Charles is only supposed to guard Maude and her sisters to their destination. He should have guarded his heart.Still raw with grief after their father’s funeral, Maude Lancaster and her two younger sisters refuse an ultimatum from their ill-intentioned uncle. Since it’s a new century and women can travel unchaperoned, they decide to flee out west to live with their older brother. Their aunt hires … brother. Their aunt hires Charles for protection, but Maude soon finds that her greatest danger is in losing her heart to a man she may never see again.
Former Pinkerton agent Charles Merrick has an opportunity for a new job in San Francisco. When his mother’s friend asks to hire him to escort her three nieces across the country, he agrees. Their destination is only a little out of his way. But Charles faces a stumbling block in his attraction to Maude. He’s never felt such a connection with a woman before, but they’ve only known each other a few days. It’s too soon for there to be anything real between them. He can continue on to his dream job, or he can stay to see if Maude is the one. He can’t do both.
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A Match for Maude is book one in the “Lilac City Romance” series. This author is new to me, and I’m happy to have discovered her writings. The main character, Maude, the eldest of three sisters, is stunned to discover that her father’s will leaves them in care of their greedy uncle. Deciding that she and the girls should have nothing to do with his plans to marry them off to his business partners, she takes her sisters on a journey west to find their half-brother who’d left home years before. At twenty-one, she is a combination of maturity and naivete, inadvertently getting the three of them into precarious situations. Fortunately, her aunt has the foresight to hire a Pinkerton agent to watch out for the girls. I enjoyed the sisters’ relationship. Although vastly different in personality and temperament, they are close-knit and watch out for each other. The faith element is deftly woven into the story without being heavy handed. Evocative description immersed me in the dust, discomfort, and daily activities of 1900. A well-written, enjoyable story, and I look forward to reading more books by this author.
This is my first book I’ve read by Author Donna K. Weaver. I enjoyed her book tremendously. This novella kept my attention from the beginning to the end. The characters are great and I love the plot of the novella. I’m looking forward to reading more of Author Donna K. Weaver’s books.
I voluntarily reviewed this book from my purchase. This review is one hundred percent my opinion.
This story had plenty of adventure as Maude Lancaster and her sisters Doris and Frances flee their nasty uncle’s arranged marriages for them after their father’s death and journey west to their half brother Luke’s dude ranch. Former Pinkerton agent Charles Merrick is sent to protect them on the journey. Tough tomboy Frances with her rifle and dressed like a man didn’t want his protection. But Maude and gentle Doris welcomed it after he protected them from ruffians. I laughed at Frances antics and smiled as Maude and Charles danced around their attraction. This was a clean historical western with plenty of suspense, humor, and romance.
The narrator has a nice smooth tone with voice changes including western accents and inflections in all the right places.
A new author to me, and a new historical western romance that I adored reading. I was so happy to try this author and do glad I did. This was such an awesome story of three sisters getting away from their horrible uncle who had become their guardian after their father passed on. They had to go to the only other family member, their half brother, to get far away from their uncle’s horrible plans for them. He also had control of their inheritance. As soon as their aunt found some papers in the youngest sisters room after she found them gone, she went to her friend who’s son was a Pinkerton agent, to hire him to guard them until they get to their bother in Wyoming. He gladly took the job but not as an agent as he had just left the agency.
He found them just prior to their train leaving and managed to get a ticket in the same compartment.
This made for an interesting trip as well as him finding a woman who would be perfect for him, but he couldn’t do a thing about it as he was going on to a job in San Francisco.
This was a fun story as well as very interesting and different from other historical western romances I have red. I loved this story and found a new author that I enjoyed very much. Also a wonderful HEA. Now for the next one in the series.
I highly recommend this story, the first in this series.
Clean and Sweet Love Story
A Match for Maude by Donna K. Weaver is a very clean romance set in Wyoming following the turn of the century. It is well written without a lot of unnecessary angst, and each character has his or her own distinct personality.
