Working long hours in a New York City bakery is not at all what Sophia Hayes had planned for her life. When her fiancé breaks their engagement her to marry her thinner, blonder, more beautiful sister, Sophia knows it is time to do something drastic, something completely unexpected. All she’s ever wanted is to have a husband and family of her own. Agreeing to be a mail-order bride seems the … perfect answer.
Robert Langley has been a sailor his entire life. As Captain of the Sapphire of India, his last cargo made him a very wealthy man, but his time at sea cost him much. His wife was killed in an accident while running away with another man leaving him a widower with four young children who barely recognize their own father. A mail-order bride seems to be the ideal solution. He simply needs a willing woman to warm his bed and a compassionate woman to raise his children. Love is not an option.
Sophia’s sister is not content to leave well enough alone. When her husband dies unexpectedly, she makes her way to San Francisco to do what she has always done…take what she wants. And the moment she sets eyes on her sister’s new family, what she wants is Robert Langley.
Sophia has always believed her stunning, talented sister deserved the best in life. But this time Sophia is in love, and she’s not going to surrender without a fight.
more
OutStanding book I love it love it love it I wish you’d write some more excellent wonderful terrific but I’m standing writing story awesome loved it loved it loved
If you would like to know what it was like for mail order brides back in the 1800’s read these books by Cynthia Wolf.
I keep asking myself how anyone could marry a person site unseen and in such a short time?
Once you pick it up you won’t be able to put it down until you are finished reading it and she leaves you wanting more.
I hope you enjoy it and that you learn something from it too.
This was campy and dreadful. At least I hope it was meant to be campy. Oh dear. Please! Clunky writing with awkward dialogue and numerous typos, and, heavy sigh, it’s rated over a 4.0 on Goodreads. I would give it a one star except for one thing, the ridiculous and OTT evil, evil OW.
Plot with spoilers:
Sophia, our boring baking little heroine has just been ditched by her fiancee Martin for her more beautiful fraternal sister, Angelina. She catches them kissing, they stop, look at her, then kiss some more.
Sophia gets herself a handy dandy mail order husband, Robert, with four kids and heads to San Francisco. Stupid stuff happens because she doesn’t tell new hubs that she had anti-climactic sex with her fiancee so hubs won’t consummate the marriage. For now.
Angelina shows up uninvited and as a rarity in RomanceLand, Sophia tells her sister hands off this one or else. Okay, she wasn’t that threatening but it was better than nothing. Angelina is now a widow (at six months) and is eager to find a new victim husband. Unbeknownst to Sophia she once again targets Sophia’s man. Doesn’t work out too well as Robert tosses Angelina on her bottom, and they kick her out of the house and ship her back to New York. Or at least they try to.
She throws herself at a friend of Robert’s as in jumps on him naked and plays on his sympathies. She wants to stay in San Fran because she knows that Sophia didn’t really mean to throw her out. She conveniently forgets to add that she put the moves on her sister’s husband. The friend is no slouch and says she can stay. As he tells Robert later he was in need of a mistress anyway, and the friend will spy on Angelina for everyone. The men all fear that Angelina will try and harm sweet, now pregnant, Sophia, but Sophia says NO! Of course Angelina who stole her fiancee, has called her fat, got all the new and best clothes when they were children, tried to steal her current husband, and was kicked out of the house would never harm her twin.
Muh ha ha ha and Dun dun dun.
The spy/friend falls down on the job as Martin shows up from the dead and Angelina is lurking in a room and…..Oy vey.
Robert sets his pregnant wife up so she’s kidnapped at gunpoint by the dynamic duo, Angelina and the mug Martin. Sophia, I am happy to say, slaps Angelina as she tries to say, “Sowwy.”
Robert explains to Sophia later he felt he had to lure Angelina out. Sophia was never in ANY real danger, and he never thought Angelina would have a gun. As Sophia pointed out it was a gun aimed at her pregnant stomach so she should be the one to define “in danger”. That’s pretty much the last lucid thought Sophia has as it’s all okay folks as Robert FINALLY says he loves Sophia.
I always love Cynthia Wolfe books and this was no exception. Although my favorite is the Heiress Bride, thus one was well written too.
Dialogue was unbelievable and characters were predictable and flat
Great series! Engaging and entertaining!