Susan Hanson’s life is normal, but she wants more. Finding excitement in her novels, she eagerly joined a book club, but when a new woman joins the group, strange things start happening. This purple-haired woman can actually grant wish fulfillment. Deciding to give it a try, she agrees to let Dr. Lachele work her magic and Susan discovers herself on her same street in New York, but more than one … one hundred years in the past.
Michael Clark has always wanted someone to call his own. His parents, then his uncle die, leaving him without a place to call his own. He’s welcomed by the good people of Birch Creek in the Idaho Territory, but he wants a family. Since women are hard to come by, he does the most logical thing he can. He orders a bride from New York.
When Susan decides to answer Michael’s advertisement, she’s sure it will be for the best, after all, Dr. Lachele’s got a gift. The first moment they meet, Michael and Susan know marriage is the next step but with her oddities, and his old fashioned views, can the two of them actually build a life together?
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4.5 stars for this latest in The Book Club series.
Susan Hanson has discovered romance novels and is hooked on them, especially the ones about mail order brides, but she’s discovered that no man can compete with the ones she reads about. *preach sister* Soon Susan finds herself in NYC, but over 100 years ago–in the late 1800’s, answering an advertisement to be a mail order bride.
Michael Clark doesn’t have a family. His parents died when he was a teenager and the uncle that took him in also died unexpectedly. Basically the entire town of Birch Creek had a hand in raising Michael, who’s the town’s blacksmith. He wants to belong to someone and have his own family.
It still amazes me that women hopped on trains and headed out west to marry men they didn’t know, so I loved Susan’s idea of a boarding house where women who came to their town as mail order brides had a safe place to stay while getting to know the men they were to marry. She lucked out with Michael–kind, gentle and he probably had muscles for days–he is a blacksmith.
I thought it funny that back in NYC Susan didn’t do much cooking, but she was expected to know how to cook on a wood burning stove. (no thank you) I give her credit for jumping in with both feet and learning how to make bread, and everything else a woman had to do back then to run a house.
I loved how the townspeople came together to help Michael’s wedding day special. None of them had a lot but all of them were willing to contribute, and the women took Susan and make her feel welcome right away. She didn’t have to ‘earn’ their friendship.
This book is great for an afternoon read since is almost novella length, but the story doesn’t feel rushed at all. You don’t have to read the others in the series to understand what’s going on. They can be read in any order. This is a sweet romance.
I’m writing this review after I finished all 6 books so that should tell you I enjoyed the stories. To say Susan Hanson had an usual upbringing would be an understatement. Michael Clark is an unlikely match but he turns out to be perfect. Birch Creek is fortunate that Michael wrote wanting a mail order bride.
Great book!
I am the girl that lives in her books and just like the heroine Susan Hanson, I have dreamed of the man that would sweep me off my feet, like the hero’s in my favorite tales. I don’t think that I am as strong and brave as the leading lady of The Blacksmith’s Bride. Leaving your life, and era, and becoming a mail order bride in hopes that fate would match you with your prince charming is a bravery I do not possess.
Taking us to Birch Creek, Idaho at the turn of the century, with newly pioneered land, Laura D. Bastian does an incredible job of painting a beautiful picture of this primitive frontier. Both Susan and Michael, the mail order groom, are incredibly fleshed out and I found myself immediately falling in love with Susan’s strength of character and Michael’s pure and genuine spirit. They are a pair that I rooted for from the beginning and couldn’t wait to see their happy ending.
A quick, satisfying read that is perfect to curl up with on a cozy Saturday afternoon, The Blacksmith’s Bride is a wonderful addition to The Book Club series and is easily read as a standalone.
A lovely, light and quick read in this enjoyable series. The writing style is easy to digest, the characters interesting and relatively well developed, and the story was interesting. Would recommend this and the entire series.
Susan is looking for a fantasy man from her romance novels, which is not realistic. Michael was a nice guy who worked hard as a blacksmith, but he wasn’t perfect. He gets angry when he gets home from work and Susan isn’t there with supper ready. He tells her he shouldn’t have do women’s work. That would have turned me right off. But I also wouldn’t have last without all the modern conveniences I take for granted like indoor plumbing. This short novella discusses more of Michael’s backstory than Susan’s. There is no discussion of what Susan does for a living in NYC and how she might use those skills in the past.
Interesting plot and great characters.
I was hooked from the beginning to the end .
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
Another super fun and sweet story in the book club series. The hero and heroine were a good match. This time travel series is a great little escape.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists,
and/or authors, including Netgalley. I am not required to write positive
reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this
in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
I found this a sweet romance with a bit of magic thrown in. I like these kind of stories that are so innocent yet romance blooms.
