Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime. Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for … for the infant. While there, he’s devastated by the news from his fiancee in England that she’s marrying another man.With mounting pressure to find the baby a home, Zoe accepts a proposal from a miner of questionable character after he promises to help her locate her brother. Intent on protecting Zoe and frustrated by his failed engagement, Abe offers his own hand as groom. After a hasty wedding, they soon realize their marriage of convenience is not so convenient after all.
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One thing that’s always consistent with Jody’s books are how impeccably researched they are.
No matter what the topic is of the series she knows her stuff and presents her research findings in an easy to read yet fun format. I love how much I am able to learn about the historical time period from her books, interesting facts I may not have encountered otherwise if I hadn’t read her books.
I do believe if you’ve read historical fiction you’ve probably read about mail order brides , this book is about brides coming on a bride ship to get married. Can you just imagine a ship full of ladies looking to get married hoping for a faithful,caring,God fearing man? That would definitely be a sight to see.
You can just imagine the emotions these ladies were going through.
Now the lady the story focuses on is Zoe Hart, an unemployed mill worker accused of a crime looking for a better life and to be reunited with her brother so she emigrates to British Columbia in 1863.
Humble, unassuming preacher to the miners Abe Merivale is frustrated with his failed engagement and is understandably devastated by the news his fiancee in England is marrying another.
The author will keep you turning pages quickly to see how things are progressing with our main characters and the precious baby that brought them together .
I very much enjoy reading the faith message in all of Jody’s books .
The last book in the Bride Ships series releases in August and I’m eagerly anticipating it!
Pub Date 30 Jun 2020 by Bethany House Publishers.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.
This is book 3 in the The Bride Ship Series, but it could be read as a standalone. So first, the cover is gorgeous and although I like the info on the back cover, I just don’t think it does the book justice (there is just no way to get the how awesome the story is just by reading the back cover). As soon as I read the part where Zoe stood up for her friend and then risked getting sick to take care of her, I knew that I was going to fall in love with the characters in the book. There were two things that I absolutely loved about the story. The first one was that although Zoe thought she couldn’t find love and was happy just being a bride of convenience, God had other plans for her and not only did he protect her from a horrible marriage, but he gave her a godly husband who would love and cherish her for who she was (it would take a little time, but he would get there).
The second thing was the end of the story, Oh the ending was so unbelievably perfect that I couldn’t put it down and I didn’t want the story to end!! (seriously, I had a huge smile on my face while reading the last few chapters, and my sister thought I was losing it). I’ve read the first and second book in this series, but this one was by far by FAVORITE in the series, Correction, this is my favorite book that Jody Hedlund has written so far. I absolutely recommend this book and cannot wait for the next book!! I give the book 5 out of 5 stars.
Special thanks to Jody Hedlund, Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for letting me read and review this book – all opinions are my own.
This is the 3rd book of the Bride Ships series by Judy Hedlund.
This story was amazing from start to finish. Zoe has decided to join the Bride ship with her friend Jane to find a better life than the one they have where they live. A mill worker and with a twin brother Zeke gone she embarks into what she thinks will be a better life that they deserve.
Zeke her twin brother has run away after an accident leaves him taking the blame for the fire that destroys and kills a supervisor. He goes to the mountains to dig for gold.
Zoe and Jane arrive, Jane is very ill. At the hospital Zoe meets Abe. Abe a Pastor at the mountains for the miners there. When Jane passes away, Pastor Abe prays for her friend as well for her. As they are at the hospital one of the men there comes rushing looking for Abe to take his baby girl and take care of her. Zoe notices the baby and the ill smell coming from the bag she was in. A pretty little girl with big eyes she notices she is a native baby. She takes her with her.
At the thought of her needing help to take care of an infant and her needing a husband she finds herself considering marrying a miner. Only because he tells her he will take her with the native infant and also help her reach the mountain where her brother would be at.
But as night comes and all the other suitors don’t want to take her with the baby, she goes to the parish where Pastor Abe is at. Being really her only hope to a descent life and family. Pastor Abe saddened and heartbroken by a letter from the woman he has loved all his life that mentions that she has married another man. He accepts and decides to marry Zoe.
But after considering what he has done, he feels he needs to get out of it. But with his friend Pete’s advice he finds that he will stay married and work it out.
