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The Copper Creek Brides #2.5
Wed Under Western Skies: Abandoned \ Almost a Bride \ His Brother's Bride
Join three favorite authors as three unforgettable couples are
Wed Under Western Skies
ABANDONED by Carolyn Davidson
The sole survivor of a wagon train raid, Elizabeth Travis has been left with amnesia. Cameron Montgomery comes to her rescue and takes special care of her. But how can she desire him while she is a woman with no past?
ALMOST A BRIDE by Cheryl St.John
The only unmarried woman in town, Charmaine Renlow has been waiting years for her beau to propose, and she's had enough. Maybe it's time to move on to greener pastures…like single father Jack Easton's homestead!
HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE by Jenna Kernan
Only a desperate woman would marry a man she'd never met, even if it was her dying husband's last request. But with a young daughter to protect, Clara Justice is desperate, so she accepts the proposal from Nate, the black sheep of the family…
Wed Under Western Skies
ABANDONED by Carolyn Davidson
The sole survivor of a wagon train raid, Elizabeth Travis has been left with amnesia. Cameron Montgomery comes to her rescue and takes special care of her. But how can she desire him while she is a woman with no past?
ALMOST A BRIDE by Cheryl St.John
The only unmarried woman in town, Charmaine Renlow has been waiting years for her beau to propose, and she's had enough. Maybe it's time to move on to greener pastures…like single father Jack Easton's homestead!
HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE by Jenna Kernan
Only a desperate woman would marry a man she'd never met, even if it was her dying husband's last request. But with a young daughter to protect, Clara Justice is desperate, so she accepts the proposal from Nate, the black sheep of the family…
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Davidson
69 books91 followersCarolyn Davidson began writing in 1986, knowing absolutely nothing about the craft. Her first three books were rejected by Harlequin.
She met Dixie Browning at a Harlequin dinner in Charleston, South Carolina, and told Dixie she was writing, but that she feared she was too old to begin such an undertaking. Dixie's response spurred Carolyn to pursue her dream. Dixie said, in her own inimitable fashion, "Well, honey, you can't start any younger!" And she was right.
Having spent her life as a wife, mother, grandmother, and working woman, she's privileged to have a career that makes her dreams possible. Writing historical romance gives her the opportunity to travel, to visit all those places where our forefathers staked their claim on this country of ours. And then she goes home and writes their stories, maybe not exactly as they lived them, but as her imagination portrays them.
Carolyn lives in the South, where romance thrives, and where the sun shines almost every day of the year. In fact, some days it is difficult to stay glued to her computer, especially when the birds are singing and the flowers are in full bloom.
She lives not far from the ocean, close to Charleston, South Carolina, one of the most romantic cities in the world. Moreover, time at the beach is easy to come by. Does she enjoy her life? You bet! Harlequin allows her to write the books she loves, and her editor is patient with her quirks and foibles. Her family, though scattered in various states, is supportive, and her husband is a constant source of inspiration.
She met Dixie Browning at a Harlequin dinner in Charleston, South Carolina, and told Dixie she was writing, but that she feared she was too old to begin such an undertaking. Dixie's response spurred Carolyn to pursue her dream. Dixie said, in her own inimitable fashion, "Well, honey, you can't start any younger!" And she was right.
Having spent her life as a wife, mother, grandmother, and working woman, she's privileged to have a career that makes her dreams possible. Writing historical romance gives her the opportunity to travel, to visit all those places where our forefathers staked their claim on this country of ours. And then she goes home and writes their stories, maybe not exactly as they lived them, but as her imagination portrays them.
Carolyn lives in the South, where romance thrives, and where the sun shines almost every day of the year. In fact, some days it is difficult to stay glued to her computer, especially when the birds are singing and the flowers are in full bloom.
She lives not far from the ocean, close to Charleston, South Carolina, one of the most romantic cities in the world. Moreover, time at the beach is easy to come by. Does she enjoy her life? You bet! Harlequin allows her to write the books she loves, and her editor is patient with her quirks and foibles. Her family, though scattered in various states, is supportive, and her husband is a constant source of inspiration.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 23, 2022
Reviewed for THC Reviews
*newest review for this anthology
"3.5 stars"
Abandoned by Carolyn Davidson - “Abandoned” is a stand-alone novella that almost entirely takes place on a wagon train headed west. Elizabeth was part of a wagon train that was attacked by marauding Indians who killed most of the settlers and burned their possessions. By some miracle, they left her alive and didn’t take her with them. She’s found unconscious by Cameron, one of the scouts for a different wagon train, who takes her back to his group. There he keeps her in his wagon, although him caring for an unmarried young woman sets some busybodies’ tongues wagging. Cameron is a widower who has a piece of land in Colorado, and this is his last trip with the wagon train. He’s brought supplies with him this time, and after they reach Denver, he’s planning to settle down and find another wife. He views it as fortuitous that Elizabeth is basically dropped into his lap and wants to marry her as soon as they find a preacher, but she’s suffering from partial amnesia and doesn’t want to rush into anything until she’s certain there isn’t someone else out there waiting for her.
