Get Started On The Bartered Bride Collection Assembled By Cathy Marie Hake Issued In Paper Edition

great collection of Christian books, An endearing collection of short stories of Christian, Western historical fiction, There are three of the stories that have the same cast of characters centered around the fictional town of Lickwind, Wyoming.
I loved these stories and I know that it will warm your heart while you are treated to sweet stories of love and family.


The Bartered Bride Romance Collection will be available from Barbour Books on May,, An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review, The Bartered Bride Collection gathers togethernovellas on the theme of arranged or "convenient" marriages, I felt like most of the stories fell into that last category which seemed odd to me as there is an entirely separate collection of stories by Barbour called The Convenient Bride.
But I digress

Overall, these novellas were enjoyable with likable characters and believable plots that didn't feel forced or rushed, The four stories included in the middle of the book were my favorites not coincidentally, these four novellas all centered around a group of sisters who descend on a manheavy town thinking they had been bought as mail order brides.
I liked the continuity between these particular stories in seeing the same characters and the same setting and the progress of the relationships and the theme.
In fact, Barbour could pull those four out and publish them in a separate book and have another good thing going.
Maybe they already have, lol, Too many books to keep up with!!!

Joie De Vivre by Lynette Sowell
Button String Bride by Cathy Marie Hake
The Wedding Wagon by Cathy Marie Hake
From Halter to Alter by Cathy Marie Hake
From Carriage to Marriage by Janelle Burnham Schneider
From Pride to Bride by JoAnne A.
Grote
From Alarming to Charming by Pamela Kaye Tracy
A Vow Unbroke by Amy Rognlie
Finishing Touches by Kelly Eileen Hake

Entering into marriage without love is not the dream of most brides, but nine women from days gone by commit to saying I do before they barely know their grooms.
Four sisters travel in answer to an ad before even corresponding with potential husbands, Two women bend to the will of their parents in taking husbands, A widow commits to a stranger in name only, And two women on the Oregon Trail hitch their lives to men they ve just met, Amid the angst brought on by conveniently arranged marriage, can love be found and firmed by faith I really enjoyed reading this collection of SHORT stories! My problem is that I felt like I was "shorted" out of what should have been some wonderful stories! I felt like I was handed two slices of bread for a sandwich, but that's all! Joie De Vivre by Lynette Sowell

Josee Broussard was taken in by the LeBlanc family after her parents died at age.
Now at eighteen she is ready to have a family of her own, Her and Jacques LeBlanc were the best of friends he was the younger son of the family, She was hoping she would be marrying him but Mr LeBlanc is having her wed his older son Edouard,

Edouard has had a rough lie, After the war he was left with a scared face and while gone his first love married some one else, He has no use for a wife much less Josee, Can these two come together before the marriageWill they find love and happiness,

I like Josee and Edouard both their characters both needed some love and healing, It was nice to see how these two came together and worked things out, The banter between the two was lovely, I enjoyed this story.


Button Strong Bride by Cathy Marie Hake

We meet Ethan Cole who is traveling with the wagon train to Oregon with his two small children.
He is a widow and had his sister and her family with them and she had to give up, He helps a young lady Charity who had lost her parents on the trail, They combine their things and keep going, Charity helps with the kids and they fall in love with her, She adores them and is a god fearing woman,

These two characters were great both needed healing as Ethan still loved his wife and Charity just wanted a nice simple life if she could find love.
I liked them two getting to know each other and the help they both offered along the way was nice to see.




The Wedding Wagon by Cathy Marie Hake

Bethany Handley was a close friend of Pennys back in school.
She visited their house on Christmas and Pennys brother, Joshua fell hard and asked Bethany to go with him on the Oregon Trail and be his wife.


Joshua is a doctor and adores Penny but Penny acts like she just came along for his father and sister.
Can she see that the truly loves her Can she love him

Bethany was great see come to life and know love.
We see her grow in a short amount of time and watch Joshua grow as well, Jealousy and bad communication can lead to broken heart or restore them,




From Halter to Alter by Cathy Marie Hake

Ellis Stack place an add forbridles in the paper and The Collingswood brothers need some.
So they ordered them and agreed to a price,
Imagine Jims surprise when he shows up at the train station andladies get off the train expecting to get married.
The girls are so upset they dont know what to do so the Collingswoods let the girls stay in their house until things can get straight.