After getting to know her, Abe finds himself getting smitten with Zoe, as well she feels the same way about him. But when a letter is sent to Abe and Zoe opens it she sees that Lizzy, the gentlewoman Abe has loved is coming to Victoria to marry him after her own wedding is canceled. Zoe heads out to find her twin brother Zeke only to find herself in front of the man who she left standing at the alter after she married Pastor Abe. When things go wrong she wishes she would of stayed back and waited to see what happened.
As, her kidnapper Dexter has her captive, Pastor Abe as come to a conclusion that Zoe is the only one for him, that he loves her more than he ever thought. But now he is looking to find a way to bring her back home. As he enter the pub to find help, he discovers Zoe’s brother Zeke. And is then when Zeke explains he has come to see her and finds himself forming a group of men to go get his sister back from the man that only wants to use her to get all the money that Zeke has gotten from the gold mine.
As they set out to go get her, Abe’s Native friend Sque-is finds her and baby Violet. After getting into a little gun fighting they come back with Dexter and his gang ready for jail. And then is when a woman of ill reputation has fallen ill and calls for Pastor Abe and Zoe to come to her home. Is there where all the True feelings they feel for each other come out to the open and he tells the Bishop and Lizzy that his life is there with his wife Zoe and doing the ministry he was called to do away from the bishops rules. After a moment of relief and disbelief of no more having financial stability for later in life, Wanda on her deathbed gives them her big mansion and her fortune for them to have and use for many more children needing a home and a family.
The end was beautiful. They are expecting a baby. They have adopted Wanda’s little boy and Violet the little Native infant that brought them together since the start. And they have transformed the mansion into a home, school for the orphaned children while sharing the word of God with everyone.
Such an amazing story of Forgiveness, Love, Faith and Hope that only God gives us. And accepting God’s will when it might scare us and also when we don’t understand it.
Loved this story HIGHLY recommended it. You will enjoy it or love it as I did. Kept you always wanting to know what happened. Excitement at each turn of the page. Sorry if I wrote too much for my review. Just didn’t want to leave anything out. Is such a great story I didn’t want to not give it justice with my review.
Received a copy of the book from the Author for my Honest Personal Opinion and Review of the story. Thank you Judy for such a great read.
A Bride of Convenience is the third book in The Bride Ship Series. After heartbreak, loss and a marriage of convenience holds more appeal than ever before. Another amazing book by Jody Hedlund. If you love historical fiction, this is one that should not be missed.
Zoe Hart is unemployed and struggling with grief, she decides to leaver her life behind and board a Bride Ship to British Columbia to try and find her brother who fled there when he was accused of a crime. The theme of loving others was clear throughout the story.
Abe Merivale is finishing out his commitment as a missionary and is looking to return to his parish in England and marry another woman. God has other plans for both Zoe and Abe.
Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and sit back for an adventure. A Bride of Convenience was my favorite so far out of the series. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
I was given a copy of the book from Bethany Publisher. All opinions are my own.
Really enjoyed this story. I liked both main characters and how their individual journeys brought them together. I’ll be looking out for more Jody Hedlund series.
As a result of the Civil War raging in America in the early 1860s, England faced a cotton shortage, putting the women and girls who worked in the cotton mills out of work and in even more dire straits than before. A group of these mill girls from Manchester became the second set of women to travel to Vancouver, British Columbia aboard one of the bride ships, this one being the Robert Lowe. What seems today to be an unfathomable institution offered hope and a chance at a future for young women otherwise destined to languish in extreme poverty and dreadful circumstances.
From among this group comes Zoe Hart, whose captivating story emerges from the pages of “A Bride of Convenience”, book 3 in Jody Hedlund’s Bride Ships series. From start to finish, her story is not what I expected, and that is part of why I love it so much! Despite knowing the man Zoe marries from the outset, there are so many twists and turns of the plot that this turns out not to be a spoiler. Two of the aspects that I consider to be integral to the best stories are the plot and the characters, and this novel skillfully demonstrates both. “A Bride of Convenience”, as indicated by its title, is about a marriage made at a moment’s notice when missionary minister Abe Merivale impulsively weds Zoe to protect her and a native baby left in their care.