Sadly Cameron and Elizabeth aren’t very deep characters. Most of what we learn about them I’ve already outlined in the paragraph above. A few more tidbits of Elizabeth’s past come to light as she slowly regains her memory in bits and pieces, but overall, I didn’t get a good sense of what made either of them who they are. Cameron lost his wife, but doesn’t really seem too broken up over it. Even Elizabeth, who suffered through a traumatic event seems to bear few ill effects aside from a couple of minor injuries and one scene where she has a bad dream that’s easily comforted away. That being the case and since she didn’t receive any major knocks on the head, I couldn’t quite figure out why she had amnesia. Maybe the experience was traumatic enough to make her forget, not only the event, but most of her life. However, if that was the case, then I felt that should have been shown through other emotional means such as her being more frightened. Then there was Cameron who got on my nerves with his chauvinistic, patronizing ways. I’ve admittedly read heroes who were worse, but many of his comments made made me roll my eyes at their ridiculousness. Then there’s also the proprietary way in which he treats Elizabeth. Basically from the moment he finds her, he decides she’s his and tells her he’s going to marry her rather than asking. For her part, Elizabeth only puts up a token fuss over his high-handedness, and instead, generally eats it up, even though, when her memory returns, she makes a complaint about a friend of her father’s who was traveling with them doing the exact same thing. So overall, I felt like she was a bit of a marshmallow who didn’t have much of a backbone. I’m all for a man protecting and caring for his woman, but he needs to treat her as his equal and not make silly assumptions that she’ll just roll over and agree to marry him.
In addition to the characterizations being lacking, the plot of “Abandoned” was pretty thin. It mostly consists of them traveling on the wagon train the rest of the way to Denver, which was probably the most interesting thing about the story. I’m always up for a good old west tale about settlers forging their way to a new life and I like the details of pioneer living. However, there’s not much in the way of conflict other than Elizabeth not having all her memories and feeling like she can’t accept Cameron’s suit until she knows for sure whether she has a husband and then her also wanting to see if she can find her father who might still be alive. Also the romance doesn’t have much depth either. It’s pretty much insta-love with little rhyme or reason as to how, why, or when they fell for each other. Additionally there were a couple of other story points that were more minor but nonetheless bothered me. First, Cameron has a line not long after he finds Elizabeth, where he basically insinuates that all Indians are brutes and that they all view white people as their enemies, which wasn’t true and seemed racially insensitive to me. Then toward the end, there’s a brief mention of someone shooting another person for being a coward. Now admittedly the dead person was clearly no prize, but I didn’t feel like his actions warranted the death penalty, especially given that he’d supposedly been friends with the man who shot him. For all these reasons, “Abandoned” ended up being just an OK read for me. I was able to give it three stars, probably due to the short length of the story. If I’d had to put up with Cameron for much longer, though, my rating likely would have dropped even more. It was my first read by Carolyn Davidson, but since I have several more of her books on my TBR pile, I’ll likely give her another chance to wow me at some point. I just may not be in a hurry to do so and I’ll be hoping that her next hero isn’t quite so annoying and that the story and characters have a bit more depth. Star Rating: ***
Almost a Bride by Cheryl St. John - “Almost a Bride” is the third and final story in Cheryl St. John’s Copper Creek Brides series. It features Charmaine, who is a cousin to Annie from the first book, Sweet Annie, and a friend to Kate from the second book, His Secondhand Wife. Charmaine has been waiting for four long years for her beau to propose and decides that maybe it’s time to look toward greener pastures. While filling in for another cousin on a float-building committee for the upcoming Founder’s Day parade, she starts getting to know Jack who is new in town. Jack used to live in the mountains, but he moved closer to town for the sake of his young son, Daniel. However, he’s mostly been keeping to himself, until he volunteers his barn as a site for building the float. As they work on the project together, an attraction begins to form, but Jack may have trouble getting past his preconceived notions of the type of woman he thinks Charmaine is.
Charmaine watched while her cousin, Annie, and all her friends got married. As the last single woman of marriageable age in Copper Creek, she’s starting to feel left out and also wondering what’s wrong with her that her long-time beau hasn’t yet proposed after such a long time of courting. Thinking that maybe he needs a little push in the right direction, she considers the idea of using another man to try to make him jealous. Then she meets Jack who would be the perfect candidate, except that she begins to develop real feelings for the single dad and his charming young son. Charmaine is an only child, and although I wouldn’t exactly call her spoiled, she has had a pretty good life and has come to enjoy fanciful things. She views those around her like Annie and Kate as special but doesn’t feel like others view her as special, so she’s a perfectionist who’s driven to try to be the best at everything she does and to present a flawless image of herself. Yet, deep down, she has an independent streak that makes her very special indeed if only someone would take notice of her. I really liked Charmaine in the other two books for her kindness toward Annie and Kate, and I still liked her very much in this story. She continues to show that kindness and generosity toward Jack and Daniel, and it’s Jack who in turn helps her see that’s she’s special just the way she is without any of the trappings she sometimes puts on.
Jack used to live in the mountains where he was married to a half-Cheyenne woman who passed away when Daniel was just an infant, leaving him a single father. He has a business making saddles and tack for horses and decided to move closer to town, both to attract more business and so Daniel could attend school. He meets Charmine briefly at a tea party at Kate’s and then again later, at the schoolhouse, where she volunteers to help build the school’s float, after which he insists upon escorting her home. When she come to his farm to work on the float, they start getting to know one another, but after seeing her seemingly put on airs when interacting with fancier folks in town, he thinks that she may be two-faced. However, when he has some rather direct words for her about that, he realizes that he’s hurt her and that she’s actually far more than he originally thought. Jack is a good hero and a great father. Although his directness may have stung Charmaine a little, it also opened her eyes to a few things in her life that needed a bit of changing. Not to mention, his more passionate side and the attention he gives her makes her realize that she shouldn’t settle for anything less in a husband than what Annie and Kate have.
