16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable little read., May 23, 2009
This review is from: A Bride in the Bargain (Paperback)
What a sweet little book this is. No really. Throughout the book I kept thinking to myself, "oh, how sweet." Surprisingly enough this didn't make me roll my eyes and toss the book over my shoulder. You see, to me sweet usually means blah, or boring, or possibly a diabetic coma, but not this time. What saves it from being too good to be true is the author's attention to historical detail. She doesn't pretty it up a whole lot which makes the secondary cast of characters much more human, therefore much more interesting.
I loved the use of Mercer's Girls to drive the story forward, but it's only the catalyst for the meaty part of the book. This is a true love story; love of self, friends, land, career, children and spouse. The only thing that bothered me about this book is that the hero and heroine are a bit unbelievable. Both are a little too good to be true and carry enough guilt to fell a horse. Anna's feelings of responsibility for her deceased family rang especially untrue and I wish the author had resolved the issue much sooner than she did.
I can't say this is the best book I've ever read or that I want to tell all my friends to run right out and buy it, but it's a solid read. I found it to be an enjoyable and comfortable book. And since my interests tend toward action, excitement and steamy love scenes, that's saying something.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Short and sweet, May 20, 2009
This review is from: A Bride in the Bargain (Paperback)
Orphaned and jobless, Anna answers an ad in a New York newspaper. The ad is searching for "domestics, nannies, or teachers" to come out west to work in the Northwest territory. She is told she will be cooking for a lumberjack camp near Seattle. Little does she know that the lumberjack camp owner has actually sent for a wife, and is expecting one when she steps off the boat.
Set mostly in rural Seattle in the 1860s, A Bride in the Bargain is a gentle and quick read. The plot is a bit predictable, but still interesting if you like this sort of book. I would recommend it for fans of the historical fiction/romance genre.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Excellent Deeanne Gist Book!, May 22, 2009
This review is from: A Bride in the Bargain (Paperback)
If you enjoy Deeanne's book then you will again feel this is another excellent book! It is written when Seattle, WA was just a Territory and the main character comes West thinking she is going to be just a cook. This is complicated by the fact that she has had her passage paid for by a man who thinks he has a "bride" coming for him. He NEEDS this bride to keep his acreage and his lumbermill that he has worked YEARS for ... then to complicate matters, of course, he ends up falling in love with her. I enjoyed this book ... and where is was not a deep book it was a fun book to read ... sometimes it is nice to read a lightheartbook that one just enjoys to read for no reason at all except to enjoy and this book is one of those! Deeanne's books often are this type of book ... they aren't deep but they give you a good feeling and are easy to read and enjoyable with good characters!
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