Customer Reviews

The Bridegrooms

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I will start by saying that I was quite pleased with the way the story ended. Based on that alone, I almost gave the book a higher rating! But, I found this book slow to really get going. It wasn't a chore to read, but it didn't have me wanting to read more until I got to the last half or third (it's hard to know when I got sucked in) of the book. In short: It took me FIVE DAYS to read this book. If a book really grabs me, I will finish in half that time - if not less.

The characters were OK. Vada was mostly likable, but I was really wanting her to put Lisette in her place a few times. I couldn't believe the rudeness and abuse she took from her! Hazel was sweet, and I was really hoping that Althea would say something by book's end.

One big plus was that the Christianity in the book was very natural. No preachy religion, which I greatly appreciate. Overall, it was an enjoyable read! I would recommend it to fans of Christian fiction.

really enjoyed Stealing Home by Allison Pittman so I was excited when The Bridegrooms became available.

I recently returned from vacation in Austria and before planning on a trip to a largely German-speaking land, I wanted to make sure I took enough English language books to keep me occupied on long train trips and in my hotels at night after exhausting days of sightseeing.

Was I EVER right in bringing the Bridegrooms.


I love Americana!: the glorious and idyllic turn-of-the-century years of ice cream shoppes and peanuts, popcorn and baseball. Pittman inserts a healthy whip-creamed dollop of nostalgia but also a sense of longing and wistfulness for an innocent time out of reach.


Vada and her four sisters are startlingly different in personality and thus warrant startlingly different beaux. Not unlike "Little Women", the sisters are believably rendered on page and their triumphs and travails were heartwarming! The book spans little more than a week in the life of four girls abandoned by their mother at a young age. The mystery of their mother's disappearance and the spiriting in of The Bridegrooms: a raucous and rowdy baseball team are at the core o this fun and fast read.

While so many authors would have planted romance blossoming from the heroine encountering an out-of-towner, Pittman chooses instead to study our concept of romance and our romantic ideals: how much can be found in the whirlwind of a traveling sportsman, how much romance exists in the steadfast and stalwart, if somewhat consistent suitor from your hometown.


Garrison, Vada's patient and virtuous fiancé is absolutely one of the most winning ( if quiet and steady) heroes in Christian fiction this year.

This was equally as compelling as Stealing Home. Pittman OWNS this era and I am so glad she stepped up to the plate and hit it into the Christian historical field.

Vada Allenhouse's life changed when her mother suddenly vanished from their home in Ohio. Her father consumed himself in his medical practice to help deal with the pain of losing his wife. Vada, being the oldest child knew it was up to her to raise her three younger sisters.

As Vada grew to be an adult she captured the eye of Garrison Walker. Still her number one priority was to her father and sisters. Their happiness was of the upmost importance to her life.

When the Brooklyn Bridegrooms played the Cleveland Spiders the town is excited about the game. When one of the spectators gets injured he is brought to her home for her father to treat. The event brings a host of unexpected guests to Vada's home.

Through these new acquaintances her sisters are excited at the opportunity to meet eligible bachelors. Will Vada play a hand as a matchmaker to enable her sisters to find love so that she will be able to live her own life?

Allison Pittman is one of my all time favorite authors. Her writing talent sets her aside from other historical authors. The Bridegrooms is an exceptional example of how she is able to weave a cast of characters into your heart and soul. With each offering I experience I grow more in love with her writing style.

Four very different sisters grace Allison Pittman's "The Bridegrooms," a book that analyzes what love is -- and what it isn't. Vada, the oldest, has an understanding with sensible Garrison but longs to be swept away by passion. Ungainly Hazel writes letters to men she's never met in hopes of securing a husband. Quiet, elegant Althea writes her heart out in poetry she shares with an unconscious man. And Lisette, far too spoiled and beautiful, tells off the young ball player who follows her around like a smitten puppy.

Lurking in the background is the shadow of the mother who abandoned them as children. Unspoken hurts lie at the heart of this small family. Very much in the foreground is the servant, Molly, a strident Irish woman who each weekend drinks her paycheck away and seems as given to blister the girls with verbal abuse as to bless them. Their father, "Doc," a physician, although kind-hearted, seems a bit clueless in a household of girls.

The plot revolves around an event which occurs when the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, a baseball team, comes to town to play the Cleveland Spiders. During a game, a line drive knocks out a spectator and the unconscious man is placed in Vada's bed to regain consciousness or die.

With memorable characters and an exquisite writing style, Bridegrooms entertains well. Still, I question some of its concepts. The characters are sometimes quite harsh with one another, and Molly's tirades, while meant to amuse, did not. The book seems to confuse love and infatuation while attempting to define them as separate. Also, telling four separate stories within the limitations of a single book proves problematic. Its author did well at weaving the stories together, but there simply wasn't enough space to delve too deeply into each character's emotional complexities.