We have twins Matty and Corrie, Bess and young Bertie, Corrie is pregnant with her late husbands baby and the other ladies have never been married, Matty and Jim clash a few times can these two get a long and what about all these men town folk coming out to try and win one of these ladies as their brides.


Matty and Jim were great to read about along with his brother Luke and the rest of Mattys sisters.
They can make you laugh and cry, A great story of the love Matty and Jim share,



From Carriage to Marriage by Janelle Burnham Schneider

Corries baby is coming closer to being born.
Luke has taken it upon himself to take care of her chores, She wants to do something with her lot help take care of her and her child, She starts to bake.

Luke is a man who like to help anyone in need, He feels the need to protect her and he sees what Matty and Jim have, Can they have the same kind of relationship Will Corrie let him take care of her and her child,

Corrie and Luke were fun to read about, The way Luke steps up and helps Corrie and her family is remarkable,


From Pride to Bride by JoAnne A, Grote

Bess and Berdie are the last of the Craig sisters and they cant stay with Jim and Luke forever so they try and buy the jail house to run their bakery/ kitchen.
Bess wants the church to meet at the saloon hall since it is raining and their is no real church yet in the town.
Gideon of course lets the town meet there and then Bossy Bess as she is known needs help,

The town wont let the Craig sisters rent the jail so what is left for Gideon to do but rent the house he just built to them.
The ladies thrive in baking and cooking, Bess starts to teach while cooking, But can they be more with Gideon and Bess, Can she see past him being a saloon owner

The sisters are great to read about and you get to see more of each of them as each sister has her own story.
Bess was great to see come out of her shell a bit,


From Alarming to Charming by Pamela Kaye Tracy

Bertie is called a boy by Thomas who has come back to town to set things right.
He is surprised he is a she, He asked her to help with his horses off the train, Bertie sees she needs to be more of a lady for Thomas to really take notice of her,

Thomas is know as the son of a cow rustler, He has come back to town richer and more successful then when the town ran his family out, He gets help from the town to get things going and he sees Bertie as a squirt, But can she change his mind

The last of the Craig stories and this one did not disappoint in the least.
It was great seeing the little sister grown up and be a great young woman, She takes over the teaching from Bess and all the ladies thrive, Wonderful stories I would like to read again,


A Vow Unbroke by Amy Rognlie

James Parrish is glad to have his intended coming to town until he meets the lady he thought he was marrying is someone else.
Abby has come

in the place of Jamess intended and she is carrying someone elses baby,

He takes her to his sisters boarding house, Can Abby find real love or will she have to leave or find other ways to take care of herself and her baby

It was nice to see James and Abby come together and make things work.





Finishing Touches by Kelly Eileen Hake

Captain Royce has been looking forward to his wedding that is until she left him for another person and left Royce with her spinster sister Libby.


Poor Libby secretly loved Captain Royce but knew he loved her sister, What can she do to help him get over his grief, Will he see her as someone he can love

I wish we could have learned more but a great story to end the collection.
Wonderful collection ofnovelettes about the practice of 'mail order brides' being sentsometimes without their permission/against their willto the emerging American West.

I really appreciated the concise, yet convincing portrayal of the the young, and not so young, women who went West to become wives and/or housekeepers for the lonely men who paid their way out.

The first several selections covered the lives of the four Craig sisters who were sent to Lickwind, WY, by their scheming brotherinlaw so that he could have the family's dairy farm.
He sold them to the Collingwood Ranch for,each. He claimed that the owner of the ranch 'ordered' them via telegram, When, in truth, he had ordered horse bridles, not brides! Eventually, it all worked out well for the young women, and the ranchers of the area.
But, with many interesting side stories along the way,
I really appreciated the entire collection for the unique and totally believable way in which the stories
were presented.
Very well written and readable with a background of traditional religious values, .