Not only does Hedlund treat readers to an engaging storyline, she also creates multifaceted characters who rise from the pages with their own tragedies and triumphs, with relationships and behaviors that never seem contrived. The delightful, sage Mrs. Moresby again makes an appearance, as does a devious villain and several other colorful characters, although the majority of the narrative focuses on Zoe and Pastor Abe. Hedlund writes them beautifully, expressing their respective emotions and struggles, of which the other is often not aware. The weight and responsibility of being called to ministry and of being married to a minister are both well-articulated and are applicable to many in contemporary mission work as well. As Zoe comes to realize, “Maybe all God required was a willing heart and the trust that He’d work out the rest of the details in His timing and His way.” In the face of increasing obstacles and a seemingly hopeless situation, she makes a point that is startlingly simple yet profound: “But what if God’s the one who calls us? What if He’s the one who gives us our ministry? If God gives us our ministry, then no one else has the power to take it away.”
Of the three Bride Ships novels published thus far, “A Bride of Convenience” is my favorite. The history behind this program is unique in and of itself, and the narrative that Hedlund constructs only enhances the story. Readers will doubtless find some of themselves in the characters and hopefully glean inspiration from the fact that God sees the end from the beginning and has a good future planned for us, even when hope seems futile. After all, nothing is impossible with God!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and the publisher and was not required to post a positive review. All opinions are my own.
A Bride of Convenience is book three in Jody Hedlund‘s Bride Ships series. Where the women of the previous two books came to British Columbia on the Tynemouth, Zoe Hart has arrived on the second boat, the Robert Lowe. She has two qualifications for a husband: a man who can take care of her and take her to the mountains to find her brother.
That plan is complicated when she volunteers to take responsibility for an orphaned baby. Finding most potential husbands not interested in caring for the child, she takes the first proposal handed to her. But when Abe Merivale, a local itinerant pastor, learns of Zoe’s plan, he tries to dissuade her. The man she’s chosen is an unsavory one and Abe cannot let her make such a mistake. When his own engagement suddenly ends with a Dear John letter, Abe makes the impulsive decision to marry Zoe instead.
Marriage of convenience stories are some of my favorites and I loved the author’s twist in A Bride of Convenience. Zoe is a selfless with the way she steps in to take care of the orphaned baby, putting her own needs and desires behind caring for the little one. Especially since that child has both White and Native American blood, something that would destine the child to being an outcast, particularly by the White community.
Then there’s Abe. Oh Abe. The man needs a solid awakening to recognize just how obtuse he is. A very human hero, he is a beloved friend (and character) and a kind-hearted, but woefully ignorant husband. It is the latter, however, that could not only destroy his hasty marriage, but cost Zoe her life.
What I loved most about A Bride of Convenience was Zoe and Abe. Their characters came alive in the pages of the story and as a reader, I was rooting for them to figure things out before it was too late. There were a couple minor characters that were fun, too, like young Will.
I highly recommend reading A Bride of Convenience, especially if you love Historical Romance. It’s a story that will pull you into the mountains of British Columbia and introduce you a lovable and flawed cast of characters.
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I received this book free from the author and Bethany House Publishers in order to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Finally Pastor Abe’s story is here! In this third installment of The Bride Ships series, Jody Hedlund weaves a heartfelt, heart-wrenching marriage of convenience story with a well-meaning, loving, dedicated, but somewhat naive and clueless pastor and an outspoken, stubborn, compassionate, and tender-hearted girl from Manchester looking for her estranged brother and a chance at a better life. Zoe is a new character to the series but Pastor Abe played a significant role in the previous book so reading The Runaway Bride will help in appreciating Abe’s role in the community and his friendship with the baker Peter.
Zoe’s spunk and sass are such delightful contrast to Abe’s somber concern. Abe was portrayed as a wise and level-headed spiritual leader in the previous book but we see the man beneath the clerical collar in this story; his longings, desires, fears, uncertainties, and failures are openly displayed and yet Zoe is not deterred in her admiration of him. There is plenty of heart-warming moments as Zoe and Abe care for orphans desperate for love and a certain level of suspense and anticipation as Zoe looks for her twin brother and others try to tear apart Zoe and Abe’s marriage and stake claims on each of them.
If you enjoy historical romance, you will certainly love this book, as well as the series.
