Mail-Order Brides of Oak Grove - Lauri Robinson, Kathryn Albright (HH #1331 - June 2017)

Series: Oak Grove (Book 1)

Twin sisters say "I do" in the Wild West!

SURPRISE BRIDE FOR THE COWBOY by Lauri Robinson 

Mary McCary never wanted to be a mail-order bride, but falling off the Oak Grove train into Steve Putnam's lap changes everything... Could he be the cowboy to tempt her down the aisle?

Good book. The story opens with a prologue, showing Mary and Maggie in jail in Ohio. They have been arrested for selling their "tonic" without a permit. They are given a choice of staying in jail or becoming mail-order brides in a small town in Kansas. There really isn't any other logical choice, so they end up on a train bound for Oak Grove, Kansas, with several other potential brides.

Mary has no intention of marrying anyone. The first thing she does when the train arrives in Oak Grove is sneak out a rear door, planning to hide out somewhere until her latest batch of tonic is ready to bottle, and she can sell enough to move on. Things don't go quite as she planned and she ends up hired as a cook on Steve Putnam's ranch for a month.

Steve has no plans ever to marry. He saw what the hard life did to his mother and father and won't put himself through that pain. When his regular cook is injured, Steve needs to find someone to take his place. He's not too happy about hiring Mary at first, but it isn't long before he's glad he did.

I enjoyed the development of Steve and Mary's relationship. Sparks fly between them from the start. Mary needs a place to hide from the bride-hunting men of the town where she can also earn the money she needs to move on. She is feisty and independent, also kind and warm-hearted.  Steve is honorable and stubborn. He needs a cook but suspects that Mary is going to be trouble. Over the next thirty days they move from adversaries to friends, to more as they get to know each other. I loved watching them butt heads over her tonic while at the same time they couldn't stop thinking about each other. It was fun to see the way that each got flustered by the other's presence and argued with themselves about what they were feeling. The sparks burned hotter as the time came closer when Mary would have to make a decision. The ending was fun as they were helped along by a rattlesnake and a kick in the pants delivered by the doctor.

TAMING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE by Kathryn Albright 

Running from trouble, Maggie McCary signs up to be a mail-order bride. She doesn't intend to actually marry...until she shares one sensational kiss with Jackson Miller!

Maggie and Mary get separated when Maggie wants to stay in town and take advantage of the accommodations being provided for the brides. She has no more intention than Mary does of marrying, but she wants to be comfortable while earning the money to move on. When she realizes that Mary is missing, Maggie worries about her. She also feels bad about their argument but has to trust that her sister will be alright.

Maggie is a bit more sensitive than Mary and feels bad about being portrayed as one of the brides when she has no intention of marrying. She tries very hard to avoid leading on any of the men who pay attention to her. I liked that honorable side of her. She is also determined and clever and finds a way to promote her tonic that also keeps it fairly quiet. The only problem she has is her unexpected fascination with Jackson Miller.

Jackson is the town carpenter. He came to Oak Grove after his fiancée ran off with his best friend and he needed a new start. His brother was the preacher, and Jackson came to help build the church. His brother died before the church was finished, but Jackson promised to stay until it was done. Once it is, he plans to move on. Those plans are upended when he encounters Maggie.

I enjoyed seeing Maggie and Jackson get to know each other. Because neither intends to marry they think they are safe, but Fate has other ideas. Jackson is a bit closed off because of his past, but every time he encounters Maggie her vivacity shines a little more light into the dark corners of his life. There is also an attraction simmering between them, and when Jackson seizes the opportunity to kiss Maggie, the results are life-altering for them both. Neither can deny the effect on their hearts, but there are obstacles. Jackson is not one of the men who paid for a chance at a bride, so he isn't technically eligible to court her. Jackson also makes no secret of his disapproval of her tonic. Mary has the mail-order bride contract hanging over her head and the reason she had to sign it. Things look especially bad when she gets thrown in jail for selling her tonic and trying to evade her contract. The sheriff provided a unique and effective solution to the problem.

I liked the epilogue, which wrapped up the courting period quite nicely. I'm looking forward to reading more stories about Oak Grove's mail-order brides, as only five of the twelve promised have arrived.

