Customer Reviews

Christmas Mail-Order Brides: A Trusting Heart/The Prodigal Groom/Hidden Hearts/Mrs Mayberry Meets Her Match (Romancing America: Wyoming)

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lovely Annika Bergstrom, a Swedish immigrant, travels to Wyoming to meet and marry a man she's never met--only he doesn't know it! Well meaning family initiated the "romance" in the "best interests" of widower Chase Simms. The problem is--Chase is not interested, and Annika finds his brother, Daniel, more the type of man she can count on and respect.
Family and romantic tension abound in Turansky's story that well portrays what it meant to become a mail-order bride--burned bridges and facing an uncertain future with an unknown man. I loved that the author was able to bring an intriguing plot twist with such tension, compassion, romance and surrender to the Lord--all in a short space. I've not read the other stories in this book yet, but I was caught up in the storytelling of "A Trusting Heart" and look forward to reading more from this author.

Marriage arrives by Mail-Order--just in time for Christmas.

A Trusting Heart by Carrie Turansky--Annika Bergstrom's twin sister is getting married, but she refuses to go with her groom until she knows Annika has plans for marriage. So Annika agrees to go west to be a mail order bride. But when she gets there, the groom is not the man she thought he was and she finds herself falling for his brother. Will she marry the man she's promised to, or hold out for love?

The Prodigal Groom by Vickie McDonough--Jolie Addams is an orphan, promised to work as a maid for a lecherous old man. Desperate to escape, she promises to marry an unknown man in Nevada. But when her stage breaks down, she is forced to spend the night un-chaperoned with Clay Jackson. Now her intended refuses to marry her and she is forced to wed Clay. Is there any hope of love coming from such an awful beginning?

Hidden Hearts by Therese Stenzel--Elisabeth Lariby agrees to become a mail-order bride after her life crumbles around her. Zane Michaels ordered a mail-order bride but both of them hide their pasts and circumstances from the other. Will their marriage survive after the secrets are revealed?

Mrs. Mayberry Meets Her Match by Susan Page Davis--Amelia Mayberry has made a living as a matchmaker but now she wants to spend her sunset years in peace. There's only one problem. An unsatisfied customer needs her to make amends. But what will it take for both Will Lennox Bailey and Amelia to find a happy ending?

This collection of four mail-order brides historical romances is definitely a sweet romance collection to read this holiday season. I especially liked one of the stories more than the others (as it usually goes) but I did enjoy all four of them.

Only one of the stories is actually about a match being made the way it was intended, but it was fun watching the others unfold and hoping the brides (and grooms) would realize their mistakes and find love with the right person.

If you are looking for a good historical romance collection to read this holiday season, then don't miss CHRISTMAS MAIL-ORDER BRIDES. It will warm your heart.

Just in time for the Holiday season, Barbour's collection of Christmas novellas made an enchanting romantic escape. Three mail-order brides head west to seek new lives and hope for love as they meet their matches through Mrs. Mayberry's Matrimonial Society for Christians of Moral Character. As a delightful conclusion, the fourth novella involves Mrs. Mayberry herself.

Carrie Turansky tugged on my heartstrings with Annika Bergstrom's story, a Swedish immigrant who must leave her newly married sister to seek a place and a husband of her own. When the man whom she believed to send for her rejects her, she faces the fear of abandonment, until an unexpected love blossoms right where God planted her. Tender, real and touching, this story kicks off the four-part novella collection with a gentle hero that stole my heart.

Next, Vickie McDonough brings an action-packed tale of a young emancipated orphan escaping the odious clutches of her new employer. Jolie Addams is bound for Nevada to set up house with a shop-owner, but when a gunman holds up the stage on which she rides and shoots her traveling companion, her plans take a detour. Can she find love in a hostile land where her very reputation is on the line? The chemistry between the hero and heroine in this novella had me up past midnight to find a great happily ever after.

Therese Stenzel writes a story of suspense and secrets between a woman scorned by her former fiance and a widower seeking a new start for himself and his daughters. Elisabeth Lariby is thrust into a contract of marriage with Zane Michaels, a gentle, philanthropic soul who longs to win her reticent heart. Their unsettled past seeks to drive a wedge between them, and they each must lay it to rest before accepting God's future for them.

Finally, I had the pleasure of reading my first Susan Page Davis story, and from the first lines, Mrs. Amelia Mayberry won me over. It takes a writer of refinement and grace to depict a character with those attributes, and Amelia was all of that and full of warm genuineness, too. Facing retirement from her matchmaking business, Amelia has one last loose string to tie--her late husband's best friend Lennox Bailey. She had failed in her prior attempt to find Lennox a suitable wife, but with God's help, she is determined to succeed this time. Will the matchmaker find the love she has sown out to so many other happy couples?

These engaging stories are sure to brighten many Christmas seasons with hope, love and a happily ever after.

Annika is a Swedish immigrant who was orphaned and worked in Chicago until she agreed to marry the young man who she thought she was corresponding with - a widower with a young child. When she arrives in Wyoming she instead meets his younger brother, Daniel. Her betrothed doesn't even come to meet her. That is because he has no intention of marrying her but was threatened by his Pa, who wrote the lovely letters that made Annika want to accept the proposal! Little Mariah and Annika form a bond as Daniel falls for his brother's fiancé.
Great holiday read.
Lovely voice, tight writing, nice story line, and loveable characters. I will be reading more of Carrie Turansky's novels!

Four delightful stories of adventures in love. It's fun to read the twists and turns the writers came up with to develop story lines that capture your heart and imagination. I read the book in two days outside of work, couldn't wait to see how they would end. I highly recommend this book, perfect book lovers gift for this upcoming Christmas season.

I'll admit I only read A Trusting Heart since Turansky got the Carol Award for this novella. Am recouping in hospital and needed a diversion and wanted a short read too. My goodness. I am impressed for the following reasons:

Believable Characters....I don't know how she did it? Annika's a surrendered Christian who is a Swedish immigrant. At 22 she becomes a mail order bride out of necessity...she is poor. So much is told and not spelled out for me....she loves her heritage for one. Teaching the family about St. Lucia Day, something celebrated in Sweden, tells me she cherishes all the memories of her parents that passed away.

Setting...OK. I was shiviering. Her descriptions of Wyoming made me feel and smell the cold air.

Plot: Not predictable at all! Thank you! Expected from the title that Annika would meet a real strange mountain man and her trust in God would sustain her. Such a sweet romance with not the "falling head over hills" on page two story. The two were attracted to each other for the right reasons: devotion to God and strength of character...but you'll have to read it to see who this romance is between. :)

I'm sure I'll enjoy the other novellas in this book. Wanted to review Trusting Heart while fresh in my mind.

Also, I'm glad the short story is making a comeback. Books are too long today. Turansky's book could be a Hallmark Movie, but I didn't have to flip through tons of filler info so it's officially a "novel". Keep up the good work!

UPDATE: Just read them all. All 4 are Hallmark Movies. Excellent work and I hope these 4 ladies team up again to write more novellas.

I thought the stories were great and I very much liked the main characters. I thought the last story Mrs Mayberry Meets Her Match was the weakest,and I LOVED the other three stories,equally!

Very pleasant quick read.

This is total drivel - poorly written stories with characters who aren't well developed and unsympathetic. I had to wonder at how totally stupid these characters really are. All of this is interspersed with "let's pray" and then long, drawn out prayers become part of the story. I'm sorry I wasted money on this book.