This character driven novella has a sweet and simple plot which features three sisters who decide to take control of their own futures. Although women have a bit more freedom in the early 1900’s, they still face issues caused by controlling men who have hidden agendas. Of the three sisters featured in this entertaining read, Maude is the one who will find her true love. The chemistry Maude shares with Charles is both tender and loving.
All in all, this book is suitable for any age reader.
I loved getting to know the story behind the Lancaster sisters moving in with their half brother Luke. I started by reading the second, then third books first, again, and now that I’ve read the first, I want to go back and re-read the others!
5 stars
I received a free copy of the clean short novel A Match For Maude: Lilac City book 1 by Nancy Stopper and this review was given freely.
Action packed with wonderful character, this is a fast pace and complex historical tale of greed,arrange marriages, adventure and love. After the death of their father, Maude and her sisters Doris and Frances travel west to their brother’s Wyoming dude ranch to escape arranged marriages set by their abusive Uncle William only to find themselves traveling with the Pinkerton agent their Aunt Ann secretly wanted Maude to marry. This introductory romance hints at multiple romances for the sisters but ends before any are married.
This was an excellent story. It pulled me in from the beginning and didn’t let go. This is part of a series, so it leaves some questions unanswered. I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out. Maude and her sisters are all completely different from each other, but they will fight for one another. Their bond is strong. Charles is hired by the girl’s aunt to chaperone. The chemistry between Charles and Maude is unmistakable. I enjoyed reading their story. I look forward to seeing what happens with Maude’s sisters and step-brother. I received a copy of this book. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Wow, what a great new series! I can’t wait to read the other stories. I wasn’t expecting the suspense and intrigue, although I guess I should have with it involving a Pinkerton agent. Maude is a strong woman trying hard to take care of her sisters in the wake of her father’s death. She seems very level headed and quickly trusted Charles and their relationship was able to begin. They are so sweet together and it’s not hard to picture the two together. I love how different the three sisters are and how much their brother cares about them. This was a great easy read and I’m anxious for the others to see how this story ends.
5 stars
I received a free copy of the clean short novel A Match For Maude: Lilac City book 1 by Donna K Weaver and this review was given freely.
Action packed with wonderful character, this is a fast pace and complex historical tale of greed,arrange marriages, adventure and love. After the death of their father, Maude and her sisters Doris and Frances travel west to their brother’s Wyoming dude ranch to escape arranged marriages set by their abusive Uncle William only to find themselves traveling with the Pinkerton agent their Aunt Ann secretly wanted Maude to marry. This introductory romance hints at multiple romances for the sisters but ends before any are married.
I loved it! It’s written well and holds one’s attention.
Maude and her sisters were in quite a predicament, but they had the courage to escape while they could.
Charles and Luke were awesome!
Great book to read!
An early nineteenth-century romance with some suspense, the rules are changing for women but they are still very much under the thumb of the men in their lives. When their father dies, Maude and her sisters discover just how awful that can be. With an ulterior motive, their uncle who has read into the will what he wants, he threatens them with expulsion if they don’t marry the men he has determined for them. Maude’s youngest sister has an answer and they escape to travel across the country to their half brother Luke, little knowing what the train journey will really entail. Fortunately, their kindly aunt makes arrangements for their protection and Charles Merrick joins their party. This does not go down well with the youngest sister, but even she realises that Charles has his uses. There is a sweet attraction between Charles and Maude that builds as they face the dangers of the journey, but both of them are wary of showing just how much they feel as Charles has plans that include pushing forward to another destination. This novel is the first in a series and sets the tone for what is to come. The danger to the sisters is not resolved but the romance in this book comes to a happy conclusion. The book is well written and kept my interest throughout and I found the insights into the era interesting and different to most western novels I’ve read. I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.
“A Match for Maude” by Donna K. Weaver
A sweet, clean romance from yesteryear and I loved this novella. It is an easy read that I just did not want to end. I received an ARC from the author, and, this is my unbiased opinion. This is worth the read. Happy Reading !!
