Mercy Lytton, a scout with keen eyesight raised among the Mohawks, and Elias Dubois, a condemned traitor working both sides of the conflict, must join together to get a shipment of gold safely into British hands. A brand new series for fans of all things related to history, romance, adventure, faith, and family trees. A War-Torn Countryside Is No Place for a Lady Mercy Lytton is a lady like … Lady
Mercy Lytton is a lady like none other. Raised amongst the Mohawks, she straddles two cultures, yet each are united in one cause. . .to defeat the French. Born with a rare gift of unusually keen eyesight, she is chosen as a scout to accompany a team of men on a dangerous mission. Yet it is not her life that is threatened. It is her heart. Condemned as a traitor, Elias Dubois faces the gallows. At the last minute, he is offered his freedom if he consents to accompany a stolen shipment of French gold to a nearby fort–but he is the one they stole it from in the first place. It turns out that the real thief is the beguiling woman, Mercy Lytton, for she steals his every waking thought. Can love survive divided loyalties in a backcountry wilderness?
Join the adventure as the Daughters of the Mayflower series continues with The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep.
More in the Daughters of the Mayflower series:
The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1620 Atlantic Ocean (February 2018)
The Pirate Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo – set 1725 New Orleans (April 2018)
The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep – set 1760 during the French and Indian War (June 2018)
The Patriot Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1774 Philadelphia (coming August 2018)
The Cumberland Bride by Shannon McNear – set 1794 on the Wilderness Road (coming October 2018)
The Liberty Bride by MaryLu Tyndall – set 1814 Baltimore (coming December 2018)
more
Whether the setting of her books is America or England, Michelle Griep never fails to bring history to life. In book three of The Daughters of the Mayflower series, Griep once again delivers a story rich with historical facts, adventure, romance, and memorable characters.
Mercy Lytton in a woman of strength and courage—she has to be to exist in the man’s world she’s chosen to reside in—but also of stubborn determination. Tasked with transporting gold to a British fort during the French and Indian war, Mercy and her partner have a traitor and a n’er-do-well companion to contend with along the way.
Elias Dubois doesn’t take his responsibility lightly. He also cannot share his mission with the two people he’s coming to respect. And in Mercy’s case, his emotions encompass much more.
Griep does not gloss over or diminish the harsh realities of traveling through country that is fraught with danger of all kinds—nature, Indians, duplicitous men, and more. And her characters learn that, while life is full of uncertainties, heartache, and loss, relying on God’s provision and grace strengthens them during the difficult seasons.
Another must-read from this author and addition to the series. If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, you will not miss them. While each book follows the lineage of the heroine in the first book, the new books each stand on their own.
If you haven’t had the privilege of reading any of Griep’s work yet, The Captured Bride is an excellent excuse to add another book to your TBR pile.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books 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 have been a fan of Michelle Griep’s books since I read Brentwood’s Ward and have attempted to read every other book by her that I can find. I was excited to read her latest, The Captured Bride and I was not disappointed in the least.
Heroine Mercy is the daughter of a Mohawk father and a white mother. Now on her own she functions as a scout for the English because of her natural skill and unusual gifts. The story covers a dangerous assignment in which Mercy accompanies her usual scouting partner and Elias, a condemned traitor escorting a shipment of French gold to a different fort. Along the way, the group face various dangerous situations and begin to wonder if they will be able to complete their mission. Mercy also finds herself undeniably attracted to the one man she is afraid to trust.
I thoroughly enjoyed this action packed novel filled with danger, secrets, betrayal, and a romance that developed naturally without overwhelming the rest of the tale. A few plot twists and surprises along the way served to keep things interesting. It was also gratifying to watch the relationship grow between Elias and Mercy as well as their dependence on the Lord.
I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, particularly that of the early days of America.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
This story pulls you right in and the action and characters fill your head with thoughts and images that keep you needing to know.. what next! Brings history to life and I really enjoyed how she put it together..
“I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.”
The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep
It was a good thing that I waited until I had a full Saturday to read The Captured Bride because I wouldn’t have been able to put it down for long. Mercy and Elias’ story is a very gripping adventure interspersed with spiritual truths.
As a “half-breed”, Mercy knows what it is like to experience prejudice. As the daughter of a proud Mohawk chief, she knew how important it is to be strong and faulted her mother for the way she appeared so weak. She needed to learn the lesson her name taught.
Elias had grown up under his grandfather’s care after being deserted by his father and never felt like he could measure up to his grandfather’s expectations. Regardless, he had discovered the joy of an intimate relationship with God. I loved the way that when he was on his way to be condemned to death as a traitor, he surrendered his future to the Lord.