Beyond these quibbles, this story will stay with me. I was sorry when the book ended. Women who enjoy historical romance will enjoy Bridegrooms.


*This book was provided to me by the publisher for purposes of review.

Allison Pittman follows up Stealing Home, her first baseball-themed novel, with The Bridegrooms and the story of one week that changes the lives of the Allenhouse sisters forever. Left bereft of their mother's care as children, when the woman chased the promise of excitement and romance with a handsome stranger, the girls and their loving, if prickly, father have made an art of survival. The eldest, Vada, has especially sacrificed much in order to step into her mother's shoes at the tender age of eight - as the de facto mother figure, she has sacrificed a lifetime of girlish dreams in the name of responsibility. The arrival of a dashing star baseball player and a wounded spectator bring a bevy of heretofore unimagined romantic possibilities to the Allenhouse home, leaving Vada questioning her future. Is true romance the giddy feelings elicited by a handsome stranger, or the constant - if boring - faithfulness of a long-time local suitor? Startlingly different yet fully realized, Vada and her sisters only commonalities are blood and a desire to be loved for who they are. The journeys they take to realize the hope of romance are as varied as their personalities, and therein lies the charm and power of The Bridegrooms.

With The Bridegrooms, Pittman proves that her gift for rendering small town Americana and all its accompanying charm on the page is unparalleled. From the excitement surrounding an amateur orchestra's performance to the thrill of a baseball game to sister Hazel's involvement in the burgeoning women's suffrage movement, Pittman captures the heartbeat of small town, turn-of-the-century life. I loved how Pittman explores the ramifications of the mother's abandonment on her daughters' lives - this is not an issue I can recall seeing often explored in Christian historical fiction, and I applaud her for the raw honesty with which she explores the fallout vis-à-vis the daughters' relationships with their father, each other, and how they view themselves. Each sister's personality, hopes, and dreams are unique and well-drawn, bringing to life the mores and conventions of a forgotten era and reminding the reader with startling clarity that the more things change, the more one constant - human nature - remains predictably unpredictable.

The heart of the novel is an examination of romance and romantic ideals - it is perhaps ironic to find such an honest exploration of such in a story whose appeal lies largely in its nostalgic charm. Against a backdrop that a 21st-century reader such as myself is too often tempted to idealize, Pittman balances her charming depiction of the minutiae of the era with an unflinchingly honest look at four very different women and their heartbreakingly honest desire to love and be loved. Whether you see yourself in one or all of the Allenhouse sisters doesn't matter, for each woman's journey is a sheer delight to watch unfold. Youngest Lisette's obsession with the trappings of status nearly blinds her to the true treasure of unfettered adoration, while Hazel's good nature masks a fear of rejection that leaves her hiding behind letters, hoping her spirit will capture a man's heart where she fears her looks fall short. Althea, silenced by her mother's abandonment, is the steadiest and most loyal sister, but she must decide if her faith can speak louder than the fears that keep her silent.

And then there is the centerpiece of the novel - the gloriously conflicted Vada, caught between her dreams and her reality. Through Vada, Pittman reminds readers of the blunt truth of the fact that emotions can lie, and true romance is not simply a giddy feeling or a handsome face (that's nice, not gonna lie), but a decision made anew every day and walked out in attitude and action. Vada's beau Garrison may *seem* staid and boring, at first blush not fitting the ideal hero of a romance - but his faithfulness and loyalty will melt your heart. In each character's story, Pittman reminds us that true romance SHOWS UP every day, no matter how one feels or is tempted to respond in a fit of pique. The love that each Allenhouse sister discovers during the tumultuous week the Brooklyn Bridegrooms come to town mirrors the faithfulness of a God who longs to meet us where we are and will catch us when we fall. Pittman's tale is rich in nostalgia and timeless in the truths it reveals about our desire to be known and loved, and that love lies often where one least expects it - right in front of our eyes.

Vada Allenhouse's childhood ended the night her mother abandoned their family, leaving Vada to raise her three younger sisters while her father buried himself in his work as a physician. Seventeen years later, Vada still takes care of her sisters while longing to pursue her dream of playing the violin. When a man is gravely injured at a Cleveland Spiders baseball game, he is brought to Doc Allenhouse for care ... and suddenly the Allenhouse home is overrun with eligible men! In one crazy week, Vada and her sisters all find themselves trying to make sense of life and love.

When I got "The Bridegrooms," I knew it would be a romance--the cover alone leaves little doubt about that!--but I wish it had been an enjoyable romance! Each sister gets her own love story, but the novel mainly dwells on Vada's romantic travails.

Vada, who has been in a committed relationship with Garrison for several years, suddenly finds herself attracted to two other men: Dave, a newspaper reporter, and Lucky, a Brooklyn Bridegrooms baseball player. This is understandable, as Garrison seems reluctant to marry Vada. But I wish the author had then taken the time to help the reader understand Vada's attraction to each other man. Lucky LaFortune has an instant connection with Vada, but why is Vada attracted to Dave? He seems to pop in and out of the story just so Vada can ruminate about how things could be different between them. But he isn't a fleshed out character, and he could quite easily have been left out of the novel. The Garrison-Vada-Lucky love triangle is certainly enough!

