Customer Reviews

The Anonymous Bride (Texas Boardinghouse Brides, Book 1)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
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There's just something about a mail-order bride story that fills me with more anticipation than a normal romance. Probably because of that unknown factor of the hero and heroine expecting to wed - sometimes within hours - of meeting.

So when Vickie McDonough put out the call for influencers to review a copy of the first book in her Texas Boardinghouse Brides series , I put my hand up faster than a winner does at Bingo.

The Anonymous Bride greatly exceeded everything I hoped for in a romance. Vickie's easy writing style was the perfect vehicle for this historical set in 1886 Lookout, Texas. Visually appealing, the scenes unfolded without laborious descriptions to slow down the pace. And the humor... I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud.

But, what really kept the story close to my heart was the emotional impact the mail-order bride had on the heroine, Rachel Hamilton. Because you see, Rachel wasn't the mail-order bride. Oh, no. Rachel was just the owner of the boardinghouse where the mail-order bride stayed, which meant Rachel was the one to do her laundry, clean her room and cook her meals.

And there wasn't just one mail-order bride trying to marry the man Rachel loved. There were 3 of them.

How could a man be so insensitive and encourage three women to think they were the only one? Well, it certainly wasn't Luke, the town marshal. No, Luke was moseying along minding his own business, wondering what he was going to do about Rachel when the brides begin to appear bearing letters he supposedly wrote. Seems his cousins figured once a new woman was on the scene, Luke would forget all about the love he used to share with Rachel. They didn't figure on three women wanting to marry Luke.

I sympathized with Rachel when she realized her boardinghouse was the only possible place for the hopeful brides to reside. And, I cried buckets when the brides - who travelled so far on faith, each desperate for their own home - put forth their small requests of assistance to Rachel, without realizing their effect on her trampled heart.

And oh, the pain when honorable Luke agrees to pick a bride.

I loved this story. Both Luke and Rachel place their lives in God's hands, trusting He knows best although they may not like it at the time.

Second Chance Brides, Book 2 in the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series, releases Sept. 1st. Yay!

Luke Davis has no idea of the trouble in store for him when he returns to Lookout. This book is an adventure from beginning to end as the new marshal tries to disentangle himself from the scheme devised by his wily cousins.

I especially enjoyed the antics of Jacqueline a little girl who is anxious to add her mother to the mix. The brides are distinctly different in character and the competition between them creates chaos.

I just finished "Anonymous Bride" by Vickie McDonough last week. Over the past year or so, Mrs. McDonough has slowly become one of my favorite authors. Her superb storytelling abilities hook me right away, and don't release me until the very last page. In this story, simmering on the back burner throughout, are greedy men of the Wild West who bend the rules to suit themselves. Their evil deeds pull them like a magnet to vulnerable people and banks in small towns. Luke Davis has just arrived in Lookout, Texas as the new Sheriff. Lookout is a quaint little town that is surrounded by dirt roads, fishin' holes, dense woods and countryside homes. For ten years, Luke has been plagued by an unforgiving heart. He thinks that by returning to his hometown, he can finally sort things out with the local boardinghouse owner, Rachel; then move on with the rest of his life in peace. Sandwiched in the middle of these two lives is Jack, a rambunctious young tomboy, and Max, the dog that no one wanted. Add to the mix, Luke's unpredictable cousins, who decide on the sly that it is their manly duty to find Luke a bride from a newspaper ad! The arrival of more than just one mail-order bride adds unexpected chuckles and major drama to Lookout's tranquility. Vickie's 347-page novel was over all too quick. It made me anxious to read the Sequel, and hungry for homemade biscuits!

The Anonymous Bride is a fun filled Wild West adventure I couldn't put down and didn't want to end. I enjoyed everyone minute of reading this book. Vickie gets into the heart and truth about forgiveness, what it is, what it looks like and how we can begin to forgive ourselves and others in our lives. I'm so thankful for a review copy of such a fun and meaningful book.