Author Michelle Griep immerses her readers in the time period of her stories. She had me ducking so I wouldn’t hit my head on branches overhead and cringing from the arrows that flew in my direction. If you enjoy historical adventures through the Colonial-era forests of the East Coast, you should pick up a copy of this wonderful book.
This review was originally posted on AmongTheReads.net.
Be sure to read Michelle’s Guest Post and get a preview of The Captured Bride at AmongTheReads.net
I would like to thank Celebrate Lit for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
The second book I’ve read by author Michelle Griep, I enjoy her writing. Her style flows well and makes for enjoyable reading. This is my favorite of the Daughters of the Mayflower series. While this series continues through history, each can be read as a standalone so just jump in!
Griep has done her homework in researching this time in history. Her characters and descriptions are very intriguing. The reader vividly “sees” what is happening in the book; the heartache, troubling times, and danger. The people are flawed, realistic humans who grow as the story continues. And her descriptions of the landscape are true to what it would be like.
Mercy is torn between two worlds. Elias is condemned as a traitor. But with all the twists and turns, this story doesn’t go the way I thought it would. If you enjoy historical fiction I recommend The Captured Bride. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.
It’s 1759 and the French and Indian war has been fought on a number of frontiers. History tells us that the French army was paid in gold. Imagine the upset if the payroll went missing and the wrong people found it. A ‘family’ loosely made up of a prisoner with a French name, a female scout with Indian connections, a fatherly figure, a scout that wants to retire and a recruit who is the general’ nephew is tasked with the dangerous mission of moving that gold. With rich detail, the author takes us through the forests, streams and rivers of their travels between Fort Wilderness and Fort Edward. Will they succeed at their task and will she truly meet the man she is willing to give up her life if scouting for?
Of the books I have read by this author so far, this is my favorite! Her talents are evident in this outstanding novel of action, adventure, intrigue, and romance, wrapped up and tied with a bow of gentle, yet strong, faith in the Lord. Third in the Mayflower Brides series, it continues with the history of America before it became the United States. This multi-author series can be read in order, or each novel as a standalone.
Mercy Lytton, daughter of a Mohawk leader and a Christian woman kidnapped by another tribe, has a gift of sight, with regards to being able to focus on what might be a mile or two away. She has been a scout for Captain Matthew Prinn for a few short years as he seeks intel on the French and the Wyandot during the French and Indian War, 1759. This mission would see them from upper New York to Boston to deliver the gold that a French traitor, Elias Dubois, had stolen from the French. They were undercover, taking the gold, covered by household goods, in their wagons, joined by the son of a general. Mercy would act as Matthew’s daughter, and…Elias Dubois, acting as her husband. If done well, his life would be spared and his sentence reduced to prison time.
It is hard to imagine what men and women in 1700’s America went through to travel. This little “family” crossed swollen rivers that could sweep a man away. Rockslides, mudslides, cold weather and being unable to build a fire so as not to attract enemies. Broken wagons and enemy attack. Only God could help them make this journey, and while Elias and Matthew are men of faith, Mercy sees believing in God as weakness. She respects Matthew’s faith as she does the man, but chooses to not share it. In this rugged, unforgiving land, one cannot live well without God, especially when one after another event happens, then the worst possible things occur. While Mercy wanted to be as tough, she wasn’t prepared for the Lord to work in heart.
The characters are highly developed, so well that this reader could appreciate Matthew, Mercy, and Elias to the fullest. I understand Mercy’s cynicism and the struggle going on within her to turn to God. She is a strong woman physically, emotionally, and ethically, fit and able to do many things I could only dream of. Matthew is a Christian, and of an age where he is ready to settle down and give up the life of a ranger. Elias is a man of many secrets, secrets that would cost countless lives should they be shared. He also has a strong faith in the Lord, despite a very uncertain future.
This is a complex adventure, yet easy to follow. The first chapter invited me to come in and sit a spell, not letting go until the final sentence. This drama includes some factual events and people, and brings to life how challenging the wilderness and the war was. There are plot twists that change the mission and the people; the trip was anticipated to take a hard two weeks but was much, much longer. One of the secrets Elias has is concealed in one of the crates of gold; in the wrong hands, it will be deadly. The absolute best part of this fabulous novel is what faith in the Lord looks like when walked out through a series of tragedies. This is a must-read novel for anyone who enjoys Christian historical fiction; I highly recommend it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this fast moving story set in upper New York in 1759! Mercy’s mother (a white woman who was captured by Indians) died when she was ten leaving her with her Mohawk father. Mercy has thought of her mother as a weakling for trusting in God. Elias Dubois is condemned as a traitor but is he really? Mercy and Elias are excellent main characters as they attempt to deliver a load of gold to Boston. The Captured Bride is my favorite of the Daughters of the Mayflower series. I recommend The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep to others who enjoy historical fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep is a captivating page turner. I really enjoyed and recommend this book. I received an advance readers copy and have voluntarily reviewed the book..
