Book Review: Season of Love by Vivi Holt

I am participating in a blog tour for the Christmas novellas that are part of the Cutter’s Creek series and this week I will have a review of Season of Love by Vivi Holt, but I will also be sharing some other content and reviews with you throughout November and December.  Don’t worry about if you have never read a book in this series before, you can still dive right in and enjoy the season with these novellas without prior knowledge.  So, first just an intro to the series and then my review of Season of Love is below that.  Enjoy!

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It’s a Christmas sugarplum celebration! Christmas in Cutter’s Creek means a Christmas social; sugarplum contest, dancing, a dash of mayhem and a heaping helping of romance.

First off is Kit Morgan’s Recipe for Christmas. This novella is set in 1866 and is the very first Cutter’s Creek Christmas social, and so much mischief happens, it’s a wonder they had another!

Lucius Judrow from Love is Blind has a brother and he’s on his way to Cutter’s Creek. Come see who Eldon meets in this hilarious and sweet romance!

The next is Vivi Holt’s Seasons of Love. It takes place in 1872. The social has changed just a bit. You’d think they’d learned with all the trouble, but no, the social is more fun than trouble. Margaret is a lonely school teacher from the East looking for a little love and adventure. She finds just that and a whole lot more in this sweet Christmas romance!

Third Christmas novella is just a few years later and the social has changed yet again, to a cider competition! The contestants get a little rowdy and words are said that might ruin Christmas! Felicity will need special help to solve this mess. Find out more in Annie Boone’s Christmas Spirit.

The fourth and final Christmas novella takes place in 1892 and rumors of Christmas social’s past dominate the festivities. Carol needs to find a husband and the new doctor in town provides a great opportunity. A snowball fight leads to romance in Kari Trumbo’s A Carol Plays.

Recipe for Christmas ǀ Season of Love ǀ Christmas Spirit ǀ A Carol Plays

Find the Cutter’s Creek authors on Facebook!

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Season of Love by Vivi Holt
Book 11 in the Cutter’s Creek series
ARC, e-Book, 82 pages
Black Lab Press
October 27, 2016
★★★★☆

Heat Level:

Genre: Historical Romance, Western, Christmas

Source: Received from Author for Beta and Review

Margaret Hutchins has been alone since her parents died of influenza in Chicago a decade earlier. When she moves to Cutter’s Creek in Montana Territory for a fresh start, as the new teacher for the little school, she discovers a cozy community where she’s welcomed and appreciated.

Heath Moore had his heart broken by Charlotte Beaufort years ago, and he’s hesitant to court again. Until, that is, he runs into Margaret just before Christmas – she’s beautiful, intelligent and compassionate. But when she makes a decision that changes her life forever, it drives a wedge between them.

Enjoy spending a white Christmas in Cutter’s Creek, as a season of love unfolds in the most unlikely way.

There is nothing better than sitting down to enjoy the Christmas and winter season than with a good book, and the authors of the Cutter’s Creek series have each written a novella to treat you to just that! Vivi Holt contributes Season of Love which brings the heart back into the season.

When six children arrive in Cutter’s Creek after a long trek on the pioneering trail alone and with no parents in sight, the residents of the town do their best to house them, but it quickly becomes a difficult challenge. Margaret (Meg), a single school-teacher, steps up to the plate to take in all six of the children and realizes that she might have bit off more than she can chew – especially considering the hesitant nature of the children to trust her. Heath Moore, a neighbor, helps Meg in many ways with the children and is clearly interested in Meg, however she cannot see beyond the children and uses them as a barrier to possibly finding love with Heath. Will the two be able to find their way to each other and what will happen to the children as Christmas draws near?

Heath has made a previous appearance in an earlier Holt/Cutter’s Creek novel, Betrothed, and that novel provides a small amount of backstory for him – but it is entirely unnecessary to have read any of the Cutter’s Creek novels to fully enjoy this one as it’s relatively self-contained. He is so kind and goes out of his way to help Meg and the children. Meg is very giving and takes on a huge responsibility with these children and she wants to make them feel loved and at home as the holiday season approaches. I felt her hurt and struggles as she tries to figure out how to connect with the children. This novella is so full of heart – not only with the establishing of this new family, but also with the relationship between Heath and Meg. This gave the story a different feel than many westerns or romances that I have read and helped build the feelings of the season. Building on those seasonal elements, there are outings in sleighs, and skating, etc!