I wish more time would have been spent with Althea, who to me was easily the most interesting character. Althea quit speaking when Mrs. Allenhouse left, and she pours her thoughts and feelings into poetry. She becomes quite attached to the injured man, and I would have loved to watch their love story unfold. Instead, I had to read about Vada.

I also wish more time would have been spent on Vada's dream of playing the violin with an orchestra. At the time (the 1890's), Cleveland's orchestra was comprised only of males; I'd hoped that Vada, who worked as the conductor's assistant, would end up playing with them.

Another of Vada's sisters, Hazel, has decided to move to Wyoming, where women can vote. I thought suffrage would be a major focus of the story, but it just gets a mention here and there.

Ultimately, this book seems like it could have been a series with one book focusing on each sister. Then each relationship could have been fully developed, rather than squeezed in around Vada's. As it is, I didn't enjoy this book very much.

Should you read it? Only if you have nothing else to read.

Looking for sister drama? Lots of romantic encounters? Struggling heroines? Then check this one out. It contains all of the above.

The Allenhouse sisters function to the best of their ability. Vada, the oldest, who vividly remembers the night their mother abandoned them. Not only did she lose a mother that night, but her father went somewhere else emotionally, leaving eight-year-old Vada to discover she had become the mother hen of a brood of sisters, Hazel is the independent suffragette who just wants to be loved. Althea was struck silent at the betrayal of her mother and only speaks in poetry or with her eyes. Lissette is a beautiful bit of fluff who pouts and flounces her way through the novel and into most eligible young mens' hearts.

The plot points are abundant. Baseball players, an unconscious man, a suitor a bit too starchy and a couple others way too seductive. Themes of infidelity, faith quakes, insecurities and sibling rivalries flare up on a regular basis. Romance blooms in every chapter. This is not my favorite Allison Pittman novel but it was an enjoyable read.

Fans of romance, sister stories and drama will want to look further into the Bridegrooms. .

When Vada was 8, her mother left. She never saw her again. The trauma of losing her mother, growing up overnight and becoming a mother to her three younger sisters was a big responsibility. One of her sisters, Althea, does not speak since her mother left, the trauma left her speechless, adding more burdens on to Vada.

Her dream of being a musician herself has faded into being a errand girl for an orchestra, spending time with her special friend, Garrison and tending to her three siblings and father, a doctor.

When the baseball team "The Bridegrooms" come to town and a man is knocked unconscious by a stray ball, the house is filled with visitors and much emotional stress to many in the household. Temptations, intrigue's, and mystery surround the team and the man laying still in their room upstairs.

Each of these sister's and their father are all coping with a similar pain, but can they band together to deal with it? Will temptations for the unknown tempt them like their mother? What secret's does a mysterious visitor have about their mother?

This book is filled with much history of an early baseball team. I am not a big sports fan, so could have lived without that and seen them explain a bit about why her sister didn't talk, why Vada never was a musician, or other things. But this book is very different than the general mainstream Christian fiction. It deals with temptation, guilt and what happens to those who give in. It was very interesting with poems by the silent sister woven throughout. I wished the book had explained more, but overall, really enjoyed the story.
Thank you to Bethany House for providing a copy for review

Review by Jill Williamson

This book is about Vada and her sisters in the year 1898. The four girls live with their doctor father in Ohio. Vada is engaged to a sweet man named Garrison, who loves music and the violin as much as she does. But Garrison still hasn't set a date for their marriage and Vada is starting to feel like he never May.

She comes home one day to find a baseball team, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, in her home. A spectator was hit with a pitch and Vada's father is seeing to the man. Vada and her sister's lived are turned upside down by all these new, strange visitors, including a flirtatious reporter looking for a big scoop on the injured man. Vada falls into much confusion with so many male suitors hanging around.

I was drawn to this book by the cover. It reminded me of Little Women, and in a way, it quite similar. Both books are about four sisters living in the 1800s and their romantic opportunities. The Bridegrooms was an interesting and fun read. Vada is confused about her relationship with her boyfriend and gets herself into a lot of mischief. I couldn't help but feel bad for poor Garrison, even if he is a little slow on the proposal. Pittman's characters are unique and fun. Each sister, especially, was so different from the other, I felt like I knew this family well. This is a fun story for girls who like historical fiction with some romance in it.

The Bridegrooms will definitely keep you on your toes. I never knew who Vada was going to end up with until the last couple of pages. I did wish that the story had an epilogue or something that so that the final outcome of each of Vada's sister's stories could be told. I'm a little unsure as to my feelings about the book. I didn't love it, but I didn't dislike it. It is definitely an original story, and I do like that. Its just one that I like, but I'm not crazy about.