Thursday, March 15, 2012

Texas Bride-Joan Johnston

Texas Bride


Joan Johnston

Dell, Mar 27 2012, $7.99

ISBN: 9780345527448



The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 left the six Wentworth children orphaned. The sextet have lived at the Chicago Institute for Orphaned Children for three years, but now the oldest Miranda is about to be sent away. Her five siblings fear her departure as she has been their strength to survive and their buffer from the wrath of abusive headmistress Miss Birch. Her sister Josie the bookworm arranged for Miranda to become a mail-order bride to a widower Texas rancher. Miss Birch catches them and hits Miranda several times with a rod.



Miranda takes her two youngest siblings (ten years old Nick and four years old Harry with her as she travels to the San Antonio area, but worries about the three teenage sisters she left behind. Widowed since his wife died in childbirth, Jacob Creed struggles to keep his ranch without the help of his affluent stepfather Alex Blackthorne. He is shocked when his new spouse arrives with two small children while she is shocked to find he is the father of a two years old daughter. Each is further shocked by their attraction, but he feels guilty for wanting her as he vowed to never endanger a woman with a pregnancy; while she will do what takes to make her his real wife.



This Bitter Creek western romance begins the Wentworth Mail Order Bride saga with a strong entry as readers learn the difficulty of life in Reconstruction Era Texas through the eyes of the Chicago transplant, her brothers and her husband. Although there is some exciting late suspense that detracts from the engaging changing relationships, the fully developed cast makes for a strong tale of love as readers will root for the pair to make it.



Harriet Klausner





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