Overall, “Almost a Bride” was a nice wrap-up to this series. I was happy to finally read Charmaine’s story and I think Jack was a good match for her. Theirs is a sweet romance with a few tender moments and no objectionable content to speak of, making it appropriate for most audiences. My only real complaint is that the story just didn’t seem quite long enough. A large part of the plot focuses on Charmaine and her coming to the realization that she’s good enough just the way she is and that she doesn’t have to try so hard. In this regard, her characterization was well done, but I couldn’t help feeling like Jack got a little bit lost in the shuffle. He’s a good and likable character as well, but his characterization doesn’t go quite as deep. Their romance mostly consists of getting to know you moments and a couple of passionate kisses. Because Charmaine waits until close to the end of the story to officially break things off with her other beau, the ending felt rather rushed with Jack’s proposal seemingly coming from out of nowhere. But in spite of the perceived weaknesses, I did still enjoy this novella, and now that I’ve finished the Copper Creek Brides, I look forward to delving into Cheryl St. John’s backlist. Star Rating: ****
*His Brother’s Bride by Jenna Kernan - “His Brother’s Bride” is a western romance novella about two people who are grieving the death of the same man. As the black sheep of his family, Nate set out to make his fortune on the western frontier, where he now owns the saloon and hardware store in Colorado City. Before his beloved older brother, Jacob, passed away, Jacob asked Nate to look after his wife, Clara, and daughter, Kitty. Although he has misgivings about bringing the paragon of virtue his brother described in his letters to the wild west and marrying her, Nate ends up going through with it anyway, but he doesn’t feel worthy of her. Little does he know, though, that Clara has a past of her own that she’s not proud of. She agreed to marry Jacob’s brother, because she had no other way to provide for her daughter, but she fears he would reject her if he knew the truth about her. The two must find a way to get past their feelings of inadequacy in order to make a life together.
Nate was frequently the object of his father’s harsh beatings, but Jacob often stood up for him, leaving Nate forever grateful to the big brother whom he idolized. But the kind Jacob became a minister in New York, while Nate went west in search of a different sort of life. He managed to make his fortune by setting up shop in mining towns and now owns the saloon and hardware store in the booming town of Colorado City. Although he’s perhaps engaged in some questionable business practices to get ahead, deep down, he’s a good man who cares about kids and stray cats. However, because of his past and the constant put-downs he received growing up, he doesn’t feel worthy of Clara, whom Jacob described in nothing but the most glowing terms. He also doesn’t think he knows anything about being a husband, so when Clara arrives, he marries her, but keeps his distance even though he’s strongly attracted to her. I generally liked Nate, but felt like he spent a little too much time beating himself up over the past rather than trying to move forward into the future with Clara. Even when she finally comes clean about her own past, he doesn’t really believe her and thinks it’s just a story she concocted to make him feel better. I’m all for a good tortured hero, but he has to be willing to listen to his heroine and have a believable story arc and I didn’t entirely feel that way about Nate.
Clara came from a large family. Her father left them destitute, and in a rather desperate state, she was hoodwinked as a teenager by a smooth talking stranger who promised marriage, but only wanted her to be a prostitute in a brothel he was planning to build. Although we don’t get the details about how it happened, Jacob rescued her from that future and married her himself. Before Jacob died, he told her to go to Nate, that he needed her and would take care of her and Kitty. She arrives in Colorado City to find her prospective groom drunk (Nate isn’t given to drinking as a habit, though. He was just nervous and having second thoughts about marrying her.), which doesn’t leave a great first impression. However, there is sexual chemistry between them, something she’d never really experienced with Jacob, even though she loved him. But when she finds out that Nate was planning to rescind his proposal before she arrived, she thinks he doesn’t want her, and because of her past, she feels just as unworthy of him as he does of her. A part of me sympathized with Clara for all that she’d been through in the past, but much like with Nate, I felt like she was engaging in a little to much self-flagellation. She’d been married to Jacob for several years and he’d never once judged her, so the idea that she seemingly hadn’t experienced any emotional healing at all during that time was a bit too much to be believed. I also didn’t care for her getting the reverend involved in her and Nate’s personal life, and I didn’t necessarily feel like she’d grown much by the end of the story. On the up side, though, she’s a good mother to Kitty.
Overall, “His Brother’s Bride” was a decent story, but it did fall down into the okay range for me. Like I mentioned, I greatly enjoy a good tortured hero or heroine, but I felt like Nate and Clara’s issues were a little too much to address in this short format. Therefore, they didn’t genuinely grow as characters by the end. I felt like they spent too much time mired in their own personal problems and fears of what the other would think about them instead of getting to know one another, given that they were complete strangers who’d just entered into a marriage of convenience. They don’t really communicate well either, tending to make assumptions about the other rather than simply asking questions or engaging in discussion. A part of me understood their fears, but at some point, you just have to man up. Then when Clara finally worked up the courage to tell Nate, he doesn’t want to listen and interrupts her with sexual overtures to try to shut her up, merely continuing on with his false assumptions. Their first (and only) love scene started out with Nate being angry (and rightfully so IMHO) with Clara for going to the reverend behind his back, which was just not to my taste. The scene lacked any real tenderness or emotion, yet Clara likes it more than she’s ever liked sex before, which didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’m okay with first love scenes not going perfectly, if I know there will be more to make up for it, but that was it, and it left me very unsatisfied. In addition, the dialogue and emotion throughout were very stilted. The dialog needed more contractions, because as written, it was far too formal for a western setting. And because Nate and Clara spend a large part of this fairly short novella keeping each other at arm’s length, I just didn’t feel much of an emotional connection between them.