A couple little quibbles. The beginning of the novella starts out with the children experiences on the trail west and what happens to their family so that they arrive in Cutter’s Creek alone. After that initial prologue, the story turns to focus on Meg, Heath, and their perspective with handling the situation that the children bring. I would have really liked to have had more chapters from the perspective of the children to help provide more understanding behind what they were going through or why they reacted the ways that they did. This could certainly have been easily resolved with a lengthier piece. Additionally, I hesitated to really get behind Meg for a little while, not that I didn’t like her, I just didn’t like how she would essentially use the fact that she was now caring for six children as an excuse for why a relationship with Heath would never work.

Overall an enjoyable stand-alone piece that could be utilized as an entryway into the Cutter’s Creek series.

Buy the Book: Amazon

Also by Vivi Holt:

Mail Order Bride: Christy
[My Review]


Mail Order Bride: Ramona


Mail Order Bride: Katie
[My Review]


Of Peaks and Prairies (Book 1 of Paradise Valley)
[My Review]

Other Books in the Cutter’s Creek Series:
The Cutter’s Creek series is a loosely interconnected series of novellas that all take place in Cutter’s Creek, Montana, each written by a different author.


The Healing Touch by Kit Morgan (Book 1)


The Strong One by Vivi Holt (Book 2)
[My Review]


New Beginnings by Annie Boone (Book 3)


A Lily Blooms by Kari Trumbo (Book 4)


A Penny Shines by Kari Trumbo (Book 5)


Becoming a Family by Annie Boone (Book 6)

 
Betrothed by Vivi Holt (Book 7)
[My Review]


Love is Blind by Kit Morgan (Book 8)


Cherished by Vivi Holt (Book 9)
[My Review]

The Other Cutter’s Creek Christmas Novellas:


Recipe for Christmas by Kit Morgan (Book 10)


Christmas Spirit by Annie Book (Book 12)


A Carol Plays by Kari Trumbo (Book 13)

Find Vivi Holt: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest



Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Cover Crush: The Himalayan Summer

We can all say that you should never judge a book by its cover, but I guarantee that we all have done so at least once! Cover Crush is designed to feature some of those covers that have caught the eye as a standout on the bookshelf.

I ran across this one while looking at books releasing in 2017.  This cover is so striking and I love the color and font used in the title.  I might not choose to read this one as one of the selling points is for fans of The Tea Planter’s Wife, which was one that I didn’t especially enjoy, but the cover is beautiful.

What are your thoughts on this cover?

I wonder what my friends are crushing on this week? Let’s check it out: 2 Kids and Tired, A Bookaholic Swede, Layered Pages, and Flashlight Commentary. 

 

Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Unabridged, 10 hr. 41 min.
Simon & Schuster Audio
Noah Taylor (Narrator)
August 31, 2012
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Purchased from Audible

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.” And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss.

The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.

This was quite the interesting novel and there were a whole lot of things about it that I enjoyed, however I had a couple quibbles with elements of it as well. Certainly right from the start, there is a gripping cover and blurb. All the covers that I have seen are excellent representations of events of this novel, but I like this one with just a silhouette of the lighthouse; it reminds us of the desolation that is a very big part of the novel as well as the obvious storyline that revolves around the lighthouse.

The novel is broken roughly into three sections: that time spent on Janus, the events that unfold when they return to the mainland, and then about 20 or so years later. For me, it was the first third that held my interest which then slowly slipped away the further on I went. I loved the events on Janus Rock because it was very different that many other settings in novels because they are alone with only the occasional boat arrival bringing supplies. It is a little bit of a psychological drama of how different people process events when outside the boundaries of society. The line of right and wrong is a little less clear and I felt so much for these characters during this point in the story. I loved learning about the care and maintenance of the light and how seriously Tom takes his responsibilities to it. After Tom, Isabel, and Lucy return to the mainland where everything that was kept secret comes to the fore – this should have been the time where the drama ramps up, and I just didn’t feel that – it actually felt like a little bit of a slide backward. I felt the emotion for sure, but I just wasn’t super convinced and honestly didn’t care what would happen. Then once we move to the 20 years later, it was a major let down.

