Hey y’all! I haven’t been reading much lately, and it’s been reflected here on my blog. So sorry about that. Anyways, I have a brand new update for you, with three reviews. That’s right, three. Let’s get to it!
This is the Mail-Order Bride series by Joan Johnston (find her website here), and it’s part of her Bitter Creek saga. This is actually a prequel series to the contemporary one; it tells the tale of how their feud started and why the ranch is called Bitter Creek. It’s not important to know or read the contemporary series to enjoy the Mail-Order Brides
First up is Texas Bride
Miranda Wentworth becomes a mail-order bride to save her family from an orphanage in Chicago. She leaves her three sisters behind and takes her two younger brothers with. Her groom has no idea she’s bringing along children and she concocts a plan to hide them from him. Jake Creed has his own secret- a young daughter from his previous marriage, whom Miranda doesn’t know about. Sparks fly when they both discover the other’s secret.
I enjoyed this one the most out of the three that I’ve read. The Quality was very good, I enjoyed the plot. The pacing was excellent, I have no complaints there. There was character development, but not as much as I wanted, which lowered the overall enjoyment of the novel.
In total, I give it 4 stars.
Wyoming Bride
Hannah Wentworth, Miranda’s younger sister, actually marries a mail-order husband and goes west with him, because they haven’t heard from Miranda in months. Her two sisters, Hetty and Josie come with them. Bad things happen to them, including the death of Hannah’s husband, and they all get separated from each other.
Flint Creed finds her wandering in the desert. He’s Jake’s brother, and he’s currently pining after a woman his own brother is now engaged to marry. He promises to help Hannah find her sisters, but his heart might just get tangled up too. Things get worse when Flint realizes that Hannah has a secret of her own–she’s pregnant.
What I disliked about this book is how much focus there was on Flint’s brother and his fiancee. In the end, it made sense why, but I wanted to read about Hannah and Flint falling in love, not the squabbles about two people who aren’t sure they love each other. The distracting secondary viewpoints took away from the overall enjoyment, as well as partially from the plot and character developments.
3 Stars
Montana Bride
Hetty, Hannah’s twin sister, ends up going north with two orphan children. They’re travelling with a matron who’s planning on being a mail-order bride. Things change when the matron dies unexpectedly, and the children beg Hetty to take her place. Hetty agrees only to keep the children safe.
Hetty meets her intended, but is startled at his plain appearance. His friend is much more attractive. Hetty does all she can to convince her husband that she’s not giving his friend her favors and that the two kids are actually hers. Eventually, her husband finds out she’s been lying to him. Maybe they’ll work it out and perhaps they never will.
Karl is actually quite my favorite, even though he’s not a dashing romance hero I’ve come to anticipate. He grew on my slowly and surely. Plot, Quality, and Pacing were all quite good. However, I really disliked Hetty and the choices she made. I eventually liked her, but they never discussed who it was that Hetty loved and got killed back in Wyoming Bride. Karl still doesn’t know why Hetty cried out that name, and that’s irritating to me.
4 stars
The last one, Blackthorne’s Bride, which follows the last sister Josie, will be released on June 27th, 2017.
Pre-order: Amazon or B&N
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