“His Brother’s Bride” wasn’t a bad story per se, but it simply didn’t float my boat the way I wanted it to. This novella is the second in Jenna Kernan’s Winter Wild West Weddings Christmas novella series, but as far as I can tell, this is a themed series rather than one with common character connections. I’m also guessing that the author rewrote parts of it before releasing it as a separate ebook, because the version I read in this anthology has neither a winter setting nor a Christmas theme. Star Rating: ***1/2
*newest review for this anthology
"3.5 stars"
Abandoned by Carolyn Davidson - “Abandoned” is a stand-alone novella that almost entirely takes place on a wagon train headed west. Elizabeth was part of a wagon train that was attacked by marauding Indians who killed most of the settlers and burned their possessions. By some miracle, they left her alive and didn’t take her with them. She’s found unconscious by Cameron, one of the scouts for a different wagon train, who takes her back to his group. There he keeps her in his wagon, although him caring for an unmarried young woman sets some busybodies’ tongues wagging. Cameron is a widower who has a piece of land in Colorado, and this is his last trip with the wagon train. He’s brought supplies with him this time, and after they reach Denver, he’s planning to settle down and find another wife. He views it as fortuitous that Elizabeth is basically dropped into his lap and wants to marry her as soon as they find a preacher, but she’s suffering from partial amnesia and doesn’t want to rush into anything until she’s certain there isn’t someone else out there waiting for her.
Sadly Cameron and Elizabeth aren’t very deep characters. Most of what we learn about them I’ve already outlined in the paragraph above. A few more tidbits of Elizabeth’s past come to light as she slowly regains her memory in bits and pieces, but overall, I didn’t get a good sense of what made either of them who they are. Cameron lost his wife, but doesn’t really seem too broken up over it. Even Elizabeth, who suffered through a traumatic event seems to bear few ill effects aside from a couple of minor injuries and one scene where she has a bad dream that’s easily comforted away. That being the case and since she didn’t receive any major knocks on the head, I couldn’t quite figure out why she had amnesia. Maybe the experience was traumatic enough to make her forget, not only the event, but most of her life. However, if that was the case, then I felt that should have been shown through other emotional means such as her being more frightened. Then there was Cameron who got on my nerves with his chauvinistic, patronizing ways. I’ve admittedly read heroes who were worse, but many of his comments made made me roll my eyes at their ridiculousness. Then there’s also the proprietary way in which he treats Elizabeth. Basically from the moment he finds her, he decides she’s his and tells her he’s going to marry her rather than asking. For her part, Elizabeth only puts up a token fuss over his high-handedness, and instead, generally eats it up, even though, when her memory returns, she makes a complaint about a friend of her father’s who was traveling with them doing the exact same thing. So overall, I felt like she was a bit of a marshmallow who didn’t have much of a backbone. I’m all for a man protecting and caring for his woman, but he needs to treat her as his equal and not make silly assumptions that she’ll just roll over and agree to marry him.
In addition to the characterizations being lacking, the plot of “Abandoned” was pretty thin. It mostly consists of them traveling on the wagon train the rest of the way to Denver, which was probably the most interesting thing about the story. I’m always up for a good old west tale about settlers forging their way to a new life and I like the details of pioneer living. However, there’s not much in the way of conflict other than Elizabeth not having all her memories and feeling like she can’t accept Cameron’s suit until she knows for sure whether she has a husband and then her also wanting to see if she can find her father who might still be alive. Also the romance doesn’t have much depth either. It’s pretty much insta-love with little rhyme or reason as to how, why, or when they fell for each other. Additionally there were a couple of other story points that were more minor but nonetheless bothered me. First, Cameron has a line not long after he finds Elizabeth, where he basically insinuates that all Indians are brutes and that they all view white people as their enemies, which wasn’t true and seemed racially insensitive to me. Then toward the end, there’s a brief mention of someone shooting another person for being a coward. Now admittedly the dead person was clearly no prize, but I didn’t feel like his actions warranted the death penalty, especially given that he’d supposedly been friends with the man who shot him. For all these reasons, “Abandoned” ended up being just an OK read for me. I was able to give it three stars, probably due to the short length of the story. If I’d had to put up with Cameron for much longer, though, my rating likely would have dropped even more. It was my first read by Carolyn Davidson, but since I have several more of her books on my TBR pile, I’ll likely give her another chance to wow me at some point. I just may not be in a hurry to do so and I’ll be hoping that her next hero isn’t quite so annoying and that the story and characters have a bit more depth. Star Rating: ***
Almost a Bride by Cheryl St. John - “Almost a Bride” is the third and final story in Cheryl St. John’s Copper Creek Brides series. It features Charmaine, who is a cousin to Annie from the first book, Sweet Annie, and a friend to Kate from the second book, His Secondhand Wife. Charmaine has been waiting for four long years for her beau to propose and decides that maybe it’s time to look toward greener pastures. While filling in for another cousin on a float-building committee for the upcoming Founder’s Day parade, she starts getting to know Jack who is new in town. Jack used to live in the mountains, but he moved closer to town for the sake of his young son, Daniel. However, he’s mostly been keeping to himself, until he volunteers his barn as a site for building the float. As they work on the project together, an attraction begins to form, but Jack may have trouble getting past his preconceived notions of the type of woman he thinks Charmaine is.
Charmaine watched while her cousin, Annie, and all her friends got married. As the last single woman of marriageable age in Copper Creek, she’s starting to feel left out and also wondering what’s wrong with her that her long-time beau hasn’t yet proposed after such a long time of courting. Thinking that maybe he needs a little push in the right direction, she considers the idea of using another man to try to make him jealous. Then she meets Jack who would be the perfect candidate, except that she begins to develop real feelings for the single dad and his charming young son. Charmaine is an only child, and although I wouldn’t exactly call her spoiled, she has had a pretty good life and has come to enjoy fanciful things. She views those around her like Annie and Kate as special but doesn’t feel like others view her as special, so she’s a perfectionist who’s driven to try to be the best at everything she does and to present a flawless image of herself. Yet, deep down, she has an independent streak that makes her very special indeed if only someone would take notice of her. I really liked Charmaine in the other two books for her kindness toward Annie and Kate, and I still liked her very much in this story. She continues to show that kindness and generosity toward Jack and Daniel, and it’s Jack who in turn helps her see that’s she’s special just the way she is without any of the trappings she sometimes puts on.