I have said this before with other novels set in and around Australia – I want more. I loved seeing the connection to WWI and how it even affected areas located physically far from the fighting. The mental impact of the war that Tom brought home with him certainly played into the decisions he made regarding Lucy and his family. It was a fascinating element to explore. We also deal with the psychological issues that Isabel experiences in living on a desolate island and the loss of several children. There is a lot of psychological experiences going on here that I found interesting.

This is a book that I had mixed feelings about, and certainly about the outcome of the fate of Lucy. Ultimately it came full circle and should have been somewhat satisfying, at least as much as it could be given their circumstances, but I didn’t like it.

 
★★★★ ½☆

The audio production here was fantastic, even given my quibbles with the story. The narrator, Noah Taylor, carried off a few different accents throughout the novel – of particular note was his German accent. He even sang a song – in German! I was impressed with the singing in general, but in another language it provided an even greater authenticity to the story. The pace of narration was perfect – at times it was calm and soothing and at others it spun up as certain characters felt frantic or the time was chaotic. The narration here helped make the story more enjoyable even when I wasn’t as into the story being told.

You can check out a sample of this audio production below:

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Pretty Books
• The Literary Sofa

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Light Between Oceans is the debut novel of M.L. Stedman

I think that this book would be a fabulous for discussion in a book club – there are so many elements that are ripe for various perspectives and opinions. So, if you have a book club, here are some resources you might want to check out.

Find M.L. Stedman: Publisher’s Website

 

 

Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

New Book Alert & Excerpt: Left at the Altar by Margaret Brownley & Giveaway

Left at the Altar by Margaret Brownley
Book 1 in A Match Made in Texas Series
e-Book, Mass Market Paperback, 384 Pages
Sourcebooks Casablanca
November 1, 2016
ISBN: 9781492608134
Genre: Historical Romance, Western

Book Blurb:

Welcome to Two-Time Texas:
Where tempers burn hot
Love runs deep
And a single marriage can unite a feuding town
…or tear it apart for good

In the wild and untamed West, time is set by the local jeweler…but Two-Time Texas has two: two feuding jewelers and two wildly conflicting time zones. Meg Lockwood’s marriage was supposed to unite the families and finally bring peace. But when she’s left at the altar by her no-good fiancé, Meg’s dreams of dragging her quarrelsome neighbors into a ceasefire are dashed.

No wedding bells? No one-time town.

Hired to defend the groom against a breach of promise lawsuit, Grant Garrison quickly realizes that the only thing worse than small-town trouble is falling for the jilted bride. But there’s something about Meg’s sweet smile and determined grit that draws him in…even as the whole crazy town seems set on keeping them apart.

Who knew being Left at the Altar could be such sweet, clean, madcap fun?

Buy the Book: Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Chapters | iBooks | Indiebound

Left at the Altar Excerpt #5

Grant stared at the vision in front of him and felt a squeezing pain in his chest. Had his heart been caught in a vise, it couldn’t have hurt more.

Meg looked even more beautiful than she had the day he’d first set eyes on her all those weeks ago. She wore the same wedding dress— the dress that cost an astounding two hundred and fifty-nine dollars and was worth every penny.

She had been angry when first they’d met. Today he saw…what? Not happiness. Not joy. Not like when she had danced in the street. Or on the night he’d taken her in his arms and kissed her. Instead he saw hurt, confusion, maybe even panic, and his heart jolted with alarm.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She blinked as if holding back tears. “I’m fine,” she said with a wave of dismissal. Her gaze dropped to his carpetbag, and he heard her intake of breath. “You’re leaving?”

He nodded. “On the next train.”

Her eyes sought his, and he detected accusatory lights in their depths. “B- But why? Is it because you miss Boston?”

It’s because I had the misfortune of falling in love with you. But he couldn’t say that. Not while she stood in her wedding gown ready to marry another man. “I don’t think this is the place for a big-city lawyer like me.”

Meg moistened her lips, and he recalled the taste and feel of those lips on his. “I guess you never did find out what your sister saw in the town,” she said.

“Nope, never did.” For a moment they stared at each other without speaking. Grant’s mind traveled back to New Year’s Eve. Did he really hold her in his arms? Devour those pretty, soft lips? Did she really kiss him back?

The memory felt so real and yet…it also seemed like a dream. “I wish you and Tommy much happiness.”

