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Reviews for
Brides of the West
by Michelle Ann Young, Billie Warren
Chai, and
Kimberly Ivey
BRIDES OF THE WEST ANTHOLOGY is a nice
collection that shows three very different stories of mail order
brides.
SATIN AND SNAKESKIN by Michele Ann Young
Aw, cowboys. Ya gotta love them, and Ms Young does a good job of
helping you fall in love with her characters. Not only are they
great, but the story has wonderful continuity.
When Jake Redmond meets Tess Dalton, he is ready to return his mail
order bride. He imagined a sturdier woman to help him with his
ranch. Obviously Tess is not up to the challenge when she doesn’t
even know the difference between a ranch and a farm. He can’t help
but wonder why a woman from London would answer his ad and Tess
refuses to reveal her reason.
Jake’s prickly edges are set on end when his nephews and uncle
become smitten with the English lady’s charm. Her homey touches, not
to mention cooking skills, make almost everyone forgive her
shortcomings. Jake wins no support when he reminds them that the
stage will return in five days and Tess will be on it. I really felt
for Tess here until I realized the woman had a backup plan. When
disaster strikes, Tess shows Jake there is more to his mail order
bride than even he requires.
SATIN AND SNAKESKIN was a very enjoyable read even though a few
times Ms Young’s word choices sounded modern. Although the ending
was predictable, there was an unexpected twist near the end. Jake
and Tess are characters that are real and endearing. This type of
story is made for rainy, Saturday afternoons. Michele Ann Young has
a very nice writing style and is an author to look for.
***
GRAY WOLF’S BRIDE by Kimberly Ivy
Love, love, love it!! From the first page, I knew this was going to
be good, but I had no idea how good.
Set to take revenge on an old love, Gray Wolf McKinnon, now known as
Adam Smith, marries by proxy. His new bride will come face to face
with her past while facing a future with a man who has grown to hate
her. As much a victim as her new husband, Evangeline Payne readies
for her new life. Time has not tempered their feelings for each
other, and Gray Wolf cannot bring himself to imprison Evangeline.
She is free to go but if she does, she must leave with him the son
she never told him about. Talk about getting his revenge. How can
she leave her son, even if it is with his father? I’m glad this was
Evangeline’s decision and not mine, although I was relieved with the
outcome.
Evangeline and Gray Wolf are flawed characters that pulled at every
heartstring, not to mention Mac, their son. GRAY WOLF’S BRIDE is a
sweeping story that has nonstop action and drama. This story is
gripping, sweet, tense, and kept me on the edge-of-my-seat. When
secrets are revealed, along with a hideous villain that I personally
wanted to rip apart, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
GRAY WOLF’S BRIDE is not to be missed. The only complaint I have is
that it is not a full-length novel. Pure and simple, I gotta have
more of this author.
***
THE CHANCES ARE BRIDE by Billie Warren Chai
As a mail order bride, Annabelle Yeager has kept her end of the
bargain only to find that her intended groom has passed away. While
waiting for the next stage heading east, she learns that her fiancé,
who was known to everyone as a horrible person, has left her an
inheritance, the town brothel.
With nowhere else to go, Annabelle accepts her new business and
becomes shunned by polite society. Sheriff Josh Morrow comes to her
aid by allowing her to sleep in the jail. Little does he know that
this will be the safest place for her. One night, Annabelle outwits
some nasty characters by doing the last thing anyone expected.
Although I have to cheer for a woman who thinks on her feet, the
connection to the characters was a little distanced. That being
said, the overall idea for this story is great, and Ms Chai does a
lovely job displaying scenes that allow a woe-be-gone character a
chance to triumph.
Jake may be in her corner, and more than a little impressed with her
tenacity, but Annabelle’s troubles have just begun. She meets with
the disgruntled house Madame, who turns out to be an obstacle to
Annabelle’s plans thereby creating another realistic conflict that
she has to overcome.
Although THE CHANCES ARE BRIDE did not maintain the same intensity
of the first two stories, Ms Chai does a wonderful job of showing
the fortitude it took for a single woman to survive the west. With
this being my first introduction to Ms Chai’s work, I will look for
her again. Her talent for story concept and plot showed great
promise.
Review by Gardenia,
The Long and the Short of It
Also reviewed at
Love Western Romances - five spurs!
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