Jack used to live in the mountains where he was married to a half-Cheyenne woman who passed away when Daniel was just an infant, leaving him a single father. He has a business making saddles and tack for horses and decided to move closer to town, both to attract more business and so Daniel could attend school. He meets Charmine briefly at a tea party at Kate’s and then again later, at the schoolhouse, where she volunteers to help build the school’s float, after which he insists upon escorting her home. When she come to his farm to work on the float, they start getting to know one another, but after seeing her seemingly put on airs when interacting with fancier folks in town, he thinks that she may be two-faced. However, when he has some rather direct words for her about that, he realizes that he’s hurt her and that she’s actually far more than he originally thought. Jack is a good hero and a great father. Although his directness may have stung Charmaine a little, it also opened her eyes to a few things in her life that needed a bit of changing. Not to mention, his more passionate side and the attention he gives her makes her realize that she shouldn’t settle for anything less in a husband than what Annie and Kate have.
Overall, “Almost a Bride” was a nice wrap-up to this series. I was happy to finally read Charmaine’s story and I think Jack was a good match for her. Theirs is a sweet romance with a few tender moments and no objectionable content to speak of, making it appropriate for most audiences. My only real complaint is that the story just didn’t seem quite long enough. A large part of the plot focuses on Charmaine and her coming to the realization that she’s good enough just the way she is and that she doesn’t have to try so hard. In this regard, her characterization was well done, but I couldn’t help feeling like Jack got a little bit lost in the shuffle. He’s a good and likable character as well, but his characterization doesn’t go quite as deep. Their romance mostly consists of getting to know you moments and a couple of passionate kisses. Because Charmaine waits until close to the end of the story to officially break things off with her other beau, the ending felt rather rushed with Jack’s proposal seemingly coming from out of nowhere. But in spite of the perceived weaknesses, I did still enjoy this novella, and now that I’ve finished the Copper Creek Brides, I look forward to delving into Cheryl St. John’s backlist. Star Rating: ****
*His Brother’s Bride by Jenna Kernan - “His Brother’s Bride” is a western romance novella about two people who are grieving the death of the same man. As the black sheep of his family, Nate set out to make his fortune on the western frontier, where he now owns the saloon and hardware store in Colorado City. Before his beloved older brother, Jacob, passed away, Jacob asked Nate to look after his wife, Clara, and daughter, Kitty. Although he has misgivings about bringing the paragon of virtue his brother described in his letters to the wild west and marrying her, Nate ends up going through with it anyway, but he doesn’t feel worthy of her. Little does he know, though, that Clara has a past of her own that she’s not proud of. She agreed to marry Jacob’s brother, because she had no other way to provide for her daughter, but she fears he would reject her if he knew the truth about her. The two must find a way to get past their feelings of inadequacy in order to make a life together.
Nate was frequently the object of his father’s harsh beatings, but Jacob often stood up for him, leaving Nate forever grateful to the big brother whom he idolized. But the kind Jacob became a minister in New York, while Nate went west in search of a different sort of life. He managed to make his fortune by setting up shop in mining towns and now owns the saloon and hardware store in the booming town of Colorado City. Although he’s perhaps engaged in some questionable business practices to get ahead, deep down, he’s a good man who cares about kids and stray cats. However, because of his past and the constant put-downs he received growing up, he doesn’t feel worthy of Clara, whom Jacob described in nothing but the most glowing terms. He also doesn’t think he knows anything about being a husband, so when Clara arrives, he marries her, but keeps his distance even though he’s strongly attracted to her. I generally liked Nate, but felt like he spent a little too much time beating himself up over the past rather than trying to move forward into the future with Clara. Even when she finally comes clean about her own past, he doesn’t really believe her and thinks it’s just a story she concocted to make him feel better. I’m all for a good tortured hero, but he has to be willing to listen to his heroine and have a believable story arc and I didn’t entirely feel that way about Nate.
Clara came from a large family. Her father left them destitute, and in a rather desperate state, she was hoodwinked as a teenager by a smooth talking stranger who promised marriage, but only wanted her to be a prostitute in a brothel he was planning to build. Although we don’t get the details about how it happened, Jacob rescued her from that future and married her himself. Before Jacob died, he told her to go to Nate, that he needed her and would take care of her and Kitty. She arrives in Colorado City to find her prospective groom drunk (Nate isn’t given to drinking as a habit, though. He was just nervous and having second thoughts about marrying her.), which doesn’t leave a great first impression. However, there is sexual chemistry between them, something she’d never really experienced with Jacob, even though she loved him. But when she finds out that Nate was planning to rescind his proposal before she arrived, she thinks he doesn’t want her, and because of her past, she feels just as unworthy of him as he does of her. A part of me sympathized with Clara for all that she’d been through in the past, but much like with Nate, I felt like she was engaging in a little to much self-flagellation. She’d been married to Jacob for several years and he’d never once judged her, so the idea that she seemingly hadn’t experienced any emotional healing at all during that time was a bit too much to be believed. I also didn’t care for her getting the reverend involved in her and Nate’s personal life, and I didn’t necessarily feel like she’d grown much by the end of the story. On the up side, though, she’s a good mother to Kitty.
