Series: Bowen Family (Book 2)
The arrival of Michael Bowen's bride, married sight unseen by proxy, sends the rancher reeling. With her trousers, cowboy hat and rifle, she looks like a female outlaw -- not the genteel lady he corresponded with for months. He's been hoodwinked into marriage with the wrong woman!
Selina Farleigh Bowen loved Michael's letters, even if she couldn't read them herself. A friend read them to her, and wrote her replies -- but apparently that "friend" left things out, like Michael's dream of a wife who was nothing like her. Selina won't change who she is, not even for the man she loves. Yet time might show Michael the true value of his unlikely wife.
Good book. Michael is twenty-seven and ready to settle down with a wife of his own. He admires his sister-in-law Rainee and wants a wife like her - sweet, genteel, educated. He corresponds with a woman back East who seems to fulfill his every dream and marries her by proxy. But when she arrives, Selina is far from what he expected.
Selina is a woman from the hills of Kentucky. She was ten when her mother died and left her father sunk in grief. She took it upon herself to care for the family, learning to hunt, fish, cook, clean, and do many other things. This left her with no time to go to school herself, though she made sure that her brothers went. Because she can't read, she depends on her friend to read Michael's letters to her and respond to them for her. Selina falls hard for the man who wrote such wonderful letters and can't wait to join him. Their first meeting is quite a shock for both Michael and Selina. Michael is stunned that she is the complete opposite of everything he wanted and doesn't hide his disappointment and anger. Selina is hurt that the man she has come to love so obviously doesn't want her. Michael is an honorable man, however, and will abide by his vows.
I have to say that I did not care for Michael at first. I thought he was judgmental and snobby and had no consideration for Selina's feelings. He won back a few points when he stood by her to introduce her to his friends and family. But he still has his vision of the perfect wife stuck in his mind and spent a fair amount of time and energy trying to get Selina to change to meet his expectations.
I liked Selina from the start. She is a strong and capable woman who has adapted to all the curveballs life has thrown at her. She is comfortable with who she is and refuses to be bullied into making changes just to please a man. She is kindhearted and sweet most of the time, but she can be stubborn when the situation calls for it.
I enjoyed the development of Michael and Selina's relationship. They are determined to make their marriage work; they just have to figure out how to deal with each other. I loved seeing Selina make a place for herself in her new world. It didn't take long for everyone else to accept her just as she was. It was great fun to see Selina refuse to change who she is inside. At the same time, she wanted Michael to come to love her. I liked the ways that she found to adapt to his ideals without losing her own. Her vivacity and uniqueness slowly began to work past Michael's tunnel vision, and he began to appreciate her. There were several sweet scenes where he does something that shows he's beginning to understand her, but he doesn't see that his feelings for her are growing and changing. It takes an unexpected visitor to show him that he has had what he wanted all along if he had just opened his eyes and heart to see it. The epilogue was a terrific update on their lives a few months later..
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