The Anonymous Bride
By Vickie McDonough
Publication date: April 1, 2010
My review:
Marshal Luke Davis gets more than he bargained for when he returns to Lookout, Texas. He finds out that Rachel Hamilton,the only woman he ever loved, is now a widow with a spunky daughter. To complicate matters his cousins decide to play matchmaker by writing to three different mail order brides pretending to be Luke. Rachel realizes she still has feelings for Luke but he is bitter and unforgiving. Then the mail order brides arrive and the town decides to hold a contest to help Luke pick his bride.
The Anonymous Bride is the first in the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series. It combines humor and romance with just a little bit of suspense. While I liked Luke's character it was Rachel who really grabbed me. She went through a lot of painful experiences in her past and she struggles to support and raise her unruly daughter alone. When the mail order brides arrive she extends kindness to them even though they are there to marry Luke. The other standout character was Jack, Rachel's daughter. She is a funny troublemaker but she genuinely cares about her mom. I loved the way Luke befriended her and was able to understand her when Rachel could not.
I thought this was a fun book with a positive message. One thing I did not like was the behavior of Leah, one of the mail order brides. When she is first introduced in the book she seems nice but later on she comes across as stuck up and unfriendly. Hopefully her character will improve in the sequel. I also thought the suspense storyline was resolved too quickly and easily. It might also be difficult for readers to buy into the contest plot device but it added humor to the story. Overall I liked The Anonymous Bride and look forward to reading the next book in the series. Readers of Christian historical romance who enjoy the works of authors like Lori Copeland and Mary Connealy would enjoy The Anonymous Bride.
I received an electronic ARC of this title for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This series looks really cute!! Maybe Leah will find her way in another book in the series.
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