I instantly adored the characters who reminded me a little bit of how they related to one another of the Beverly Hillbillies--western style! I smiled whenever young Jacqueline, who insisted on being called Jack, spoke up. Here is what she says to the new Marshall, "You put that dog in jail? What did he do?"

"Stealing and being a public nuisance." Marshall says forcing away a grin.

"heard tell he snatched a pie right out of Myrtle Williams' kitchen window."

"Marshall, what's gonna happen to the dog? You ain't gonna hang'm are you? Jack said in all seriousness.

I loved Jack's zest for life, her innocence and how she wasn't afraid to tell people what she thought. Rachael Hamilton, Jack's mom who's lived in the town of Lookout most of her life, thought things were good until Luke Davis came back to town as the new Marshall. There were hurt feelings between the two of them and for good reason! Could Luke Davis ever forgive Rachael for her betrayal? Rachael didn't think so--could she take his daily rejection?

Three young ladies show up in this little town claiming to be mail-order-brides for Marshall Luke Davis. Luke doesn't know anything about these ladies and the whole town explodes in excitement trying to make sense of it all. The Mayor suggests to a contest between the woman to win the Marshall's favor and create some fun for the town, that's when the fun begins.

This is the first book in the Texas Boardinghouse series. The sequel Second Chance Brides will be released the Fall of 2010, I can't wait.

ACFW Book Club Coordinator

I enjoyed this book. I did think the hero fell into the setup too easily, but not so much I felt it hurt the book and I never doubted the hero and heroine would get together despite their claims they wouldn't, but I guess that doesn't really hurt a romance since that's what you want to happen. I enjoyed the subplot twist for one of the mail-order brides. If you want an enjoyable romance, easy/fun read. This will do ya!

I loved this book. It was fun, filled with crazy cousins who cause so much trouble for their cousin, Luke Davis by advertising for a bride for him. Three women all desperate to escape their lives show up to marry him. They have to stay at Rachel's boarding house.

Luke isn't planning on marring anyone. His gave his heart away to Rachel along time ago and she broke it.

The mayor insists Luke must marry one of the brides and since Luke isn't interested, the mayor doesn't give him the option to refuse. To make it fun the town holds a contest for the brides to prove who would make the best wife for Luke.

Things get very interesting and I wish I could tell you more, but that would ruin the story for you.

Pick this book up, you'll really like it.

This is book one in the Texas Boardinghouse Brides, I can't wait for book 2.

Luke Davis as served years in the cavalry, but now he is out and looking for a job. When he learns that his old hometown has an opening as a marshal, Luke is torn. Return home and get the only woman he's ever loved out of his system, or run as far as he can in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, duty calls, but Luke's arrival in town is less than pleasant. Instead, stopping at a water hole, he is accosted by three children who end up knocking him in, forcing Luke to present himself dripping wet. He does manage to capture one of the offenders and haul him into town, only to discover to his horror that the him is a her and her mother is none other than the woman he's been dreading.

Rachel Hamilton loved Luke, but she decided to give up her dreams of love for riches. But instead she got heartbreak, shame, and a headstrong daughter that she can't control. Not to mention, her husband is dead, but Luke is back. How can Rachel face him every day, knowing what she did? Rachel begs for his forgiveness, but Luke has none to give.

But then three women arrive each of them claiming to be ordered for Luke through newspaper ads. The only place for them to stay is in the town boarding house. And none of the women are willing to give Luke up! How many brides does one man need? Which woman will Luke choose?

THE ANONYMOUS BRIDE is the first book in Vickie McDonough's Texas Boardinghouse Brides series. It says on the back that this is Ms McDonough's debut novel, but anyone that has read Heartsong Presents knows that she has had many books published with them, and has even been named favorite historical author for that line.

Ms. McDonough is a talented historical author. I could almost taste the dust in the trails and see the marshal and his cousins swagger down the road shoulder to shoulder like gun-slingers itching for a fight. I could also feel Luke's dread in the pit of the stomach as he faced Rachel for the first time, and realized that the bratty child he was man-handling was actually her child.