I enjoy marriage of convenience stories, so when I saw this book entitled A Bride of Convenience, I was pretty sure I would like it. And I was right. Author Jody Hedlund brings readers the third in her Bride Ships series with Zoe and Pastor Abe’s story. I have not read the first two and felt A Bride of Convenience was a solid stand-alone book. But I would like to go back and read the first two stories as the concept of women coming on a ship to America to find husbands is a fascinating concept, and I’d like to find out more about it. There was lots of romantic tension in the story. Zoe and Abe connect early on in the book, but it takes a lot of back and forth before they are willing to admit their love for the other, and for that matter, to admit even to themselves. I loved the characters from Zoe and Abe to a curmudgeonly bishop, good friends, and a couple of sweet children too. A Bride of Convenience is a quick read with a fast-paced plot, intriguing historical tidbits, great dialogue, and a strong faith in God threaded throughout the story. Readers who enjoy historical romance will not want to miss this one.
I read a complimentary copy of the book and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own.
This third installment in Jody Hedlund’s Bride Ships series is my favorite yet! I adore a marriage of convenience story and Hedlund has delivered a doozy of one. Zoe’s story begins anchored off the coast of British Columbia as the women prepare to step foot on their new homeland. Zoe willingly left her hopeless home in Manchester, England looking for two things: her twin brother Zeke, and a fresh start. Soon after her arrival however, she and Pastor Abe Merivale find themselves caring for an abandoned child and married, much to their confusion at first. Zoe and Abe were so clearly the perfect match although neither of them could see it at first for focusing on their own insecurities and the rocky start to the relationship.
The setting was once again amazingly displayed through Hedlund’s beautiful writing and her research always stands out in her stories. Abe’s differences with the Church over styles of ministry played were interesting to see play out as well. You can read this book as a standalone without missing anything. Although, I think you’ll definitely want to read the rest of the series once you finish this one!
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Another Hedlund story that hits all my sweet spots. My words will not be adequate to express how much I love this tale of loyalty, and love, and the seriousness of marriage vows. This is the third in the Bride Ships series and this story is about Zoe Hart who comes to British Columbia on the 2nd ship. Zoe has encountered a lot of loss in her young life. She is looking for her twin brother, Zeke, to make some things right. What she gets is more loss, a native baby, a stranger husband, and a convenient marriage.
Abe Merivale is a pastor and he has been trying to bring the Gospel to miners and natives alike. He is also a lonely man waiting for his fiancé. When he decides he can wait no longer he sends off a letter asking her to come to British Columbia and to marry earlier than planned. What he gets is heartbreak and a wife, a stranger he was not anticipating from the bride ship.
I enjoyed watching Abe and Zoe grow in their relationship. First they were strangers, tentatively becoming friends, while stronger feelings lay just below the surface. I adore marriage of convenience stories, and this one was one with a lot of obstacles to get around. Very meaningful truths are seamlessly woven throughout.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.
A Bride of Convenience, the third book from Jody Hedlund’s series, The Bride Ships. I have loved the previous two books in the series, and this one is probably my favorite. Abe and Zoe’s story was wonderful and entertaining. I never knew what was going to happen between the two. I had to read the whole book in one sitting to find out.
I am giving A Bride of Convenience a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy clean and inspiring historical romance.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
A Bride of Convenience has taken over the top spot as my favorite of Hedlund’s Bride Ships novels! I mean … a marriage of convenience coupled with Hedlund’s trademark romantic chemistry? How could I not love it?
I absolutely loved Zoe’s spunk and her determination to care for the children God placed in her path. And Abe’s concern for the miners, even at the potential cost to his relationship with his superior the bishop, was inspiring. Abe’s dilemma—serving God or man, which is even more complicated by the fact that the person most in opposition to what Abe felt called to do was the bishop—is something we all can identify with, and I thought his struggle felt authentic.
And then there’s the romance! I love Jody Hedlund’s romances because of the intense chemistry between characters, and that’s certainly true of Zoe and Abe. Because of the way they got married (which led me to chuckle a few times), they had plenty of things to work through … but chemistry was never their problem!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the humor in this novel. I can’t recall laughing so much while reading a Jody Hedlund novel before! Much of the humor came because of Zoe and Abe’s sudden marriage, and it added a welcome levity to the story. (I’m still chuckling as I think of the scene in the mercantile.)
Basically, from start to finish, I was completely immersed in this novel. I only wish it didn’t have to end! 5 stars.
Note: While this is the third in the series, it can be read without having first read the other novels. Abe is a character in The Runaway Bride, and the main characters of that novel (Pete and Arabella) do play minor roles in this story, as do a few other overlapping characters. But you don’t need any knowledge of them to enjoy this story.