She looked at him through misty eyes. The words trembling on her lips remained unspoken until at last they fell away, never to be revealed.

Organ music drifted through the open door of the church. Buggies, carriages, and wagons were parked on the street in front. No doubt the church was packed with wedding guests.

A distant train whistle reminded Grant of the time. “I better go. I have a train to catch.” And if I don’t leave, I’m likely to do something completely off limits… Something that both of us will end up regretting.

Her sister Josie beckoned from the steps of the church. “Hurry, Meg. It’s almost time.”

“I’ll be right there.” Meg turned back to him. “I guess this is good- bye.” Her voice was cool, distant, so unlike the warmth he remembered from other occasions. From New Year’s Eve…

“Guess so,” he said, unable to say anything so final. He watched her walk away, and it felt as if she had taken a piece of his heart with her. “Meg!”

She stopped and turned. She stood a short distance away in a cloud of satin with the sun at her back, in her hair. The vision would forever be engraved on his heart. Whether that would be a curse or a blessing, only time would tell.

Grant took an unsteady breath. The three little words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. “Be happy,” he managed at length. There was nothing left to say; nothing else he dared say.

Part of his past was dead to him, and at that moment it seemed like the future was too. He started along the path leading away from the church, the longest walk of his life.

“Grant!” He whirled around, and his heart thudded.

“I almost came back,” she called softly. “On New Year’s Eve. I almost came back to celebrate a second time.”

He stared at her. Why was she telling him this now? To punish him for kissing her? To torture him? To make him feel worse than he already did?

“I’m glad I didn’t,” she said, the words like arrows to his heart.

Her gaze locked with his just as the church bells pealed from the tower. And just like that she was gone—gone to become another man’s bride.

Follow along with the other excerpts of the book that are a part of this tour.

• What is that Book About
• Becky on Books…And Quilts

About Margaret Brownley:

MARGARET BROWNLEY penned her first novel at age eleven and has been writing ever since. She’s now a New York Times and CBA bestselling author and has written thirty-five novels and one nonfiction book. Margaret and her husband have three grown children and make their home in Southern California.

Find Margaret Brownley: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest 

 

 

Tour Wide Giveaway!

As part of this spotlight tour there are 5 copies of this book up for grabs.  Entries are made via the Rafflecopter below.  For any questions or concerns please contact the tour coordinator as I am not involved in that part.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Two Sides to Every Story: The Gunpowder Plot

Today I have the opportunity to welcome Tony Morgan, author of Remember, Remember the 6th of November to The Maiden's Court with a timely contribution to the Two Sides to Every Story series.  Today we are treated to a piece about the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.  I hope you will enjoy it - I certainly did!

Guy Fawkes – Terrorist or Freedom Fighter?

On November 5^th in 1605 a major terrorist atrocity was prevented in England. If this had not happened, King James I would have been killed, his government devastated and the English Parliament destroyed. The modern world we live in would now be a different place.

In the UK, we celebrate the failure of this Gunpowder Plot every November 5^th with fireworks. We call it Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night but what was it about?

In 2015, I asked myself this question. The more I read, the more fascinated I became. The parallels with our own time were acute. For example, economic instability, religious persecution and government surveillance. I felt compelled to write. The outcome was the novel, REMEMBER, REMEMBER, THE 6^TH OF NOVEMBER, a blend of historical novel, alternate history and contemporary thriller.

The most intriguing thing for me about 1605 was the men and women involved. My story focuses on these, including Robert Cecil and his lover Katherine of Suffolk, King James and Queen Anne of Denmark, Guy Fawkes, Isabella Fawkes and Robert Catesby. I asked myself could things have turned out differently?

This blog looks at one aspect of the story. Were Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby and the other Gunpowder Plotters freedom fighters or terrorists? There is a strong argument for both points of view.

Photo credit: sgwarnog2010 via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-SA

In 1605, the Scots Protestant King, James Stuart led a renewed clampdown on England’s Catholics, despite earlier promises to the contrary. At James’s side stood the man who’d engineered his route to the throne, Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury, Secretary of State and Spymaster General. Cecil had led previous persecutions against the Catholics, on behalf of the last Tudor monarch, Queen Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth had reigned for 45 years. England was now a Protestant country. The minority Catholic population were fined, barred from holding high office and sometimes imprisoned or even executed. James came to the throne in 1603. Catholics believed he would adopt a more tolerant approach. Perhaps he would have but two failed Catholic led plots against him changed his mind. By 1605, his views had hardened.

