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Oklahoma Land Rush #1
Emma's Folly
Emma Maureen Cummins is fleeing from an overbearing father and the prospect of a loveless marriage in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s intrigued by stories of the Oklahoma land rush the previous year, 1889, and buys a train ticket to Oklahoma. After all, that’s where the excitement is. Trouble arises the moment she steps inside the general store in Guthrie, coming face to face with the sheriff, who has received a telegram to be on the lookout for a tall blond from Georgia. Jed Thomas just came to town to buy supplies for his homestead. The sheriff asked a strange lady a question just as she begins mouthing the words, “Help me, please,” in Jed’s direction. In half an hour Jed was married to the woman and wondering just how in the world it had all come about. They’re married on paper only but slowly come to realize through daily living, arguments, and compromises that they’ve fallen in love. However, Jed doesn’t think a blue-eyed Southern belle could ever really love a dirt farmer like him. And Emma thinks Jed will always love Anna Marie, the woman with whom he almost had an agreement before he married her.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2001
459 people are currently reading
544 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Brown
182 books4,132 followersHi! I'm twenty five years old and movie star gorgeous. The camera added thirty plus years and a few wrinkles. Can't trust those cameras or mirrors either. Along with bathroom scales they are notorious liars! Honestly, I am the mother of three fantastic grown children who've made me laugh and given me more story ideas than I could ever write. My husband, Charles, is my strongest supporter and my best friend. He's even willing to eat fast food and help with the laundry while I finish one more chapter! Life is good and I am blessed!
Reading has been a passion since I was five years old and figured out those were words on book pages. As soon as my chubby little fingers found they could put words on a Big Chief tablet with a fat pencil, I was on my way. Writing joined reading in my list of passions. I will read anything from the back of the Cheerio's box to Faulkner and love every bit of it. In addition to reading I enjoy cooking, my family and the ocean. I love the Florida beaches. Listening to the ocean waves puts my writing brain into high gear.
I love writing romance because it's about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Settings change. Plots change. Names change. Times change. But love is love and men and women have been falling in and out of it forever. Romance is about emotions: love, hate, anger, laughter... all of it. If I can make you laugh until your sides ache or grab a tissue then I've touched your emotions and accomplished what every writer sets out to do.
I got serious about writing when my third child was born and had her days and nights mixed up. I had to stay up all night anyway and it was very quiet so I invested in a spiral back notebook and sharpened a few pencils. The story that emerged has never sold but it's brought in enough rejection slips to put the Redwood Forest on the endangered list. In 1997 Kensington bought two books for their Precious Gems line. Two years and six books later the line died with only four of those books seeing publication. But by then Avalon had bought a book and another, and another. Ten years later the list has grown to thirty nine. Last year Sourcebooks bought the Lucky Series which is in the bookstores now. They've also bought The Honky Tonk Series which will debut with I LOVE THIS BAR in June and will be followed by HELL, YEAH, MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED, and HONKY TONK CHRISTMAS.
Folks ask me where I get my ideas. Three kids, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren. Note: I was a very young grandmother! Life is a zoo around here when they all come home. In one Sunday afternoon there's enough ideas to keep me writing for years and years. Seriously, ideas pop up at the craziest times. When one sinks its roots into my mind, I have no choice but to write the story. And while I'm writing the characters peek over my shoulder and make sure I'm telling it right and not exaggerating too much. Pesky little devils, they are!
I have a wonderful agent, Erin Niumata, who continues to work magic and sell my work. I'm very lucky to have her and my editors who continue to believe in me.
Happy reading!
Reading has been a passion since I was five years old and figured out those were words on book pages. As soon as my chubby little fingers found they could put words on a Big Chief tablet with a fat pencil, I was on my way. Writing joined reading in my list of passions. I will read anything from the back of the Cheerio's box to Faulkner and love every bit of it. In addition to reading I enjoy cooking, my family and the ocean. I love the Florida beaches. Listening to the ocean waves puts my writing brain into high gear.
I love writing romance because it's about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Settings change. Plots change. Names change. Times change. But love is love and men and women have been falling in and out of it forever. Romance is about emotions: love, hate, anger, laughter... all of it. If I can make you laugh until your sides ache or grab a tissue then I've touched your emotions and accomplished what every writer sets out to do.
I got serious about writing when my third child was born and had her days and nights mixed up. I had to stay up all night anyway and it was very quiet so I invested in a spiral back notebook and sharpened a few pencils. The story that emerged has never sold but it's brought in enough rejection slips to put the Redwood Forest on the endangered list. In 1997 Kensington bought two books for their Precious Gems line. Two years and six books later the line died with only four of those books seeing publication. But by then Avalon had bought a book and another, and another. Ten years later the list has grown to thirty nine. Last year Sourcebooks bought the Lucky Series which is in the bookstores now. They've also bought The Honky Tonk Series which will debut with I LOVE THIS BAR in June and will be followed by HELL, YEAH, MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED, and HONKY TONK CHRISTMAS.