Disclosure of material connection: I received this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions expressed are my own.
A Bride of Convenience stands as the third novel in The Bride Ships series by Jody Hedlund, but can be read as a stand-alone. The story immediately drew me into Zoe’s world and I didn’t want to set the book down. I liked the plot’s pace with its superb mixture of action and internal reflection by the characters. The novel was a quick read for me despite its substantial length.
Zoe, the leading lady in A Bride of Convenience, possesses admirable boldness and a protective mama heart. She accepted needy children and loved them as her own. As for Abe, I admired his heart to serve God and the people around him. I liked that Zoe and Abe complemented each other well and could do more good together than separately. Although their romance had less tension and swoony moments than I expected, I still rooted for them to get together and enjoyed watching their relationship grow.
While A Bride of Convenience held a few laugh-out-loud moments, it also explored important themes. An embedded theme about finding God’s will and trusting him to work things out laced throughout the story, but I especially liked how it played out in the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund and I look forward to reading the next book in this series. Four stars!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.
***4.5 stars***
A bride of convenience is just what Paster Abe needed, he just didn’t know it.
It is satisfying when you put down a book that leaves you with a great feeling. This book is inspirational, romantic, and enjoyable.
I loved the characters of Abe and Zoe. They are two people who have a “heart of gold” and live their lives helping others do and be better. When the two of them enter a marriage of convenience they became even better. They complement and understand each other. I loved that they took in a child who was not their own and of mixed ethnicity. They saw the worth of a soul rather than what everyone else was trying to tell them they need to do. I loved the baby. I could almost picture myself snuggling her right along with Zoe.
This is a book that leaves you feeling better in the end.
Source: I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Zoe travels to British Columbia on a bride-ship and finds it a challenge to figure out just where she belongs and to whom she should marry. When she thinks she’s asking a pastor to marry her, she finds herself married to the pastor and not the man she was asking him to marry her too. Action, suspense, delightful children and characters that warmed my heart and some who I cheered against!
I requested this book through NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. My review is voluntary.
A Bride of Convenience is the third book in Jody Hedlund’s Bride Ships series. It is a stand alone book but you will learn more about the Bride Ships and Vancouver if you read the first two.
I enjoyed the relationships of the characters and how they developed in the story. I liked how one character asked: “But what if God’s tho one who calls us? What if He’s the one who gives us our ministry?” The whole book shows how God works in a person’s life to make them into what he wants for them.
I loved how I could imagine how the book would end and was excited to read it to see if I was right. I wanted to see if Zoe would still be a bride of convenience at the end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
I have enjoyed this series. It just baffles me that women would be in such a situation that they would sail to a whole new world, Start a new life, and marry a man they barely know. Jody Hedlund has done a good job in telling stories that make the scenario believable.
I have wanted to hear the preacher’s story since the last book, and i really enjoyed his story. This one has a bit more romance than the rest, but that was bound to happen in a marriage of convenience books. I loved the kids in this book. That’s pretty much a given for me when it comes to books.
I really liked Zoe and her large heart. Her background was fascinating, and it was so interesting that his one room cabin was so much nicer than she was use to back home. I loved her brother as well,and I have to say I hope he will get his own story.
The conflict in Abe’s life is interesting and gives another dynamic to the story. That parts of him were based on a historical character was fascinating as well.
The characters were loveable, the storyline well done, and I just love the kids in the story! The faith theme is really good in this book as well. This was a piece of history about which I’d never heard. I have enjoyed it being brought to life.
I received this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
A Bride of Convenience
The Bride Ships #3
By Jody Hedlund
Zoe Hart’s goal in joining the Bride Ships is two-fold – obtain a better life in British Columbia and to find her brother, Zeke. She never expected to take on the care of an abandoned baby just days later, but Violet needs her. Pastor Abe (Abraham) Merivale is helping Zoe get supplies she needs while hoping to reunite Violet with her grieving father.
But when finding a husband becomes imperative to keeping Violet, Zoe lets the eligible bachelors know that she needs a husband. There is just one problem with her plan, Violet’s mixed heritage is a definite deterrent in Zoe receiving many offers. One miner alone promises not only can she bring Violet along, but he just may be able to help her locate Zeke. Pastor Abe knows that Dexter is among the worst possible choices for any woman to make if only he can get Zoe to see the truth in time. In a most intriguing chain of events, Abe and Zoe find themselves wed hastily.