Overall, “His Brother’s Bride” was a decent story, but it did fall down into the okay range for me. Like I mentioned, I greatly enjoy a good tortured hero or heroine, but I felt like Nate and Clara’s issues were a little too much to address in this short format. Therefore, they didn’t genuinely grow as characters by the end. I felt like they spent too much time mired in their own personal problems and fears of what the other would think about them instead of getting to know one another, given that they were complete strangers who’d just entered into a marriage of convenience. They don’t really communicate well either, tending to make assumptions about the other rather than simply asking questions or engaging in discussion. A part of me understood their fears, but at some point, you just have to man up. Then when Clara finally worked up the courage to tell Nate, he doesn’t want to listen and interrupts her with sexual overtures to try to shut her up, merely continuing on with his false assumptions. Their first (and only) love scene started out with Nate being angry (and rightfully so IMHO) with Clara for going to the reverend behind his back, which was just not to my taste. The scene lacked any real tenderness or emotion, yet Clara likes it more than she’s ever liked sex before, which didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’m okay with first love scenes not going perfectly, if I know there will be more to make up for it, but that was it, and it left me very unsatisfied. In addition, the dialogue and emotion throughout were very stilted. The dialog needed more contractions, because as written, it was far too formal for a western setting. And because Nate and Clara spend a large part of this fairly short novella keeping each other at arm’s length, I just didn’t feel much of an emotional connection between them.
“His Brother’s Bride” wasn’t a bad story per se, but it simply didn’t float my boat the way I wanted it to. This novella is the second in Jenna Kernan’s Winter Wild West Weddings Christmas novella series, but as far as I can tell, this is a themed series rather than one with common character connections. I’m also guessing that the author rewrote parts of it before releasing it as a separate ebook, because the version I read in this anthology has neither a winter setting nor a Christmas theme. Star Rating: ***1/2
November 26, 2015
Wed Under Western Skies is an anthology including 3 stories by 3 authors, all three stories are historical Americana set in the West. I'm going to do short reviews of each story.
Abandoned by Carolyn Davidson tells the story of Elizabeth Travis, a young woman who was left half dead after a group of Indians raided the wagon trail where she traveled with her father.
Elizabeth was found the next day by Cameron Montgomery, a scout for another wagon trail making its way to Oregon. Cam is immediately taken by Elizabeth, even in her bruised state, and takes her with him. Vowing in an instant to keep her safe forever. There is one problem though, Elizabeth doesn't remember who she is.
I liked Abandoned, it was a quick read and I did sort of believe the connection between Cam and Elizabeth and, over all, was a very well rounded story. Rating 3.5/5
Almost a Bride by Cheryl St. John brings us back to Copper Creek, where we get re-acquainted with Charmaine Renlow - from both Sweet Annie and His Second Hand Wife (which I LOVE). Over the years, Charmaine has seen all of her friends marry and start their own families, patiently waiting for her beau to finally propose, but he has been dragging his feet.
Jack Easton just moved to the outskirts of Cooper Creek so his young son can go to school with the rest of the local children, he has no intention to bring a woman into his life - he was happy with his first wife, but doesn't want to marry again - he mostly wants to be left alone. But, while working together on a project for the school, Charmaine and Jack are thrown together and they can help to be a bit fascinated about each other.
I loved Almost a Bride, my only complaint is that it was so short! I had been waiting to read Charmaine's story for a long time (and it was a big to do for me to get my paws on this book since it's out of print!!!) and I really think she deserved her own book. Jack was a nice hero for her. But yeah, definitely wished for more! Rating 4/5.
His Brother's Bride by Jenna Kernan tells the story of Nate Justice - owner of a hardware shop and a saloon in Colorado city - who reluctantly marries his brother's widow, Clara, to take care of her and of his niece Kitty. Clara is quite desperate so she agrees to Nate's marriage proposal and moves all the way from New York to Colorado. He doesn't think he's good enough for her and she doesn't think she's good enough for him either.
And that's why I didn't care much for this story. From the start they both feel inadequate due to things that happened in their pasts and that's understandable but it also got a bit annoying how many times. Clara lives terrified of her past coming back, but well, won't spoil. Rating 2.9/5
Abandoned by Carolyn Davidson tells the story of Elizabeth Travis, a young woman who was left half dead after a group of Indians raided the wagon trail where she traveled with her father.
Elizabeth was found the next day by Cameron Montgomery, a scout for another wagon trail making its way to Oregon. Cam is immediately taken by Elizabeth, even in her bruised state, and takes her with him. Vowing in an instant to keep her safe forever. There is one problem though, Elizabeth doesn't remember who she is.
I liked Abandoned, it was a quick read and I did sort of believe the connection between Cam and Elizabeth and, over all, was a very well rounded story. Rating 3.5/5
Almost a Bride by Cheryl St. John brings us back to Copper Creek, where we get re-acquainted with Charmaine Renlow - from both Sweet Annie and His Second Hand Wife (which I LOVE). Over the years, Charmaine has seen all of her friends marry and start their own families, patiently waiting for her beau to finally propose, but he has been dragging his feet.
Jack Easton just moved to the outskirts of Cooper Creek so his young son can go to school with the rest of the local children, he has no intention to bring a woman into his life - he was happy with his first wife, but doesn't want to marry again - he mostly wants to be left alone. But, while working together on a project for the school, Charmaine and Jack are thrown together and they can help to be a bit fascinated about each other.
I loved Almost a Bride, my only complaint is that it was so short! I had been waiting to read Charmaine's story for a long time (and it was a big to do for me to get my paws on this book since it's out of print!!!) and I really think she deserved her own book. Jack was a nice hero for her. But yeah, definitely wished for more! Rating 4/5.
His Brother's Bride by Jenna Kernan tells the story of Nate Justice - owner of a hardware shop and a saloon in Colorado city - who reluctantly marries his brother's widow, Clara, to take care of her and of his niece Kitty. Clara is quite desperate so she agrees to Nate's marriage proposal and moves all the way from New York to Colorado. He doesn't think he's good enough for her and she doesn't think she's good enough for him either.
And that's why I didn't care much for this story. From the start they both feel inadequate due to things that happened in their pasts and that's understandable but it also got a bit annoying how many times. Clara lives terrified of her past coming back, but well, won't spoil. Rating 2.9/5
August 10, 2011
I was not very impressed with the first story. I didn't feel connected to the characters or the fact that the men were in control of the women. I did however love the second and third stories and would recommend the book because of them.
