Thursday, October 17, 2013

A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Bride for Keeps
Bethany House Publishers (October 1, 2013)
by
Melissa Jagears

MY THOUGHTS:
I am a huge marriage-of-convenience fan so I was really excited when I found out about this book. But for some reason my brain decided that I probably wouldn't love it as much as I was hoping so I went in with very low expectations. And boy was I wrong! I loved this book SO much! I devoured it and rarely put it down. I read the first 100 pages in one sitting and I would have read the remaining pages in another except that I had to take a short dinner break.
Everett was by far my absolute favorite character! I felt so bad with all that he had gone through with trying to find a bride. And my heart broke as he struggled between not wanting to be hurt again and wanting to be a good husband. The author wrote in such a beautiful way that I could totally feel all of his emotions.
Julia was also an awesome character. It was horrible the things that she'd experienced and it was sad to watch as she fought between being completely afraid of love and affection from Everett while at the same time desiring it. I was really impressed with how she didn't back down from any hard work no matter what it was or how little she knew about it!
I was also really happy that Dex and Rachel were a big part of this story! It was cool to see how their lives had turned out!
So in short I loved everything about this book and I can't wait to see what else this author has up her sleeve!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A Word From The Author:
I am a stay at home mother on a tiny little farm with a fixer-upper house. As much as I love writing and reading about homesteaders, I am so glad I’m a homesteader during an era with modern grocery stores to take up for my slack. I am an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher by trade, and I still work occasionally in that field along with being my church’s financial secretary and writing novels.
My husband and I have been married since 2001 and have a daughter and two little boys. My husband shares my fascination with traditional living except for being more hands on. He loves blacksmithing, knife smithing, traditional archery, hunting, etc. Generally whatever a mountain man does, he does it or has or wants to attempt it. He comes in handy for research! And of course, the rest of the family gets involved. I have my own blackpowder rifle, named Calvin, that my husband made for me. And I’m pretty sure my daughter is probably one of very few her age who can instruct adults how to shoot a longbow properly. The boy digs random holes in my yard to make “cement” with dirt and water making our yard a tripping hazard. The baby does what babies do.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Tender Tale of Love on the Prairie Perfect for CBA Readers!
Although Everett Cline can hardly keep up with the demands of his homestead, he won't humiliate himself by looking for a helpmate ever again--not after being jilted by three mail-order brides. When a well-meaning neighbor goes behind his back to bring yet another mail-order bride to town, he has good reason to doubt it will work, especially after getting a glimpse at the woman in question. She's the prettiest woman he's ever seen, and it's just not possible she's there to marry a simple homesteader like him.
Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. Having finally worked up the courage to leave her life in Massachusetts, she's determined to find a place where people will value her for more than her looks. Having run out of all other options, Julia resorts to a mail-order marriage in far-away Kansas.
Everett is skeptical a cultured woman like Julia could be happy in a life on the plains, while Julia, deeply wounded by a past relationship, is skittish at the idea of marriage at all. When, despite their hesitations, they agree to a marriage in name only, neither one is prepared for the feelings that soon arise to complicate their arrangement. Can two people accustomed to keeping their distance let the barricades around their hearts down long enough to fall in love?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Bride for Keeps, go HERE.

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