Review: A Bride in Store by Melissa Jagears

My rating: 3 stars / I liked it

Synopsis

Mail-order bride Eliza Cantrell is on her way to meet her intended groom and help him grow his general store business when her train is held up by robbers and she loses her dowry. She's further thwarted upon arriving in Salt Flatts only to find Axel, her groom, away on business.
Hoping a wife would push Axel to become a better business partner, William Stanton had encouraged him to seek a mail-order bride. With Axel gone, Will feels responsible for Eliza, so he finds her a place to stay and lets her help in the store.
Working together isn't what they'd expected, and when Axel is further delayed, neither can ignore the sparks that fly. But Eliza is meant for Axel and is set on a future with the store, while Will is biding time until he can afford medical school.
Their troubles are far from over when Axel returns to town, however, and soon both Will and Eliza must decide what they're willing to sacrifice to chase their dreams--or if God has a new dream in store for them both.

My Review

I was so excited to read this book, but it turned out to be somewhat different than I expected. I love mail-order bride stories since it's a fascinating situation for two strangers to enter into. In this case, the delay of Eliza meeting her intended groom allows for her to get to know Will, his business partner. It takes a while for the chemistry to build between Will and Eliza and since they each are focused so much on the store and saving the business I felt like romance just wasn't a priority for them. Not to mention that Eliza is committed to marrying Axel and Will doesn't consider sharing the considerable flaws of his shady and absent business partner. I didn't fully buy into Will's hangups preventing him from pursuing his dream- there was just too much waffling and he came across as a weak character. There are some interesting historical details involving the general store that I enjoyed learning about.

(Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review)

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Synopsis

Mail-order bride Eliza Cantrell is on her way to meet her intended groom and help him grow his general store business when her train is held up by robbers and she loses her dowry. She's further thwarted upon arriving in Salt Flatts only to find Axel, her groom, away on business.
Hoping a wife would push Axel to become a better business partner, William Stanton had encouraged him to seek a mail-order bride. With Axel gone, Will feels responsible for Eliza, so he finds her a place to stay and lets her help in the store.
Working together isn't what they'd expected, and when Axel is further delayed, neither can ignore the sparks that fly. But Eliza is meant for Axel and is set on a future with the store, while Will is biding time until he can afford medical school.
Their troubles are far from over when Axel returns to town, however, and soon both Will and Eliza must decide what they're willing to sacrifice to chase their dreams--or if God has a new dream in store for them both.

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Review: A Bride For Keeps by Melissa Jagears

My rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

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 fiance. 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?

My Review

While I loved the premise, the characters, and many of the situations the characters were in, the continued lack of communication made it hard for the plot to progress, and the characters repeatedly stewed over the same issues throughout. I enjoyed the author's voice and will definitely be reading her next novel!

(ARC provided via Netgalley for unbiased review)