extent of his love for her, and who he was.

I am glad for this visit, even though this resort does not exist anymore, and I am glad for the sweet ending for Daniel and Grace.

I was provided a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review, and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

North Georgia native Denise Weimer has authored over a dozen traditionally published novels and a number of novellas—historical and contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and time slip. As a freelance editor and Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books, she’s helped other authors reach their publishing dreams. A mother of two daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

More from Denise

A Vanished Gilded Age Resort on the Edge of a Gorge

I first discovered Tallulah Gorge in Northeast Georgia when I was a student at Toccoa Falls College, only a couple years before the area was designated a state park. It was considered a perfect place for a day out hiking, tracing whatever faint trail one could find to an overlook into the thousand-foot-deep canyon or down to the series of waterfalls below. The more daring (or crazy) would jump off the rock cliffs into the pools—without a clue that the dangerous currents feeding the rapids had whisked many an adventurer to their death.

As a young mom, I moved to Habersham County and learned that over twenty lavish resorts had clung to the rim of the gorge during Gilded Age and Edwardian times. In fact, Tallulah Gorge with its series of six spectacular falls had drawn people from all over the nation and been dubbed “The Niagara of the South.” To power the city of Atlanta, Georgia Power Company dammed the river and constructed a large hydroelectric facility at the site in 1912, greatly reducing the amount of water flowing through the gorge. In 1921, a fire destroyed most of the hotels and brought an end to the glamorous tourist era.

The idea of recreating on the page something lost to history has inspired many a story idea for me. I had set aside my quest for publication with the birth of my daughters, but Tallulah Falls called to me. I soon penned my first published novella, Redeeming Grace, set during the summer of 1886 when tightrope walker Professor Leon crossed the gorge before a crowd of around six thousand. (The stunt was repeated in 1970 by Karl Wallenda.) That little book was a tiny initial stepping stone on my journey to becoming a multi-published author and editor.

Another more recent novella of mine, A Winter at the White Queen, set at Hotel Belleview in Florida, kicked off Wild Heart Books’ Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts Series in January 2023. It took quite a while for it to dawn on me that after being released from its original contract, Redeeming Grace was pretty much gathering digital dust—and with a light edit and new cover and title, it could perfectly bookend the series. So we give you A Summer at the Niagara of the South, the story of a New York opera singer breaking under the stress of newfound stardom, and the Tallulah Falls minister who doesn’t dare to dream she could fit into his humble world.