Mercy Lytton is a scout and was raised with the Mohawk. Her next job as scout is to help transport gold to a fort with the help of her long time friend Mathew, an accused traitor, Elias Dubois and another young army man.
There were so many twist and turns to this story, it kept me enthralled and I was not able to put it down. I don’t want to give any more away, but it is definitely a keeper.
“Kahente means ‘before her time’. . . . . . . .You speak your mind without pausing to listen to reason. You don’t wait for danger to pass but run headlong after it. So in those respects, I would say you are before your time, for there’s nothing patient about you. Kahente.”
My, but Mercy Lytton was a beautiful woman; strong, proud, intelligent and gifted with the eyes of an eagle. She fascinated Elias Dubois, but fascination with a woman could prove to be a dangerous thing when your life was on the line, and there was a wagon load of French gold to be delivered into the hands of the British; unfortunately, upon its safe arrival Elias faced prison time as a traitor. He was a man without a country, truly, for no one knew his secrets or when he would have to resume his real mission.
Mohawk blood runs fast and furious within Mercy Lytton’s veins; her mixed heritage both a blessing and a curse. Working as a British scout had paired her with the best of the best, Captain Matthew Prinn, who had become a surrogate grandfather over the years. When tasked with escorting an enormous cache of gold and silver, she never imagined that a condemned criminal would be added to their team. . . . . . posing as her husband.
Slowly Mercy and Elias develop a mutual respect, all while Elias is becoming increasingly aware of the predicament that he soon faces, for “he would . . . be putting a forever kind of distance between him and the only woman he’s ever thought twice about.” This story, filled with the kind of danger that only the wild frontier during the tumultuous years of the French and Indian War could possess, will undoubtedly capture many hearts; the hearts of its readers.
I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. The opinions stated are entirely my own.
The Captured Bride, the third book in the Daughters of the Mayflower series, is a stand-alone novel written by the talented Michelle Griep. This memorable novel is genuinely captivating and compelling. Ms. Griep’s writing is not subtle, and that might be why I like it so much. She has a talent for creating sentences that are stories within themselves. And in this novel, her richly descriptive style and attention to historical detail are deeply satisfying and enjoyable.
Lush with scenes of adventure, intrigue, courage, romance, faith, and redemption, the swiftly paced plot is altogether engaging. The characters, authentic and well-developed, are the highlights that make this novel truly shine. Their talents, motivations, fears, desires, convictions, and actions radiate meaningfully with value and purpose.
The Captured Bride is well-written and entertaining. The story it tells is gripping, inspiring, suspenseful, and romantic. It is a book that deserves ardent praise and copious attention. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
*I was given a copy of this book from the publisher. A review was not required. The review I have written contains opinions that are entirely my own.
I enjoy a variety of writing styles and time periods, settings and types of characters; I have found a couple of authors who write in more than one genre, but Michelle Griep certainly ranks among the best who do so. This newest release, part of The Daughters of the Mayflower series but easily read as a standalone, is further proof of that.
As always, her beautiful prose immediately drew me to another time and place. Her descriptions of a wild land, very unlike the modern day one I inhabit, has caused me to see the natural areas around me in a different way. And the land is populated with people who share many of the same struggles I may face today, and many more from which I am spared. Her description of one character’s gray hair as “spent vigor,” shows us with two words the kind of life he has lived.
Mercy is a complex character in both her heritage and her motivations; while her parentage is known from early on, her motivations remain mysterious much longer, even to her own mind. I love that she comes to know herself through the events of the novel, surprising the reader with deeper meaning and profound impact beyond events that are monumental in and of themselves.
God plays a heavy part in this story, in the places where He is very present, and interestingly, where the characters try to keep Him at arm’s length. The characters both embrace and fight Him, depending on the situation and their mindset, but never do they deny His existence. Perhaps people were more honest in the past.
Simply put, Griep’s writing is incredible and highly enjoyable. I enthusiastically recommend this book for fans of historical romance, especially of stories with Native American elements or that take place during the time of the French and Indian War. Really, any reader from mid-teens and up who enjoys historical fiction will find a fast-paced storyline with complex characters and riveting prose.
I received an advanced copy but was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts expressed are both honest and my own.
