Mail-Order Brides Get Cold Feet Marriage plans are put on hold in the Old West when four mail-order brides have second thoughts. How will their grooms win their trust? Right on Time by Angela Breidenbach Montana, 1883 Could two people be less suited than an English gentleman and a western gal who is used to giving the orders? From the wild Montana Territory to the refined Kentucky horse … Territory to the refined Kentucky horse farms, can Timothy prove worthy of Tara’s heart?
Pistol-Packin’ Bride by Margaret Brownley
Prickly Pear, Texas, 1885
Attorney Ben Heywood didn’t expect to get shot on his wedding day–and certainly not by his mail-order bride.
The Bride Who Declined by Susan Page Davis
Boston, Massachusetts, 1885
Rachel Paxton turns down a mail-order proposal, but a few months later she learns the man she rejected has died–and left his ranch to her in his will.
Twice the Trouble by Vickie McDonough
Cactus Creek, Texas, 1888
When Connor McLoughlin and his cousin Brian order a pair of mail-order brides, they think they’re getting two sweet Irish lasses. But what they get is a stage load of shenanigans.
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Right on Time by Angela Breidenbach
Timothy Higgenbottom wants out of the ridiculous rules of society and has made plans to travel to Montana and become a ranch foreman, unbeknownst to his mother. Tara and her Pa are both in dire need of a ranch foreman and she just hopes he sticks around and doesn’t run to the mines. Misperceptions, learning the ropes and getting used to the way of the west make for a page turning story. Tara, Timothy, along with Pa (Robert) and Cookie, are the primary characters. I did love Peg as well.
Pistol Packin’ Bride by Margaret Brownley
Elizabeth Colton is beginning to doubt the glowing reports of Texas from her intended, Ben Heywood. She wants to return home before the stagecoach even reaches her destination. When the stagecoach is halted she prepares her derringer, because the “wilds” are full of Indians and stagecoach robbers and they didn’t appear to be close to a town. Ben, had only wanted to send his bride to be back home, and be done with the meddling his parents had done, not get shot in the process. The story takes off fast and just keeps going page after page. Delightful story with Ben’s parents being quite a force to be reckoned with, along with him being the town’s favorite son.
The Bride Who Declines by Susan Page Davis
Rachel Paxton works hard as a dressmaker, keeping pretty busy, when she receives a letter, then later a telegram telling her she needs to travel to Texas, to a ranch that has been willed to her. The catch, she has to stay there a month. Being from Boston, the wide open spaces in Texas seem very foreign and not a comfortable idea for her. Another fast paced story with action and some suspense that don’t let up until the end. Rachel, Jack, Rusty, Abe, Goldie make up the bulk of the characters and are all fun to get to know.
Twice the Trouble by Vickie McDonough
Katie Quinn and her sister Keeley are on their way to Texas to marry the men, Connor McLoughlin and Brian Barnett, who’ve selected them. Katie has come up with a plan to hold of the wedding until they can see if their intendeds are God fearing, honorable men. When they alight the stage they tell the men that and to top that off, they won’t say who is who until they make their determination. Delightful story with the twins and their intendeds along with a few townspeople. Likeable characters and a nice twist to this story keep the reader engaged til the end.
This whole collection is easy to get into and hard to put down. Beautiful collection of stories.
A complimentary copy was provided by Barbour Publishing through Net Galley. A review was not required and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Marriage plans are put on hold in the Old West when four mail-order brides have second thoughts. How will their grooms win their trust?
Right on Time by Angela Breidenbach
Montana, 1883
Could two people be less suited than an English gentleman and a western gal who is used to giving the orders? From the wild Montana Territory to the refined Kentucky horse farms, can Timothy prove worthy of Tara’s heart?
Pistol-Packin’ Bride by Margaret Brownley
Prickly Pear, Texas, 1885
Attorney Ben Heywood didn’t expect to get shot on his wedding day—and certainly not by his mail-order bride.
The Bride Who Declined by Susan Page Davis
Boston, Massachusetts, 1885
Rachel Paxton turns down a mail-order proposal, but a few months later she learns the man she rejected has died—and left his ranch to her in his will.
Twice the Trouble by Vickie McDonough
Cactus Creek, Texas, 1888
When Connor McLoughlin and his cousin Brian order a pair of mail-order brides, they think they’re getting two sweet Irish lasses. But what they get is a stage load of shenanigans.
These all are sweet easy to read stories. A good way to spend a quiet afternoon while enjoying the day.
I was given this book by Barbour publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in anyway.
Novellas are usually a great way to be introduced to new-to-me authors. I love that about these collections. The downside is that I usually want more.
This collaboration had some unique twists to the typical Mail-Order bride stories that I’ve read in the past. There is a gender swap, a groom gets shot, a long distance proposal and denial, and an intentional twin mix-up. All four are amusing and can be easily read in a short amount of time.
Thank you, Barbour Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.
Right on Time by Angela Breidenbach is a fun twist to a mail-order bride story with an Englishman turned cowboy. Angela’s book was a delight to read.
Pistol-Packin’ Bride by Margaret Brownley made me chuckle when the mail-order bride shot her intended. This is an entertaining tale.