But this marriage of convenience has a few drawbacks, especially when both Zoe and Abe start having confused feelings for one another. And then there is Abe’s bishop who is anything but supportive of Abe’s new married state – with, of all things, a common laborer. And offering a home to a Native child is just not to be done. Marriage is not quite either expected, and they both have some serious work to do if they hope to have a marriage partnership that is more than just a convenience and in name only.
A Bride of Convenience, the third book in the Bride Ships series, focuses on women from a different bride-ship than the first two books in the series. Zoe is determined to not have her heart yet again broken, but she’s determined to make sure that Abe doesn’t come to regret his decision to marry her and bring Violet into his home. Abe wants, no needs to prove to Bishop Hills that having a wife and won’t distract him from his ministry. Can two such determined people come to understand just what God’s purpose in their marriage of convenience is?
I have to admit each time Bishop Hills makes an appearance, I like him less and less. As a reader, one can hear the main characters’ thoughts, and it can, at times, be exasperating that they just don’t talk and clear the air, so to speak. Just think of all trouble they could save themselves in the long run by saying what they are feeling. Of course, then we would have a far less intriguing book to read. And this indeed is and was an enjoyable book to read. This can be read as a stand-alone title, and the reader will have no getting caught up in the story.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I would provide my honest opinion, all thoughts expressed are my own.
This is the third installment of “The Bride Ships” Series, and I think it may have bested the previous two! Well it’s hard to say, because I truly loved the first two, but this one had a different twist, with the Hero and the heroine getting married at the beginning of the story, in order to save a little babe from being abandoned or sent to someone who wouldn’t be able to care for her. I have to say that Marriage of Convenience is my favorite trope, I’m always admired of how two people forced together by the circumstances can fall deeper in love than people who experience a sparkling attraction at first sight. So I has very high expectations of this story, and I wasn’t disappointed!
The book captivated me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down until the end! Pastor Abe was a secondary character in the first two stories as a minister on a five year unpaid mission to build new churches in British Columbia, Canada. He’s aware of the Robert Lowe Ship arriving from Manchester with new brides for the miners, but he has his heart attached to his fiancé waiting across the ocean for him to return to England and marry her. That is, until she writes that she has wed another! In the midst of a great deception and the need to provide a solution for Zoe to keep little Violet, Abe offers to marry her (it’s a bit of a providential confusion because he misunderstands her that she is asking him to marry her; while she is asking him to marry her to Dexter, a vicious man that Abe can only wish long away from Zoe). So, they end up married, being total strangers, and this is the story of how they gradually fall deeply in love, while caring for the babe, leaning on each other through various struggles and discovering God’s will for them in helping the people that surround them: miners, as well as natives.
Zoe also has the mission to find her twin brother Zeke and free him from guilt because he ran away after a terrible and false accusation; she has also escaped a difficult past of poverty and rejection. Abe finds himself at odds with his career as a minister of the Anglican Church, wanting to be a bishop one day on his return to England, but finding his goal opposed to what he truly feels called by God for: help the most needy people in the Island.
There are all real conflicts, drama and also the danger of a vicious villain (focused on getting Zoe after she rejected him), that will bring Zoe and Abe closer and to get to know each other’s character better. The complexity of the story kept me enthralled! The romance was not love at first sight, but it was a sight beautiful to behold. So, so sweet! Zoe’s innocence and Abe’s growing admiration of her selfless love and generosity will be like a magnet attracting him to her. The admiration for each other is in fact mutual, and it doesn’t take much for it to dig roots in form of a deep love.
I definitely recommend this book to Historical Romance lovers. As all of Jody’ Hedlund books, they are based on true events and are full of historical facts, even if the characters are fictional. This is part of what I love most of her stories, they feel so real! And her characters are always deep and shine a light among the most dark circumstances, like Zoe and Abe, which makes you fall in love with them and live their epic journey as if you were beside them. I always end up closing her stories with a sigh, not wanting it to end, but satisfied and happy because after all the struggle and suffering, the main characters are free to love each other and spread their love to all that are near. As always, this was totally the case with “A Bride of Convenience”. I can’t wait for “Almost a Bride” to release!