I loved the whole thing from beginning to end. Such a wonderful and romantic story of hardship, endurance and love. I don’t like putting too much and spoil the story for others. I can definitely recommend it. You will not be sorry. It’s just grey! Enjoy! Congratulations, you’re an awesome wry. Thanks for the opportunity to enjoy your works. Beautifully done!!!
This is a very enjoyable story. I loved how much Susan wanted to learn everything, without complaint. Michael is so open and caring. Their relationship is so loving, makes you want to get your own mail order man.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
Laura D. Bastian’s The Blacksmith’s Bride: A Brides of Golden Valley Story (The Book Club 14) is well written, great characters, fantastic storyline, time travel, a fairy godmother, humor and a great book club. When Michael Clark orders a bride from New York. And Susan Hanson answers that post. What could go wrong? Can a woman of 2019 and a man from 1883 find a way to true love? Grab this one and enjoy.
I have voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced readers copy
This fun story is a part of the Book Club series. Dr, Lachele, the fairy-godmother to the Book Club takes Susan Hanson back to the late 1800’s to become a mail order bride to Michael Clark. She was living in New York City and now she is in Birch Creek,Idaho. It was fun to watch her have to learn how to make bread and butter and how to quilt. I also enjoyed watching her do without her modern day conveniences she has always know. It was nice to see she was not going to give up her modern day attitude just to please Michael.
It was fun to see her character be so outspoken going back in time. It will make you thankful that things have changed for women. Great story with great characters too! I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
The Blacksmith’s Bride is a fun, clean, time travel romance. It was fun to read about Susan’s fish-out-of-water experiences as a pioneer woman. Michael is a wonderful, caring man who really wanted a family. When they add a teen apprentice to their family, the story gets even more interesting. I really enjoyed this warm, wonderful romance.
“The Blacksmith’s Bride” by Laura D. Bastian
I liked this fun time-travel story. It was a sweet easy read that left me wanting more, more of the story of Susan and Michael. I received a free ARC from the author and look forward to more stories in this series.
Susan finds herself in 1883, getting ready to travel from New York to Idaho as a mail-order bride. Is this what she really wants? Can she fit in to this time that is so different from her own time? What kind of man will her husband be? Michael is a blacksmith. He sent for a mail order bride because there weren’t any eligible women in his town. When Susan steps from the train he cannot believe his luck. She is beautiful. They marry that day. Now they must try to make a life together. But Susan knows little about cooking or using a wood stove. Never made butter or milked a cow. She is willing to learn all of these things. And she has big plans for the town she is now calling home. She wants to help other women who are trying to find a good man. Can she manage to help and make adjustments in her thinking to help Michael understand that she is not the same type of woman he thinks she should be.
Time travel books are so fun. This one has FUNNY parts too, for me at least. I loved that Susan hadn’t thought about the fact she didn’t know how to cook & do it on a wood stove, how to milk a cow-all those things you do to live in the old west-before she agreed to be sent back in time. This is a very sweet story with only one argument between the new couple that was quickly resolved. So it was a refreshing, relaxing book to enjoy. A quick read though I use Siri on my phone to listen to books anymore. Ms. Bastian did a great job on this story. I received an ARC. This is my honest, happy, voluntary review
Being a mail order bride comes with some challenges, but add in coming from the future to the mix and I can’t even imagine. I really like modern conveniences and he would have to be one incredible man to get me to give up indoor plumbing. I like Susan and Michael, but I wish there was more of their relationship. I felt most of the book was about them going about doing things separately and very little together. I understand it’s hard going straight from single to being married, but I wish they’d tried to work together a little more, but from the epilogue it sounds like they finally got there.
This book made me smile. I was thinking how mail order brides must have had a real pioneer spirit. They blindly went west with the intention of marry a man they had never seen. I can imagine the anxiety mixed with excitement as they set out on a great adventure. What are the odds that they would find their perfect match?
Pretty good with the help of Dr. Lachele, a purple haired magical matchmaker—as Susan finds out. How far would you go to find Mr. Right? Would you travel over a hundred years back in time?
I loved Michael. He’s the type of guy any girl would want. Caring, kind, and a real sweetheart, all he needs are muscles. But wait! He’s got that in spades. As the town blacksmith he’s fit, and is the complete package.
As Susan and Michael navigate their new relationship they add a young teen to the family. Will this hinder their budding love or get in the way of their HEA?
A sweet easy to read love story with great characters. Loved it.
I received a copy courtesy of the author. This is my honest opinion of the book.