A Bride For Keeps

Unexpected Brides, Book 1

By: Melissa Jagears

Narrated by: Pilar Witherspoon

Although Everett Cline can hardly keep up with the demands of his homestead, he won't humiliate himself by looking for a helpmate ever again--not after being jilted by three mail-order brides. When a well-meaning neighbor goes behind his back to bring yet another mail-order bride to town, he has good reason to doubt it will work, especially after getting a glimpse at the woman in question. She's the prettiest woman he's ever seen, and it's just not possible she's there to marry a simple homesteader like him.

Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiancé. Having finally worked up the courage to leave her life in Massachusetts, she's determined to find a place where people will value her for more than her looks. Having run out of all other options, Julia resorts to a mail-order marriage in far-away Kansas.

Everett is skeptical a cultured woman like Julia could be happy in a life on the plains, while Julia, deeply wounded by a past relationship, is skittish at the idea of marriage at all. When, despite their hesitations, they agree to a marriage in name only, neither one is prepared for the feelings that soon arise to complicate their arrangement. Can two people accustomed to keeping their distance let the barricades around their hearts down long enough to fall in love?

©2013 Melissa Jagears (P)2013 Recorded Books

Great love story

This was a great Christian based love story! Everett is such a great hero. You fall in love with him. He truly loves Julia and shows her God’s love. Also had lots of passion!

This should be labeled as a Christian romance

The characters were mostly likable in this story about a couple living on Kansas homestead. The only problem I had was with the use of Christian scripture throughout. I don’t like books that rely on religion to tell their stories. It feels stilted and artificial due to all the prayers and such that don’t seem true to the time and place. It should be labeled as a Christian romance.

Great Christian Romance

A story about two people who both think they are not good enough for each other due to traumatic past experiences. Their relationship is unable to grow until they each find the courage to open up to to one another.
Sometimes God puts us in uncomfortable situations that are scary and require courage. If we can let go of the control we hang on to in order to not be hurt again, we'll usually see that God has put what we most need in life right in front of us.

Not my thing

Very slow and monotonously solemn, without a payoff that felt worth it to me. I will say I did care a lot about Everett, I was really rooting for his happiness. Julia fell flat to me. But the gospel message was strong and touching. And definitely a safe read. The narrator did better with Everett’s voice than I would have expected.

okay *spoiler*

I liked the narrator, the story was okay it just seemed to run around in circles, I would have preferred to read more about how she came to let go of her past and truly love again, I think there was too much time spent on miscommunication which kind of drove me crazy.