Sam left home after his mother’s death. Both he and his father were grieving and Sam had taken to drinking his sorrow away. He spent his time in saloons and traveling with a not very nice group of men who committed quite a number of horrible acts before Sam left them behind, stopped drinking, and eventually returned home. Things had changed a great deal while he’d been gone. His father was willing to take him back, but would only accept that Sam was there to stay if he married the bride that his father had sent for. But it’s uncertain who was more surprised by this fact, Sam himself when his bride showed up on their doorstep unannounced, or Clarise, the woman who arrived expecting to find a man wanting to marry her rather than one not even knowing she was coming.
Like Ms. Linnington’s other books, I enjoyed reading this one. Clarise comes across ultimately as a very strong woman who is determined to find herself a home, while at the same time as a woman who is unsure of herself as she has been bullied and teased throughout her life for being too tall. She is willing to stand up for herself when no one else will, even as she tries to hide her hurt feelings, and is determined to find a place for herself so that she won’t be sent away, whether or not Sam is willing to marry her.
I like that Clarise is such a strong character with a bit of a softer side. I also like that we get to see not only Sam’s strength, but his faults. He is not perfect and doesn’t try to pretend to be. But he is determined not to repeat his previous mistakes. This is a strong story with characters that are easily relatable and whose reactions to events are quite understandable.
I think that anyone who enjoys any of Ms. Linnington’s other books or mail order bride novels should enjoy this book. It is a very entertaining story that occasionally had me on the edge of my seat as I read. There were some twists & turns that I hadn’t expected in this book, and I think that they made it all the more entertaining to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment