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The Mail Order Groom: A Novel
Poetry In Motion . . .
Stunning Melissa Grayson, a veritable Helen of Troy in the Wild West, will do anything to satisfy her one burning passion--teaching art and poetry to the children at Grayson Academy, the private school left to her by her beloved father. But it isn’t easy when every trip she makes into town drives the unmarried men into a frenzy of fisticuffs in their attempts to win her hand. Exasperated by the civil unrest caused by Melissa’s beauty, the local clergy and sheriff finally give her an marriage or jail, the latter of which would surely mean the end of her school.
Prepared to make any sacrifice for her students, Melissa writes her pen pal in New York, James Harold Pickney IV, a sickly, sensitive scholar. Together they agree to forge a platonic marriage whose real commitment will be to the cause of education.
Plainspoken Passion . . .
When he’s not hightailing it from one of his many misadventures, gambling man Lucky Lawrence has a habit of rescuing damsels in distress--sometimes from himself. But this time he’s the one who needs rescuing, as a murderously sore loser has a score to settle with him--and expects him to pay with his life. Even Lucky wouldn’t have bet that this latest escapade would lead him to be mistaken for a bookish Harvard boy--and land him the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Nor did Melissa Grayson expect her asthmatic pen pal to be so ruggedly handsome, with such broad shoulders and teasing eyes. Might she discover a passion she as yet has only read about? And what of ailing James Pickney, en route to his bride-to-be? Will either groom survive to stake his claim, or will Melissa be a widow before she’s a wife?
Stunning Melissa Grayson, a veritable Helen of Troy in the Wild West, will do anything to satisfy her one burning passion--teaching art and poetry to the children at Grayson Academy, the private school left to her by her beloved father. But it isn’t easy when every trip she makes into town drives the unmarried men into a frenzy of fisticuffs in their attempts to win her hand. Exasperated by the civil unrest caused by Melissa’s beauty, the local clergy and sheriff finally give her an marriage or jail, the latter of which would surely mean the end of her school.
Prepared to make any sacrifice for her students, Melissa writes her pen pal in New York, James Harold Pickney IV, a sickly, sensitive scholar. Together they agree to forge a platonic marriage whose real commitment will be to the cause of education.
Plainspoken Passion . . .
When he’s not hightailing it from one of his many misadventures, gambling man Lucky Lawrence has a habit of rescuing damsels in distress--sometimes from himself. But this time he’s the one who needs rescuing, as a murderously sore loser has a score to settle with him--and expects him to pay with his life. Even Lucky wouldn’t have bet that this latest escapade would lead him to be mistaken for a bookish Harvard boy--and land him the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Nor did Melissa Grayson expect her asthmatic pen pal to be so ruggedly handsome, with such broad shoulders and teasing eyes. Might she discover a passion she as yet has only read about? And what of ailing James Pickney, en route to his bride-to-be? Will either groom survive to stake his claim, or will Melissa be a widow before she’s a wife?
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Chastain
74 books28 followersSandra Chastain was born on 1936 in Wadley, Georgia, 100 miles northwest of Savannah. As a little girl, she created fantasy lives for her paper dolls, and then she discovered Nancy Drew. Sandra wrote her first novel with a friend when she was 10 years old, The Mystery of the Green Necklace. Some four decades later, when her three daughters had gone off on their own, she returned to writing and was soon busy with writing, in addition to working with her husband in their veterinary practice in Smyrna, Georgia. Before long she was writing full time.
Published since 1988, she writes historical novels for Bantam, short contemporary romances for Harlequin, and southern women's fiction for Bellebooks. To date, she has produced over 50 works, including her first fairy tale, The Tiniest Fairy In the Kingdom, published by Bellebooks. She writes under pennames Jenna Darcy and Allie Jordan as well as in her own name. Sandra has won many honors and recognitions from her industry.
Published since 1988, she writes historical novels for Bantam, short contemporary romances for Harlequin, and southern women's fiction for Bellebooks. To date, she has produced over 50 works, including her first fairy tale, The Tiniest Fairy In the Kingdom, published by Bellebooks. She writes under pennames Jenna Darcy and Allie Jordan as well as in her own name. Sandra has won many honors and recognitions from her industry.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 20, 2021
The implausible premise — mail-order groom, stolen identities, the town forcing the heroine to marry to end the brawling among her too many suitors etc. — wouldn’t have been the problem if the narrative had been less repetitive and the interactions between the leads not as flat.
