The Maiden's Court: Book Review: The Gift-Wrapped Bride by Maureen Lang (12 Brides of Christmas)

The Gift Wrapped Bride by Maureen Lang
Book 4 of the 12 Brides of Christmas series
Kindle e-book, 47 pages
Shiloh Run Studios
October 27, 2014
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical fiction, Short story, Christmas

Source: Personal purchase

Sophie Stewart’s family has just moved to Chicago to join her brother and help start a church. Sophie is an artist with big dreams, but she feels her parents are pushing her to marry someone like Noah Jackson, a young man from their Ohio hometown. But forgiving the past and recognizing Noah’s maturity and changes may take a miracle.

I have noticed a trend in these little romance novellas – the boy always needs to prove himself to the girl who is dead set against him – and that is the case here too. Sophie has a real chip on her shoulder right from the word go. She reminds me of the typical young woman who does not want to leave the town she lived her whole life in for a big city. While she doesn’t want to be in Chicago, she certainly doesn’t want to have to interact with Noah, and boy who picked on her in the past. But Noah appears to be a changed man here and is eager to show that the Sophie. These two seemed so far apart in terms of personality that it was a little bit of a stretch to see them come together in the end – even if Noah is a changed man!

I loved that Sophie was an artist. She wanted to make her art her life, but her family saw it as more of a passing fancy. We frequently see strong women in westerns, but they still typically hold the traditional female professions, such as a teacher. So wanting to be an artist is a little outside the regular wheelhouse, but quite refreshing. Noah was determined and willing to go the distance to prove that he had changed from that young boy Sophie once knew.

Definitely an interesting story line, even if I didn’t entirely believe it.

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