"The Spice King" by Elizabeth Camden

Gray Delacroix has traveled the globe finding rare and exotic spices, and devoted every minute on home soil reestablishing his family to prominence after the devastation of the Civil War. He doesn't trust the government and wants to manage his spice empire without any interference whatsoever from them.

Family circumstances have brought Annabelle Larkin to Washington, D.C., to work for the Smithsonian Institute. Fascinated by botany, she is lured by the idea of seeing the famous Delacroix greenhouses and the rare species of plants they contain. No matter how taciturn and reclusive Mr. Delacroix may be, Annabelle is determined to find a way into his good graces.

Intrigued by the spunky young woman, Gray allows Annabelle to see a glimpse into his collection—and is surprised when she steals a piece of his heart. Can one poor girl from Kansas truly earn the respect of a globetrotting businessman?

Elizabeth Camden always does a wonderful job finding unique pieces of history around which to center her stories. As this one goes along, it gets into the early fight against adulterated food processing and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It also touches on the political scene of the time in a fascinating way, deftly setting up future stories in this series.

I would highly recommend this to all historical fiction fans.

I received my copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.