The were humorous touches and the book did capture some of that Old West mood, but the main characters and the romance were not as convincing, and the heroine was especially annoying at times, with her vagueness and her often fastidious attitude.
The writing per se was decent, if bland, but as a whole the book felt rather forgettable to me.
January 7, 2019
Not a good way to start off the New Year, but.... this wasn't good at all. The writing seemed very elementary to me, the dialogue was extremely cheesy and soap opera'ish, and the heroine came off as an unappreciative brat. The majority of her dialogue I noticed even had it as "blah blah," she snapped. She was always snapping at the hero while he was doing nothing to earn her irritation. Oh wait, it was because she was irritated at how attracted she was to him. So it was really hard for me to even begin caring for her as a character.
September 19, 2017
Slooooow....
September 9, 2017
Wonderful western romance
I really enjoyed the story of Lucky and Melissa. They were thrown together in a case of mistaken identity and decided to stay together because of a need they each had. Supporting characters added to the fun. It was good to see people changing, gaining self worth and wanting to be better for those they love. When identities were straightened out and the bad guy vanquished they lived happily ever after.
I really enjoyed the story of Lucky and Melissa. They were thrown together in a case of mistaken identity and decided to stay together because of a need they each had. Supporting characters added to the fun. It was good to see people changing, gaining self worth and wanting to be better for those they love. When identities were straightened out and the bad guy vanquished they lived happily ever after.
May 1, 2019
Melissa Grayson is cursed with great looks, brains and a body to die for. When she arrives in Silver Wind, Colorado, to assume leadership at her father's school, she creates mayhem amongst the bachelors. Finally, the sheriff and the clergy decides that Melissa must marry or be jailed. Rejecting the local men, Melissa writes to New York for a bookish teacher, James Harold Pickney IV.
Melissa has never met him but has had correspondence with the Harvard man for more than a year. She asks him to marry her 'in name only' and he agrees. However, James is a sickly sort who is detained by illness along the way.
In the meantime, Lucky Lawrence is looking for a place to hide out. In another state, he helped a woman escape from a gambler/killer and needs to lie low. When he arrives in Silver Wind, people assume that he is Melissa's fiance' and Lucky realizes that this is a perfect solution to his problem.
I had a problem with accepting that the sheriff could decide that an innocent woman could be imprisoned for being beautiful. Once I got over that boulder, I could accept the rest of the story.
Melissa has never met him but has had correspondence with the Harvard man for more than a year. She asks him to marry her 'in name only' and he agrees. However, James is a sickly sort who is detained by illness along the way.
In the meantime, Lucky Lawrence is looking for a place to hide out. In another state, he helped a woman escape from a gambler/killer and needs to lie low. When he arrives in Silver Wind, people assume that he is Melissa's fiance' and Lucky realizes that this is a perfect solution to his problem.
I had a problem with accepting that the sheriff could decide that an innocent woman could be imprisoned for being beautiful. Once I got over that boulder, I could accept the rest of the story.
April 8, 2024
The book isn't that bad. If you're wanting to just calm your mind and read something that doesn't need overly complicated problems and a down to Earth feel, then this is one of those books for you.
November 23, 2015
Schoolteacher Melissa Grayson is too pretty to stay single for long, and the townspeople where she lives out west insist she take a husband. They’ll choose one for her if she doesn’t come up with a groom on her own. So she writes to an old childhood friend who agrees to wed her. However, the rakish man who steps off the train isn’t the ailing James Pickney she remembers. But when the town elders rush them off to the altar, she has no choice except to carry through with the marriage. It isn’t until she and her new husband are alone that he confesses he isn’t James but is a hunted gambler. He needed a place to hide and she needed a groom, and so he’d stepped into the role. As for the real James’ absence, neither of them have a clue what happened to him. Melissa is forced to accept the man’s false identity or risk betrayal to the town council. But as she develops feelings for the stranger, she wonders what will happen should the real James Pickney finally show up? A classic historical romance with enough twists and turns to keep you satisfied.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews