Bewitched, beguiled, and in over his head. . . The marvelous, mysterious woman is his bride-to-be?Culver Daniels spent years cultivating a peaceful, orderly existence with his blacksmith shop and livery business. Then the pastor of Noelle landed upon a crazy scheme to save the town by sending for a bunch of mail-order brides. Despite his determination to remain single, Culver finds himself among … remain single, Culver finds himself among those agreeing to wed. The moment he meets the beautiful gypsy woman he’s promised to marry, he realizes life will never be the same.
Widow Kezia Mirga has no desire to marry again. Yet, for the sake of her most cherished treasure, she decides to wed a man in a remote Colorado mining town. She arrives to find nothing as she expected, the town in a state of turmoil, and her intended far more handsome and charming than she imagined. Dare she dream of a future with the burly blacksmith, or should she escape back to Denver before she loses her heart?
Will true love triumph over secrets and surprises in this sweet and wholesome holiday romance?
The Dove is second in a series of 12 novellas.
˃˃˃ Meet the inhabitants of Noelle, Colorado, the little town at the heart of this historical series.
His gaze traveled from Mrs. Boonesbury to the woman behind her. “And your name, Miss?”
A slight blush dusted the woman’s cheeks with pink as she lifted chocolate-colored eyes to his. Culver had always been quite partial to chocolate. He could quickly grow accustomed to staring into eyes that held such mesmerizing flecks of amber light among their glossy depths.
When she didn’t respond, he took a step closer, but Mrs. Boonesbury subtly shifted to block him from the stunning woman.
Culver moved to the right and so did the gypsy’s self-appointed guard. He shifted to the left, as did Mrs. Boonesbury. A few more steps back and forth and Culver decided the old woman was not only a fair dancer, but also the most irritating person he’d encountered in a long while. He couldn’t fathom a single reason why she’d prevent him from getting any closer to the gypsy woman, but she undoubtedly planned to do so.
Defeated, at least temporarily, Culver looked again to the dark-haired woman. “Miss? What’s your name? Who are you to marry?”
“You, Mr. Daniels,” she said in a soft, alluring voice that melted Culver’s insides and turned his brain to mush. “I’m Kezia Mirga, but my friends call me Zee.”
“You’re even more beautiful than I dreamed, Miss Mirga,” Culver said, shocked to discover his tongue joined the rebellion his heart and feet had already staged against his good sense.
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Both had histories to get around but Both were attracted to each other from the start. But it takes baby Jem to get them together.Great story
The second story in the Twelve Days Christmas Mail Order Brides is amazing and such a sweet and fun story. I loved this story written by Shanna Hatfield as I have all her stories. It is sweet, fun, sarcastic and witty and full of sass. Her heroine Kezia is a Gypsy and of course that brings some bit of a mystical, yet fun side to the character coming to Noelle, CO along with all the eleven other brides including the mail order woman who arranged this all with the request of the pastor of this men only town.
Culver the hero is the blacksmith of the town and Kezia’s intended groom. He is one of the really respectable men in town. He was against the idea of getting married but somehow went to draw straws along with the other men who wanted a bride and ended up being on of twelve men who drew the short straws so he has to write to the mail order agency to find a bride. Meanwhile he has is doubts over and over about this whole thing until he sees the most stunning woman in the group who he finds attracted to.
One problem that could keep them apart is both having badly past childhoods and history alone the way.
Oh this story is fantastic and fun to read, had me smiling and laughing out loud,
I wouldn’t expect anything less from Shanna Hatfield. This is a must read in this series. From the woman and some of the men mentioned in this book I can imagine the rest of this series will be good.
I was offered this ARC and took it because I wanted to read another of Shanna Hatfield’s stories. This review is because I wanted to review if after reading and I was under no pressure to do one and didn’t get anything for doing so.
As always, I enjoyed this novella by Ms. Hatfield. It is written with her trademark sweet with just the right touch of spice style, swoon-worthy hero, and feisty heroine.
Loved reading this story – now on to the others in the series!!
On the second day of Christmas… Isn’t this a fun idea for a series!?! 12 Days. 12 Mail-order Brides. As someone that loves everything Christmas, this series immediately had appeal. Add that Shanna Hatfield is one of my favorite authors, and I couldn’t wait to read The Dove. I absolutely loved it!!
It didn’t take me long to fall in love with Culver. Less than halfway through the prologue he had won me over. His letter was sweet and honest and completely endearing. Just like the man himself. Kezia is so full of life! Which is amazing after everything she’s been through. She is friendly and kind and a wonderful mother. I love them as a couple! They’re not an obvious match, which is part of what makes it so good. And baby Jemimah is just precious!
This is the first book I’ve read in the series. (I know, I know – second day. I’ll go back and read the first.) Several of the characters from the series make cameos. It just made me more excited to read their stories! This is going to be a great series!
I received a complimentary copy of the book, which I voluntarily reviewed. I have given my honest opinion.
The Dove: The Second day (The 12 Days of Christmas – Mail Order Bride) by Shanna Hatfield had me from the very first page. This emotional story of Culver Daniel and Kezia Misga is heartwarming, charming and sweet. The raw emotion, pain and heartbreak that you feel when Kezia tells Culver of her lifeless childhood with a drunk for a father, one who blames her for the fact that her Mother died in child birth. When she tells of veins sold to a abusive man who beat her so bad on their wedding night that she couldn’t stand up. You would expect her to be bitter and yet she not. She is a warm, loving Mother to her daughter, Jemimah. Her little “Dove.” She decided to become a mail order bride to give her daughter a better life. Even after all ahe has been through she is strong and brave and firm that she will not allowed another man to abuse her. Culver didn’t have a clue what his mail order bride was going to be like, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect anything like Kezia. Full of life, colorful, beautiful and she comes with a bonus, one the certainly knocks Culver for a loop. The Dove is everything you want in a Christmas Romance. You will not be able to help falling in love with this heartwarming story.
The Dove is a charming tale of a brawny blacksmith who plans to wed a mail order bride somewhat against his wishes. When he sees his bride to be, he is immediately smitten by her gypsy looks. Can they work out their differences in lifestyles and become man and wife? This was a fun and quick read