August 7, 2015
Abandoned dealt with two wagon train scouts who find a burning wagon train attacked by Indians. A lone survivor, a young girl was found. Cam Montgomery, one of the scouts took her back to their wagon train and put her in his wagon. She was badly injured but he cared for her and protected her all the was to Denver. He offered her marriage but she wanted to find her father who was headed to Oregon.
Almost a bride brings back characters from St. John's other books. Remember Noah Cutter and Kate? Also Annie and Luke? Annie's cousin Charmaine had been courting Wayne for four years and he had never mentioned marriage. All of Charmaine's friends were married and most had children. Annie asked her did she really want to marry a man who had strung her along four years with no mention of commitment?
Jack Easton and his young son moved near copper creek so that Jack could send his son to school. Jack was a saddle maker who had lost his wife when his boy was younger. His son showed Indian features. Jack was an honest man and was teaching Daniel manners and social skills. He worked hard but lived a primitive lifestyle.
Charmaine met him through school functions and when he followed her home one night to see that she arrived safely, Jack saw that she was a family type and not the spoiled socialite that she acted like around Wayne. After working on a school project, Jack tried to help her into the wagon and an accidental meeting of the lips turned into a real kiss. Charlemagne begin to see what Noah and Kate and Luke and Annie and her parents had that made a marriage so special. Why was she waiting on Wayne?
His brother's bride was wonderful but too short. Nate Justice got a letter from his brother begging him to look after his wife and child when he died. His older brother was a parson back east and was dying of typhoid. Nate agreed but then realized that he was not the kind of man to wed a real lady even though she sent her agreement to her husband's wishes.
Money was no problem. Nate owned a very profitable saloon and a dry good store at the entrance to the gold fields in Denver. The problem was that Nate was not a gentleman like his older brother. He did not know-how to be a husband or a father and his own father had hated him.
Nate sent passage money and then right before she arrived,nate, got drunk. She and her daughter arrived and Nate, who normally did not drink, had a preacher ready and was falling down drunk. At the command "you may kiss the bride" he got carried away then passed out. Filled with shame when he finally sobered up, he refused to touch her.
Almost a bride brings back characters from St. John's other books. Remember Noah Cutter and Kate? Also Annie and Luke? Annie's cousin Charmaine had been courting Wayne for four years and he had never mentioned marriage. All of Charmaine's friends were married and most had children. Annie asked her did she really want to marry a man who had strung her along four years with no mention of commitment?
Jack Easton and his young son moved near copper creek so that Jack could send his son to school. Jack was a saddle maker who had lost his wife when his boy was younger. His son showed Indian features. Jack was an honest man and was teaching Daniel manners and social skills. He worked hard but lived a primitive lifestyle.
Charmaine met him through school functions and when he followed her home one night to see that she arrived safely, Jack saw that she was a family type and not the spoiled socialite that she acted like around Wayne. After working on a school project, Jack tried to help her into the wagon and an accidental meeting of the lips turned into a real kiss. Charlemagne begin to see what Noah and Kate and Luke and Annie and her parents had that made a marriage so special. Why was she waiting on Wayne?
His brother's bride was wonderful but too short. Nate Justice got a letter from his brother begging him to look after his wife and child when he died. His older brother was a parson back east and was dying of typhoid. Nate agreed but then realized that he was not the kind of man to wed a real lady even though she sent her agreement to her husband's wishes.
Money was no problem. Nate owned a very profitable saloon and a dry good store at the entrance to the gold fields in Denver. The problem was that Nate was not a gentleman like his older brother. He did not know-how to be a husband or a father and his own father had hated him.
Nate sent passage money and then right before she arrived,nate, got drunk. She and her daughter arrived and Nate, who normally did not drink, had a preacher ready and was falling down drunk. At the command "you may kiss the bride" he got carried away then passed out. Filled with shame when he finally sobered up, he refused to touch her.
February 3, 2020
Three novellas:
Abandoned was my least favorite. First book by this author. I do not plan to read more, 2 stars.
Almost a Bride was my favorite and the reason I read the book. I recommend reading the two full length novels first.
His Brother's Bride was enjoyable. First book by this author as well, and I'd like to try more.
Abandoned was my least favorite. First book by this author. I do not plan to read more, 2 stars.
Almost a Bride was my favorite and the reason I read the book. I recommend reading the two full length novels first.
His Brother's Bride was enjoyable. First book by this author as well, and I'd like to try more.
August 20, 2019
The Cheryl StJohn story was great. The Carolyn Davidson one had no build up and was jarring and not well written
June 16, 2019
The first story in this book is so bad, I have to write an essay on it before I blow a fuse. Carolyn Davidson should know better.
ABANDONED (Carolyn Davidson)
A small wagon train group is attacked by Indians. Instead of protecting his beloved daughter, Elizabeth Travis, her father chases after another man who is running from the situation. What father would abandon his daughter to chase a coward? Miraculously, Elizabeth is only badly beaten -- not killed.
The story gets worse; Elizabeth is saved by Cameron Montgomery, one of the scouts (of a large wagon train) who comes upon the burning wreck of the smaller train. Cam instantly decides that he wants her for his wife and goes from protecting her to jealous of other men to insisting that Elizabeth marry him. Elizabeth demurs because she isn't sure; things have moved too fast for her. Cam runs rough-shod over her doubts and marries her. And Minnie Milk-toast goes along with his plan! Bizarre!
ALMOST A BRIDE (Cheryl St.John)
In her hometown, Charmaine Renlow is the only female over the age of 17 who is not married. She has a beau of 4 years who seems to be satisfied with the way things are. Widower, Jack Easton has moved closer to town so his part-Cheyenne son can get an education. Things are not going well for Daniel at school; both he and his father are lonely. At first, Jack sees Charmaine as a spoiled woman; she seems to talk more than get things accomplished.
HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE (Jenna Kernan)
The only person who ever loved bad-boy Nate Justice was his brother, Jacob, a minister. Now Jacob has died and his last wish was for Nate to marry his wife Clara and together raise (Jacob and Clara's daughter) Kitty.
Clara has no choice (she is penniless) and arrives by train to Colorado City to marry her brother-in-law. Nate is so horrified by the thought of marriage that he is stinking drunk by the time Clara arrives. He suggests they marry quickly before he passes out.
The last two stories were much more interesting than the first. Ms. St.John shows readers that children of mixed heritage had a difficult time during this time period in America; it took a special kind of woman to ignore the prejudice and create a loving home. HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE, I thought was a lovely story with an unlikely plot. Ms. Kernan used a deft hand to bring this story to life; it was my favorite.
ABANDONED (Carolyn Davidson)
A small wagon train group is attacked by Indians. Instead of protecting his beloved daughter, Elizabeth Travis, her father chases after another man who is running from the situation. What father would abandon his daughter to chase a coward? Miraculously, Elizabeth is only badly beaten -- not killed.
The story gets worse; Elizabeth is saved by Cameron Montgomery, one of the scouts (of a large wagon train) who comes upon the burning wreck of the smaller train. Cam instantly decides that he wants her for his wife and goes from protecting her to jealous of other men to insisting that Elizabeth marry him. Elizabeth demurs because she isn't sure; things have moved too fast for her. Cam runs rough-shod over her doubts and marries her. And Minnie Milk-toast goes along with his plan! Bizarre!
ALMOST A BRIDE (Cheryl St.John)
In her hometown, Charmaine Renlow is the only female over the age of 17 who is not married. She has a beau of 4 years who seems to be satisfied with the way things are. Widower, Jack Easton has moved closer to town so his part-Cheyenne son can get an education. Things are not going well for Daniel at school; both he and his father are lonely. At first, Jack sees Charmaine as a spoiled woman; she seems to talk more than get things accomplished.
HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE (Jenna Kernan)
The only person who ever loved bad-boy Nate Justice was his brother, Jacob, a minister. Now Jacob has died and his last wish was for Nate to marry his wife Clara and together raise (Jacob and Clara's daughter) Kitty.
Clara has no choice (she is penniless) and arrives by train to Colorado City to marry her brother-in-law. Nate is so horrified by the thought of marriage that he is stinking drunk by the time Clara arrives. He suggests they marry quickly before he passes out.
The last two stories were much more interesting than the first. Ms. St.John shows readers that children of mixed heritage had a difficult time during this time period in America; it took a special kind of woman to ignore the prejudice and create a loving home. HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE, I thought was a lovely story with an unlikely plot. Ms. Kernan used a deft hand to bring this story to life; it was my favorite.
July 13, 2013
Abandoned
Era Uma Vez No Velho Oeste
Sob O Céu Do Desejo
Carolyn Davidson
H.R. Histórico 43
2008
Fatalidade com final feliz...
Depois de passar por um trauma, Elizabeth se vê totalmente envolvida por seu salvador, Cameron.
Lindo, sensual e apaixonado.
De algum modo fiquei muito apreensiva em ralação a Cam, a paixão o cega, o deixa muito obsessivo.
Acho que se tivesse no lugar de Elizabeth teria ficado extremamente assustada, mas como ela já está envolvida pela atração, os medos que ela poderia ter são menores que os meus.
E apesar de ficar apreensiva no inicio, a paixão e a sensualidade de Cam a convence.
Recomendado,
Muito bom!!
Era Uma Vez No Velho Oeste
Sob O Céu Do Desejo
Carolyn Davidson
H.R. Histórico 43
2008
Fatalidade com final feliz...
Depois de passar por um trauma, Elizabeth se vê totalmente envolvida por seu salvador, Cameron.
Lindo, sensual e apaixonado.
De algum modo fiquei muito apreensiva em ralação a Cam, a paixão o cega, o deixa muito obsessivo.
Acho que se tivesse no lugar de Elizabeth teria ficado extremamente assustada, mas como ela já está envolvida pela atração, os medos que ela poderia ter são menores que os meus.
E apesar de ficar apreensiva no inicio, a paixão e a sensualidade de Cam a convence.
Recomendado,
Muito bom!!
May 26, 2017
Found this on the shelf at the cottage, while there I read two of the three western-romance stories. Although very light reading, the stories were heartfelt and a reminder of what was expected of young women 150 years ago! I like the "almost a Bride" story best as the observations by characters seemed real. ~
March 30, 2015
the first story: was nice however I got bored with the repetitive theme. really really long for a supposed short story. (40% of the book)
the 2nd: nice really really liked it. short, simple, lovely.
the 3rd: also nice. brother stepping in for his brother widow and child.
the 2nd: nice really really liked it. short, simple, lovely.
the 3rd: also nice. brother stepping in for his brother widow and child.
April 5, 2009
This has three short stories in it. They were all relatively entertaining and the language was clean, so that makes it even more enjoyable.
October 16, 2010
I read book 1 - Carolyn Davidson: “Abandoned”
February 25, 2011
Read the Cheryl St. John novella Almost a Bride. Liked the story, would rather it have been a full-length novel because I feel like I got cheated of them getting together. 8-))
June 16, 2011
not a bad compilation of short stories...was a quick read and very enjoyable
September 29, 2023
A soft 3
November 24, 2015
The stories are short and give a homey feeling when reading.
February 2, 2016
Very good sweet historical western stories. Got the book because of Carolyn Davidson but the other stories were very good too.
December 31, 2019
3.5 stars
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