If you are looking for a good historical read, especially one with an old west feel, you'll want to consider THE ANONYMOUS BRIDE. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series, Second Chance Bride, coming in the fall of this year.

The Anonymous Bride by Vickie McDonough was a very interesting story. The story is about a man named Luke who ran away for 11yrs because he had his heart broken by Rachel. He finally decides to return to his hometown where Rachel lives and finds out that she is now a widow. He is now the town marshal and is staying next to her boarding house and she was to cook and clean for him. He is still so angry with her that he won't speak to her much. Then the story takes an interesting twist, 3 mail-order brides show up to marry him and he didn't order them, his cousins did. Soon all 3 brides are competing to win Luke!

I really enjoyed this story mostly for the plot! I'd never heard of such an interesting story. The idea of 3 mail-order brides biding over one man had me giggling. The Anonymous Bride had me laughing at times and it was also heartbreaking. Luke had a lot of forgiving to do and I enjoyed watching him go through the process of forgiveness and healing. I loved how this story showed us that only God knows the truth of situations and we need to trust him that he knows best. It had me thinking about the people in my life I need to forgive and how important that choice is! Very thought provoking and inspirational.

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 -- 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 only

All 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.

Luke Davis has spent years imagining what he'd say to Rachel when their paths crossed again. Her betrayal when she married another man almost destroyed him. Now that he's taken on the position of Lookout's town marshal he'll have the opportunity to confront her and hopefully let go of the anger he's carried with him. What he doesn't expect is to learn that Rachel is now a widow with a precocious daughter running wild. It's a decidedly uncomfortable situation but Luke feels that if he just avoids Rachel as much as possible he won't get his heart broken again.

Rachel Hamilton was a young woman with her eyes and heart full of love for Luke when the unthinkable happened and she felt she had no choice but to marry James. The truth about her marriage has been something she's kept a closely guarded shameful secret for the past eleven years but now that Luke's back she desperately wants his forgiveness and maybe even a second chance. Since she owns the boardinghouse and takes care of all his cooking and laundry it would seem that they'd have time to make amends - and maybe they would have if the mail order brides hadn't suddenly started arriving.

Luke's cousins, Mark and Garrett, were only trying to help when they placed the ad looking for a bride for Luke. After all, there aren't any real marriage candidates in town and in their opinions Luke's never going to be truly happy unless he's settled down with a good woman. With all their misguided shenanigans Mark and Garrett never imagined that three of the women they'd corresponded with would actually arrive in town. Now Luke's stuck trying to figure out how to deal with this newest problem while the only place for the mail order brides to stay is Rachel's boardinghouse. The whole situation turns decidedly more complex when the mayor issues an ultimatum that Luke has to pick a bride and turns the whole thing into a competition. Will Luke take the easy route and pick one of the mail-order brides or will he find the strength to follow his heart and pick a candidate of his own choosing?

Through her writing Vickie McDonough brings the Old West to life with a lot of humor, wholesome values, inspirational passages and stunning portrayals of life the way it was meant to be. I don't normally read inspirational stories but love historical and this story just sounded like so much fun I couldn't pass it up - and I'm glad I didn't. Luke and Rachel share a love but with their history it's easy to see where hurt, assumptions and misunderstandings led to heartache. I love how Ms. McDonough gives the reader insight into the mail-order brides' backgrounds so that you feel compassion for them - even while hoping that they wouldn't be the one Luke would choose to marry. THE ANONYMOUS BRIDE is a heartwarming and thought provoking read that brings a smile to your face while leaving you grateful for all the little things we tend to take for granted. I'll definitely be watching for the other BOARDINGHOUSE BRIDES books to be released. I have to admit I'm very curious about what happens with the brides Luke doesn't select.

The other books in the BOARDINGHOUSE BRIDES series are:

SECOND CHANCE BRIDES releasing in September 2010

and

FINALLY A BRIDE releasing April 2011

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)