Maude Lancaster and her 2 sisters Frances and Doris have just lost their Father and are now under the temporary care of their Uncle. The Uncle tosses out an ultimatum which leaves the girls no choice but to leave town and go to their half brother Luke. Charles Merrick has just resigned his job for the Pinkerton agency he worked for in search for a job in California. Along the way he finds himself keeping watch for the Lancaster sisters on their travels to meet their brother. You’ll fall in love with this sweet, clean, historical romance.
I listened to audiobook. Great historical western. I liked the premise and can’t wait to read all the sister’s stories. Good narrator.
The three Lancaster sisters, Maude, Doris and Frances, have barely buried their father before their unfeeling uncle gathers them together for the reading of the will, and the news isn’t good. According to their uncle, the will says he’s now their guardian and they cannot receive their inheritance until the age of 25 or they marry. He immediately informs them that he has already selected men for them to marry, and if they refuse they’re no longer welcome in his house! The sisters decide to pool their money and take a train to their half-brother’s in Wyoming. Their loving but meek aunt finds the note the sisters left behind and make arrangements for a friend’s son, Charles Merrick, a former Pinkerton agent, to see that her nieces get to Wyoming safely.
I liked that the sisters weren’t carbon copies of each other–Maude was the most level-headed of the sisters, and my favorite. Doris is sweet, but shy and Frances at 18 is a little headstrong. I doubt the women would’ve made it safely to Wyoming without Charles’ help and his knowledge of how crossing the U.S. by train worked. I was happy they felt welcomed on their brother’s dude ranch and seemed to fit in right away. I liked Charles and was amused that he seems surprised by his interest in Maude–he kept telling himself it was just a job.
I was not surprised that the uncle had an ulterior motive in wanting the girls to be married right away, but that wasn’t fully explained yet. I’m sure the entire plan will come out in the next couple of books. There’s a little suspense towards the end and I really liked how the town all came together to help the sisters.
I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was pretty good with getting the right tone for each of the sisters.
This is an excellent start for this series. I enjoyed meeting Maude and her sisters. All of the characters were interesting and I cannot wait to read or listen to the rest of the stories. I listened to A Match for Maude. Vicki Pierce did a fantastic job bringing this story to life. Great book, Donna Weaver.
Maude and her sisters are grieving after the death of their father when their care and their money are left in the hands of their uncle until they are married to someone he finds or until they turn 25. He gives them an ultimatum to marry his business cronies or become homeless and they decide to flee to Wyoming to their half brother’s ranch. Thank goodness for their aunt who has a friend with a son who is a Pinkerton agent who is retiring and going West and she hires him to watch over them. Charles and Maude develop a closeness on the train trip across country and when they land in Wyoming Charles decides to stay when offered a job as a deputy. This was a slow build as a historical/western romance tends to be but well worth it. Romance and suspense all wrapped up in a turn of the century book. Great narrator in this audible! Not what I tend to reach for normally but I am glad I started this series and will continue it.
This is a sweet clean western romance. The story was engaging and the characters well thought out. The narrator did a good job of identifying each character and keeping the flow going. Maude’s story is the first in this series and I am looking forward to reading more.
The last thing Maude thought would happen after the death of her father would be to find love. Her father left guardianship to her uncle upon his death. The uncle wanted to use the girls inheritance and arranged marriages for them. But the girls refused to marry who their uncle picked for them. So they head west to go live with their half brother on a dude ranch.
Charles is ready for a change of pace. He is a Pinkerton agent and is wanting to quit and get a job as a detective. His mother asks him to help out her friend’s nieces by marrying one of the three and watching out for the other two. He refuses. But when she then asks for his help to see them safely to their half brothers ranch he agrees. Little does he know how attractive and kind the girls are. Or the instant connection he will feel with Maude. This is a story of two people finding each other and finding happiness in changes of circumstance. It is amazing at how unkind people can be and what poor treatment women once had to endure.