Customer Reviews

Sierra Bride

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Suzanne Barrett has created a strong story with characters so real, they find a place to lodge in your heart. From the very first pages she endears them to the reader with their quirks, traits, and real emotions. I live in Northern California, and can say the book follows the setting and history of the area, making it even more enjoyable. It's not often I read a book in one sitting, but I honestly couldn't go to sleep until I finished this story. If you like historical romance, this is one novel you should definitely read.

Suzanne Barrett writes a book so good it stays with you long after you've finished the final page. Sierra Bride has Ms. Barrett's trademark fine writing plus a terrific story set on a northern California horse ranch, main characters with admirable strengths and heart-rending vulnerabilities, and secondary characters I simply loved. Among these are the sullen 9-year-old daughter, Charity; Agnes, the malicious "other woman"; affable Irish lawyer Dan Sullivan; Skip, the laconic ranch helper; and--my favorite--the kindly, perceptive, short-spoken Paiute Indian woman, Sally Twofeathers.

The story is about a young "country" Irish woman who comes west as a mail order bride, finds she is not wanted, and sets out to make her own way in the small Sierra town of Maiden Valley. The hero, Wade, rescues her from a potentially seamy lifestyle and marries her anyway. Thus ensues a spirited dance of attraction and distraction as the two get to know each other in their convenience marriage and struggle through the setbacks each encounters along the way--both inside the relationship and outside in the world of a small Sierra town.

I admire Ms. Barrett's skill in creating characters a reader really likes and roots for and an engrossing story in which rising tension culminates in a surprising and frightening climax. Don't miss this one!!

Can a relationship be based on lies and still survive? When Cordelia comes to California under the guise of a mail order bride for Wade Guthrie she is running from something so dangerous that looking over her shoulder is a constant. But will marrying Wade be enough to keep her safe or will she only be putting someone else in the crosshairs too? And if she falls in love along the way, what place does love have in a relationship of convenience and protection?

Wade never wanted to marry again. After losing his first wife, his heart was done with being hurt, and he had his daughter and his ranch to think of. When his friend comes up with the idea of hiring a lady's maid for Charity, Wade is on board, until Dan-his attorney-tells him he is to marry the girl before she can teach his daughter how to be a lady. What has he gotten himself into? Upon meeting Cordelia, a tightness in his chest starts and soon he can't stop thinking about the Irish beauty that came for him. But when questions start being asked and no answers add up, can Wade trust this woman who has made him want to live again, or will she be the end of the life he has tried to make for his daughter?

This was a good book, set in the late 1800's, and while the idea of mail order spouses is foreign to me, Suzanne Barrett really did a great job of making the story pull me in as a reader. The characters were very real and the story line was full and paced well with the events that were happening. I liked that both main characters, Wade and Corrie, had secrets and instead of pushing them apart it only brought them closer in the end. The added addition of Wade's daughter was interesting but still believable since no child wants a new parent after losing someone close. I have never read anything by Suzanne Barrett before but after reading this story I will be looking for more of her work. This story was very enjoyable and I was sad to see it end so soon. This book will not disappoint anyone who wants to have a great historical romance read.

Originally posted at Long and Short Romance Reviews