Oh what an amazing and engaging story! This is one of those stories I want to gush over and demand everyone grab it and savor it. Such deep and moving characters that you can’t help but fall in love with them and feel their pain and struggles. Mercy is definitely caught between two cultures and that is what she fights against. I loved how she was so strong yet admitted to her weaknesses. Elias was so well written as a complex character! I couldn’t quite figure him out and that made it all the more a page turner. Heart wrenching ups and downs and such realistically written scenery and imagery. I honestly felt like I was immersed into the Indian camps and the military fort, then riding along the dusty trail waiting for the next danger to pop out of the bushes. This author is now a bookshelf keeper!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
This is the third installment in The Daughters of the Mayflower series, but works well as a stand-alone also. I was captivated with the premise of this story during the French and Indian War. Ms. Griep’s attention to detail keeps you on your toes and turning pages. I love the spark that ignites between Mercy and Elias and grows into a powder keg ready to explode. Mercy is a strong, self willed woman that is running from God and her attraction to Elias. Elias is not who you think he is and keeps you guessing to his loyalties. I loved the lesser character of Livvy and would love to read her story as she grows up. Well written, great characters, intrigue, romance, and faith will keep you reading all night if possible. This book pulls you in and makes you feel like you are there. Highly recommend.
I received a complimentary copy from Barbour Publishing. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.
Mercy Lytton captured my heart with her story. I loved this book so much! I took my time reading it, savoring every page. Mercy walks the line between the faith her mother instilled in her, that she can’t quite understand and the ways of her Mohawk father. Seeing how Mercy’s faith grew throughout the book was very moving.
Elias Dubois. Let me just say he may be a traitor but he is one swoon-worthy hero. He has a few secrets and a past that haunts him but he is a strong, faith-filled man.
I love the way Mercy and Elias both studied each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking. I loved that Matthew saw it too.
This is a thrilling adventure filled with many surprises, twists, and turns. I held my breath during many parts of the journey. I even shed a tear or two. I did not want the book to end but at the same time, I could not wait to find out how it ended. It’s just so good!
The Captured Bride is book three in the Daughters of the Mayflower series, a series where each book is written by a different author. The books all stand alone, so it is fine to jump in and read whichever stories grab your attention.
This novel was packed full of adventure and really made me feel like I was back in the time period, venturing out into the wilderness with these travelers. It also contained intrigue, danger, and the possibility of romance.
I enjoyed wondering who exactly Elias Dubios was, even as the heroine of the novel, Mercy, wondered the same thing. I thought the author did a very good job of creating the character of Mercy, who was a strong and capable woman, but carried wounds and anger from her childhood, as well as animosity toward God. This story was a very nice blend of adventure and romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
What a great adventure! This story had a lot of excitement and danger. I did not expect Elias to have the faith that he did. I loved that. Mercy had always relied on herself and that was sometimes a hindrance, but I liked how she learned to depend on God. I thought this was a great story and I would recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
“My mother used to tell me there’s more love in Christ for us than there can ever be brokenness. Only in turning to Him can you be healed on the inside.” ~page 108
This is an exemplary example of why I love Michelle Griep’s books; it packs all the emotions one person can feel, gives the reader an adventure edged with danger they won’t forget, fills it with characters you come to care about and threads it all with solid reminders of faith. I’ve read many of her stories and I think this tops even her best (and she’s exceptional in the first place)!
Mercy reminds me so much of myself and struggles with being independent on one hand, but craving love on the other all while trying to figure out where the balance is. A fierce warrior woman raised as a daughter of an equally fierce Mohawk chief who’s not afraid to look danger in the eye. Elias is a bit of a quandary; is he traitor, French gentleman, thief, or a man after God’s own heart? He possesses a genuineness that continues to shine forth throughout the story and was a fun character to try to figure out. This kept my senses heightened with danger licking at my feet as the group ventured deeper in Wyandot territory. My heart was invested in watching the story play out and I was hard pressed to put it down with the need to know what happens next. I was happily observing the romance build from the sidelines, and how valiantly Elias protected Mercy in spite of her stubbornness. I think the only complaint I have is, it ended much too abruptly for my taste…all in a good way! Because just like every book I’ve read by Michelle, I could read a few more chapters and still not want to come to the last page.
This is the best installment of The Daughters of the Mayflower series yet in my opinion! All stand-alone novels, so no worries about missing anything.
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. *
I’m not sure I can say enough good things about this book! I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. It is the first I have read of Michelle Griep’s, but it absolutely won’t be the last! I fell into this story so deeply! I was completely absorbed with every character, every step of the journey, every covert mission. There was also a deep ribbon of faith & redemption that was so naturally a part of the story that it couldn’t have been written without it. An amazing journey to go on!
Action filled story with excitement, danger and love. The main character of the story is a woman who is strong and devoted. Each page takes the reader on a journey through wagon trails, war, captivity and more. The author gives great descriptions of the time period. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.