The Bride Who Declined by Susan Page Davis is an enjoyable novella about second chances.
Twice the Trouble by Vickie McDonough is a lively book about twin sisters who won’t tell which they are until they get to know their intended better. It’s a heartwarming story.
The Mail-Order Standoff was such a lively book to read. If you’re a fan of mail-order bride stories, you’ll love this book.
I received this book free but was under no obligation to provide a favorable review. The pleasure was mine.
The Mail-Order Standoff is a faith-based, easy-to-read collection of novellas written by four talented authors set in the 1880’s in Montana and Texas. These are diverse stories with a common thread that offer adventure and romance with a bit of humor thrown in. The characters in each narrative are believable and engaging. The plots incorporate fun twists and strong faith elements. I highly recommend this book.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley but am under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Right on time by Angela Breidenbach
This is a sweet read about the third son of an Earl, that wants to make a life oof his own. He loves open land and animals, so he answers an ad to become the ranch foreman and to marry the mans daughter. So many twists and turns kept this story interesting. The characters were smart and fun. It is a good clean western romance with a bit of English snobbery!
Pistol packin’bride by Margaret Brownley
Adopted by three sets of parents?? What a sweet funny story. The characters are hilarious, as is the story. I didn’t want to put it down. An original clean short story.
The Bride Who Declined by Susan Page Davis
Another sweet short story. In this one, Rachel is a seamstress with her own shop in Boston. Although, she had turned down a man in Texas to be his bride, He left his ranch to her. The characters and story are well developed and fun to read.
Twice the Trouble by Vickie McDonough
This is the last story in this anthology. It iis a story of identical twin sisters, going to Texas, to marry two cousins. Deciding that they wanted to keep their iidentities a secret, until they deciphered, if the men were true honest man. I enjoyed the characters in the story, it also had more of a Christian reference, but not overly done.
Overall, I thought all four stories were good clean romances. I am leaving my honest review for this book, that I received from the publisher, through net galley. #mailorderbride #netgalley
Right on time by Angela Breidenbach
This is a sweet read about the third son of an Earl, that wants to make a life oof his own. He loves open land and animals, so he answers an ad to become the ranch foreman and to marry the mans daughter. So many twists and turns kept this story interesting. The characters were smart and fun. It is a good clean western romance with a bit of English snobbery!
Pistol packin’bride by Margaret Brownley
Adopted by three sets of parents?? What a sweet funny story. The characters are hilarious, as is the story. I didn’t want to put it down. An original clean short story.
The Bride Who Declined by Susan Page Davis
Another sweet short story. In this one, Rachel is a seamstress with her own shop in Boston. Although, she had turned down a man in Texas to be his bride, He left his ranch to her. The characters and story are well developed and fun to read.
Twice the Trouble by Vickie McDonough
This is the last story in this anthology. It iis a story of identical twin sisters, going to Texas, to marry two cousins. Deciding that they wanted to keep their iidentities a secret, until they deciphered, if the men were true honest man. I enjoyed the characters in the story, it also had more of a Christian reference, but not overly done.
Overall, I thought all four stories were good clean romances. I am leaving my honest review for this book, that I received from the publisher, through net galley. #mailorderbride #netgalley
Since I have a soft spot for marriage of convenience stories, mail-order bride stories are some of my favorite. So I was a little excited to get the chance to check out this collection.
Right on Time by Angela Breidenbach
Right on Time was hilarious. Timothy gets quite the surprise when he shows up to marry Tara and work her ranch. I enjoyed their interactions, especially the banter over his formal clothing, English saddle, and preconceived notions.
I appreciated the author spacing out the timeline. To me, the relationship was more realistic because they had plenty of time to get to know each other. But sometimes jumping ahead a month or so made the novella feel a bit disjointed. I would’ve liked to have this premise in a novel so I could spend more time with the characters and have a much smoother timeline.
Pistol-Packin’ Bride by Margaret Brownley
This one was my favorite. The way Brownley took the premise and turned it into an entertaining read is incredible. Ben and Elizabeth’s romance is entertaining. But my favorite part was how Ben’s six parents (Yes, I said six) would insert themselves into a situation. Having them together created a hilarious kind of chaos.
And Ben and Elizabeth were phenomenal characters. Brownley managed to flesh them out in a short time. Great read that I hated to end.
The Bride Who Declined by Susan Page Davis
This story has plenty in its favor. Rachel’s character was interesting, especially since she was a city-bred woman trying to acclimate to life on a ranch. Davis developed Rachel’s character very well, but I felt like I didn’t get enough time with Jack. Maybe it’s because I liked him so much as a hero.
Twice the Trouble by Vickie McDonough
The premise of this story was interesting, although I was a bit annoyed that Keeley and Katie went to great lengths to hide their names. And having four POV characters felt like a little much. It made it hard for me to really connect with the characters. I think if this had been a full-length novel, I wouldn’t have minded so much because there would have been more time with each character. Overall, though, it was an entertaining read.
Overall, some stories were definitely better than others. But they were still nice, light reads for a lazy afternoon.
Note: I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.