She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell

Set in the 1890s, during the Gilded Age. 

Clara Carter and Lizzie Barnes, both barely 17, are best friends, have been all their lives.  Their mothers were friends, until Clara's mother dies.  Clara's aunt, and Lizzie's mother decide that each girl should be presented to society, by debuting a year early, in hopes that they snare the heir of the De Vries fortune as their husband.  This puts Clara and Lizzie as rivals, and both the aunt and mother try to keep them separated, though it doesn't always work. Clara meets Franklin  De Vries the heir, and his younger brother, Henry.  She and Lizzie are the two Debutantes who attract a lot of attention, including Franklin, and both are  pushed to entice Franklin to choose them.  Who will he choose? And does Clara really want him to choose her.
Along the way, Clara learns much about herself, her mother who died when she was very young, and the father who turns out to be nothing like what she always thought he was.  The subplot is very interesting, and it made the whole book.

Bethany House Publishers
392 pages
I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House to read and review, no other compensation was received.  I am not required to write a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.