Winning the Mail-Order Bride - Lauri Robinson (HH #1343 - Sept 2017)

Series: Oak Grove (Book 2)

She was promised to another…

When widow Fiona Goldberg and her two adorable sons arrive in Oak Grove, Kansas, proclaimed bachelor Brett Blackwell is instantly captivated. But when he learns she is promised to the mayor, he tries his best to keep his distance…

Out of desperation, Fiona had agreed to become a mail-order bride to the disagreeable, self-important mayor. But something about her neighbor Brett makes her feel safe. She knows she must fight her growing feelings for the forbidden blacksmith, even while longing for him to rescue her and take her as his bride himself!

Good book. Oak Grove, Kansas, is a town with a need for women who are looking for husbands. Many of the men of the town got together and put money into an Oak Grove Betterment Committee, and the mayor wrote to a friend in Ohio advertising for wives. He promised twelve brides, but so far there have only been five arrive, leaving quite a few disappointed men.

Fiona is a recent widow with two young sons who has been living in Ohio. Thanks to the circumstances of her husband's death, she and her sons have been treated as outcasts. It is strongly suggested that she become one of the brides. The mayor personally invites Fiona to become his bride, bypassing the Betterment Committee. When she arrives in Oak Grove, the mayor quickly shuffles Fiona and her boys to a small house, telling them to stay there. The house is empty of everything except one small bed and has no food or provisions of any type. Fiona herself has no money to purchase these things.

Brett lives in the house next door to Fiona's. He is a successful businessman and one of the disappointed bridegrooms. He encounters Fiona's sons, Wyatt and Rhett, on his way back from fishing. Learning of their situation, he invites them and Fiona to eat with him. I loved Brett. He was one of seven boys growing up and immediately connects with both Wyatt and Rhett. He knows just how to talk to them and treat them.

There are so many emotions in this book. There is loneliness. Brett wants what the other men have found - love, friendship, passion, and a family of his own. Fiona has been alone in a way since even before her husband's death, thanks to his drinking and other problems. There is anger. The anger of the men who feel that they have been deceived, Brett's anger at the way Josiah treats Fiona, and Fiona's anger at Josiah over the way he treats her sons. There is also confusion, as Fiona is torn between keeping her word to Josiah and following the heart that increasingly leans toward Brett.

Most of all, there is love. I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Brett and Fiona. There is an attraction from the get-go, though both try to resist it. Both know that Fiona is promised to Josiah. But Brett can't deny that Fiona is everything that he has been looking for, and he quickly feels very protective of her and the boys. I loved how Brett took care of them, both with food and simply caring about their needs and wants. It was really sweet to see how quickly Wyatt and Rhett began to look up to Brett. Fiona quickly discovers that Brett is everything she could wish for in a husband. His kindness, generosity, and caring are a balm to her wounded soul.

But things look pretty bleak for a happy ending for them. Fiona is promised to Josiah and, having been the victim of broken promises, refuses to break her word to Josiah. I ached for her because it was obvious that Josiah is all wrong for her. Brett has a similar problem because, before he met Fiona, he had wired his mother that he was looking for a wife, and she had already found a woman for him. So both Fiona and Brett are honor-bound to other people. A life-threatening injury for Fiona and an unexpected twist in the other woman's arrival bring matters to a head. The solution to Brett's problem is quite clever, while Fiona's required her to put herself first.

The secondary characters were well done. Josiah, the mayor, was a character it was easy to dislike. He was pompous and had a very high opinion of himself. He was also a bit underhanded in his dealings with the men and with Fiona. He had selected Fiona for very selfish reasons, feeling that he needed a wife for his social and political well-being. His treatment of her and the boys showed a man who doesn't think of others before himself. He did redeem himself a little bit at the end, but I still found him to be very unpleasant. Fiona's sons Wyatt and Rhett were terrific. Wyatt was only seven, but he tried so hard to be the man of the house. Rhett, at five, was adorable, especially the way that he hero-worshipped Brett. I loved the various townspeople, especially the ladies that took care of Fiona. It was sweet to see the way that they all pulled Fiona into their lives, offering friendships like she'd never had before.