The Catholic population were worried but most favoured peaceful sufferance over any action, fearing savage retribution. Most but not all. Charismatic Robert Catesby believed the only way forward was regime change. King James would have to die. Catesby developed a plan to assassinate James (and most likely his two sons), blow up the Opening of Parliament, kidnap the nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth, convert her to Catholicism and place her on the throne.

Over a number of months, Catesby developed a cell of a dozen or more conspirators, each committed to the cause. These included Yorkshireman Guy Fawkes, selected both for his military expertise and anonymity in London.

The plotters bought gunpowder, rented a house next to Parliament and an under-croft cellar beneath it. Secretly, they shipped thirty-six barrels filled with explosives across the Thames. Fawkes was chosen as the man to light the fuse and make his escape. When Parliament opened on 5^th November, he would be ready, armed with a slow fuse.

But a week previously, Lord Monteagle, a man with Catholic sympathies and connected to several of the plotters, received an anonymous letter warning him not to attend. He’d handed this to Robert Cecil, who used the information. Or had Cecil, through his spies, known of the plot all along and written the letter? Security around Parliament was tightened. Fawkes and the gunpowder were discovered and he was tortured. Catesby and the others were killed or brought back to London for show trial and later hung, drawn and quartered. A number of priests who were not involved were also executed. Attitudes to, and actions against, the Catholic population hardened, as many had feared.

Were Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby and the others brave freedom fighters, with no choice but to combat a system which persecuted them? They’d seen their families and friends fined, goods confiscated from them and worse. They’d been betrayed by a King who’d promised tolerance to smooth his route to the crown but practiced persecution when it was on his head. Equally, their Spanish allies had let them down, dropping overt support for their cause in favour of a trade deal with England. With no hope for change coming from internal or external forces and worse to come, what else could they do?

Or were they simply terrorists, men who refused to listen to the advice of senior Catholic priests who urged restraint and patience? They could have made a case for change, endured and waited or simply, as most had the means, left the country like many other Catholics to live in Spain, France, the Low Countries or Italy, or even in the new world of the Americas. They had choices but made the decision to kill.

It is possible to see both points of view. Perhaps the most damning thing against them is their method. By planning to destroy Parliament, they would have not only have killed the King and the key leaders of Catholic persecution but also many others. Catesby had looked into this and determined the death of innocents was acceptable, when the cause was just in the eyes of God and there were no practical alternative approaches. The priest who’d given him this information had been talking in the context of war though rather than a civic ceremony, packed with non-combatants.

In my book I tried to see the point of view from both sides and asked the question of whether there was a third way, one in which Robert Cecil, a Protestant man, and Katherine of Suffolk, a Catholic woman, both would have major parts to play. I hope you enjoy the results – Remember, Remember the 6^th of November.

Tony Morgan is a Welshman living in Yorkshire in the UK. He has taken a gap year off work to write and publish his debut novel, and write the first draft of a sequel.

The book is available as an e-book on Amazon, with all profits in 2016 being shared equally between Save the Children and a small local flood support charity.

Buy the Book: Amazon | Amazon UK

Book Blurb:

England in 1605 is a country concerned about Europe, terrorism and government surveillance – this may sound familiar.

King James is looking to drive a renewed clampdown on England's Catholics. In response, a small group of conspirators, led by charismatic Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes, plan regime change. Their plans include blowing up Parliament, assassinating the King and kidnapping nine year old Princess Elizabeth.

Spymaster Robert Cecil and Katherine of Suffolk disagree with the King and the plotters. When Cecil receives an anonymous letter warning of an attack on Parliament, a race begins, featuring treachery, intrigue and torture, to find the author and prevent the country from lurching into all-out civil war.

The story is based upon the real life events of the Gunpowder Plot, mixed in with a number of twists along the way. Based upon reader requests, the book includes a handy What Really Happened appendix to allow readers to filter the fact from fiction after reading.

 

Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Mail Order Brides of the West: Evie by Caroline Fyffe

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☆☆

Heat Level:

 

Genre: Historical Romance, Western

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. 

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.

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!

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 |




Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court