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The Anonymous Bride (2010)

by Vickie McDonough(Favorite Author)

3.93 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

160260696X (ISBN13: 9781602606968)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Barbour Books

series

Texas Boardinghouse Brides

review 1: Luke returns home to Lookout after years of the calvary and needs to find a way to forgive his childhood sweetheart, Rachel. Now she has a daughter and is running the boardinghouse. Luke's cousins think that inviting a mail-order bride(which became three) for Luke will be the right fix for the new sheriff. When the town decides to have a contest to see which one would be the perfect bride, Rachel must decide to compete also. The first book in a 3 part series.367 pages
review 2: So when I put this book down a week ago (or rather, I closed the file because it was an ebook), I wasn't sure what I thought. I liked it, I kept reading it and I finished it. But I wasn't sure. So I didn't review it right away.So now I've thought it over and I've reread certain parts ... more-- I have to say that I enjoyed it. It's a Western historical, which is one of my favorite genres but I have trouble finding really good ones. What kept me back just a little was that about halfway through I realized it was a Christian Western historical and I've never read one of those (or anything related to the Christian genre). The closest I've come is Catherine Anderson's latest series, the Harrigans and I haven't been blown away by it.That being said, the Christian element didn't feel forced and that's making the different in my reaction to the book. I liked the characters, I thought the plot was enjoyable and it was a good set up for what I assumed (before I even looked it up) was a series, starring the other brides.Luke Davis is returning to Lookout, Texas, after a stint in the army. He left behind a childhood sweetheart who up and married another man with no warning, breaking Luke's heart. Rachel Hamilton is now a widow with a small daughter, Jacqueline, who shows every sign of being an out of control tomboy (and she insists on being called Jack). Luke's life is further complicated when his cousins decide he needs to married and set out to order him some mail order brides. The brides arrive (Ellie, Shannon and Carly) to find out Luke doesn't even know they're coming.McDonough introduces each bride with their own chapter, and illustrates clearly why they would uproot themselves and go to Texas to become a mail order bride (and further more, why they'd go through the competition part together later). She also does a believable job keeping the reader guessing as to Rachel's reason for marrying James Hamilton (though you do find out about halfway in what happened, Luke doesn't until closer to the end).I also enjoyed Luke's path to trying to forgive Rachel, as he doesn't know the circumstances and think she's married for wealth and comfort.The conflict at the end with Carly's brother seems just a little too neatly wrapped up for my tastes, but it wasn't annoyingly so. I do feel that the Christian element (at least for me) because just a tad over handed when Rachel tells Luke that Carly should go free because she's handed herself over to the Lord. That seems just a bit too much for me. But then again, I'm not really the target demographic as I'm a Catholic by name onlyAll that said, it was an enjoyable story and I'm happy to find a new author for Western historicals. I will be picking up the next books to find out what happens to Ellie and Shannon, and get a glimpse into Jacqueline's future. less

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