Mail Order Brides of the West: Evie by Caroline Fyffe
Book 2 of The Mail Order Brides of the West series and Book 3 of The McCutcheon Family series
Unabridged, 6 hr. 5 min.
Caroline Fyffe
Lara Asmudson (Narrator)
May 16, 2014
★★★½☆☆
Book 2 of The Mail Order Brides of the West series and Book 3 of The McCutcheon Family series
Unabridged, 6 hr. 5 min.
Caroline Fyffe
Lara Asmudson (Narrator)
May 16, 2014
★★★½☆☆
Heat Level:
Source: Personal purchase from Audible
The well-educated daughter of a lawyer, Trudy Bauer, arrives at the St. Louis based Mail-Order Brides of the West agency full of excitement for an adventure of a lifetime. She befriends the agency's maid, Evie Davenport, and the two form a strong and lasting friendship. They vow to stay in contact through letters when Evie takes hold of her destiny and arranges a marriage on the sly. Each brave young woman is ready to face whatever an unknown groom and life in Montana can throw her way.
This mail-order bride series is a different type of series in that it is being written by two different authors instead of just one author for the whole series. Each author has written their own books in the series, but their characters are interconnected. This is seeming to become more of a common occurrence these days with authors writing in each other’s series. The characters written about by Debra Holland will also appear in her Montana Sky series while the characters in Caroline Fyffe’s novels will appear in her McCutcheon Family series. So, it will be kinda cool to see how all of these characters interact, but I love the idea that they are loosely tied to one another. I would recommend reading Evie and Trudy at approximately the same time because the events in one bounce off of the other as the two women correspond with each other through letters interspersed throughout. After reading both books you get a complete idea of what they are discussing. It was even cute how at the end of the book, Evie is holding a conversation with her new husband about trying to find husbands for her friends at the bride agency – which we will see in coming books!
In Fyffe's Novel, house servant Evie Davenport travels by stagecoach to Y Knot, Montana in a McCutcheon Family Novel. In Holland's book, bride-to-be Trudy Bauer rides the train to Sweetwater Springs, in a Montana Sky Novel. Through their correspondence, the friends keep each other abreast of their hardships, trials and tribulations - some of heartbreak, some of love.
Evie’s significant issue throughout this book is getting over the fact that she “is only a maid” and therefore somehow not good enough for her husband. This is a fact that she keeps from everyone in her new life right from the start and becomes her central point of concern throughout. What will happen if people find out that she isn’t some well-born lady and was just a maid at the Mail Order Bride agency? She has to overcome this issue within her own head because she makes quite a mess of things by trying to keep it a secret. Also, being as she hasn’t had all of the comportment type training that the ladies who do come through the agency have, Evie has to learn how to do any of the housewife things that are expected of her. She certainly grows as a character throughout this book. I enjoyed her spunky personality and her willingness to learn what it takes to make a life out in the West and to take her destiny into her own hands.
Chance Holcomb, Evie’s new husband, is also keeping something from her – very early on, like in his first chapter or so, we find out that he isn’t anywhere near completing the house that he promised her. He goes to some extraordinary lengths to deal with all of the roadblocks that come up regarding this matter. Chance is somewhat of an insecure man and he is constantly worrying that he isn’t good enough for Evie and that she will leave him for another man from town who could offer her more. These qualities kept me from liking him as much as Seth from Debra Holland’s Trudy, be he is still a good man in the end. These misunderstandings and miscommunications between Evie and Chance provide the main turmoil between these two characters, but they are rectified eventually.
This was a very sweet, light, and simple romance. There wasn’t any crazy plot twists needed as this was simply a story of getting to know one another and also grow as both a couple and as individuals.
★★★★☆
Lara Asmudson does a good job at narrating this series so far. I found her style of reading for Evie to really evoke her sweetness and also her questioning of every situation and how to handle it. There is a searching/inquiring tone to her. You could tell the characters apart from slight changes of voice, but it is not so obvious that it is distracting (which was a problem that I had with a prior narration from her). Her reading pace is unhurried and made a 200 page novel feel longer (in a good way).
Interested? Check out this print excerpt to get even more of a feel for the book or listen to this short excerpt below!
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia
Other Books in the Mail Order Brides of the West Series: 
Trudy by Debra Holland (Book 1)
[My Review] 
Heather by Caroline Fyffe (Book 3) 
Lina by Debra Holland (Book 4) 
Darcy by Debra Holland (Book 5) 
Kathryn by Caroline Fyffe (Book 6) 
Prudence by Debra Holland (Book 7) 
Bertha by Debra Holland (Book 8)
Find Caroline Fyffe: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Find Lara Asmundson: Website | 
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