Folks ask me where I get my ideas. Three kids, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren. Note: I was a very young grandmother! Life is a zoo around here when they all come home. In one Sunday afternoon there's enough ideas to keep me writing for years and years. Seriously, ideas pop up at the craziest times. When one sinks its roots into my mind, I have no choice but to write the story. And while I'm writing the characters peek over my shoulder and make sure I'm telling it right and not exaggerating too much. Pesky little devils, they are!
I have a wonderful agent, Erin Niumata, who continues to work magic and sell my work. I'm very lucky to have her and my editors who continue to believe in me.
Happy reading!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
December 19, 2017
I read this book for a second time in order to write this review with the book fresh in my mind. But I have to say that is was a totally forgettable book. As several other reviews state this is more for a young teen who is just discovering the historical romance genre. The plot was simplistic and predictable. I found no angst, no sexual tension, which I like in the books I read. As someone who bakes bread, makes meals from scratch, sews clothes and does all her own housework I found that this woman was portrayed as a superwoman, especially working on the western frontier with no modern appliances. She accomplished more in one day than many women do in a five-day workweek. Emma was way ahead of her time with her liberated opinions and desires, unrealistic. I am sure some do enjoy this author's work, but it was just not my taste.
February 22, 2019
Nice couple-No chemistry
You can add a star to this if you're a young teen. Otherwise you may want to pass on this one. Tepid romance between two people who were hard workers and bad communicators. Needed an epilogue.
You can add a star to this if you're a young teen. Otherwise you may want to pass on this one. Tepid romance between two people who were hard workers and bad communicators. Needed an epilogue.
April 15, 2019
Another cute read by Carolyn Brown
November 15, 2022
Emma is not as much of an anomaly as she seems to think she is. Her mother was a strong, independent woman and a hard worker. She believed if you ran anyplace, man or woman, you needed to know how to do every job those people whom you would supervise would do, so you knew if they were doing it right or trying to pull a fast one. And so Emma had been taught by a strong, independent, no-nonsense woman to be a strong, no-nonsense, independent woman.
Emma had a bicycle, but in that era, those were for girls ane even then, were frowned upon...but she still rode hers. Romance novels were a new thing, also frowned upon as a waste of time and something that put frivolous ideas in a girl's head - but Emma enjoyed them. And, the one unusual thing about Emma was her height. At 5 ft 11 in. tall, in an era when most women were an average of around 5 ft 1 in tall, and most men were between 5 ft 8 in and 5 ft 10 in tall, she was tall, even by the standards of a man (I can relate - we lived in Scotland for a while a few decades ago, so perhaps things have changed. But back then, Highlanders tended to be taller than lowlanders, but at 5 ft 8 in tall, I was the height of the average male in our area, and the women averaged 5 ft 3 in to 5 ft 4 in, so in any event, I was shoved into the back with the men, and my 6 ft tall husband was behind most of them...and I was always taller than average. My best friend, btw, is the same height as Emma).
Emma's mother went out to tend to her roses one day, when Emma was 16. One of the gardeners came in to say she was lying in the garden and unresponsive. When Emma reached her, she was gone, not even cold yet. Today, as a retired nurse who once held ACLS certification and taught CPR instructors, I know today we would have EMTs who'd have defibrillated her, given her oxygen, hooked her up to an EKG , heart monitor, and pulse oximeter, and kept her in the coronary care unit had it been her heart, of course doing whatever was necessary (medications, angioplasties, stents, pacemakers, or even bypass or valve repair) and she might have lived another 20 years or more. Of course, a pulmonary embolism, brain aneurysm, or hemorrhagic stroke would not have responded to treatment). But from age 16, she was mistress of the plantation, participating in the chores as well as supervising them, efficient as her mom.
Nevertheless, Daddy still saw, when he looked at her, his little girl who needed a man's protection from the cold, cruel world, and sought to see her married - of course, as was the custom then, to a man of his choosing, not hers, and love had nothing to do with it. But the man he finally insisted she marry was the VP of his bank, short, balding, paunchy, self-satisfied, smug, and greedy as well as vicious. He knew he would inherit the plantation when Daddy died, and was convinced he could tame "that hoyden" of a woman (a hoyden apparently being a term for a tomboy type as opposed to a girly girl type, from what I can manage of the various dictionaries trying to describe a 19th century term in 21st century language). Anything was possible to get his hands on a huge and profitable cotton plantation.
When Emma looked into his hard, beady eyes, all she saw was greed and evil, but her father was blinded to his faults. He gave Emma an ultimatum: She gave her consent to announce their engagement in 2 days, or the plantation would go to charity.
She bought a train ticket to Enid, Oklahoma, with the intent to jump off somewhere else. After all, she could sew, cook, manage a place, even teach school. She could support herself. Let the plantation go to charity so long as she was free of that devil, Matthew, she would manage.
Daddy got there first, in a manner of speaking, though the message was incomplete due to a breakdown in the telegraph system. A tall, blonde woman, a runaway crazy person, was being sought to be returned to her family. So Emma discovered when she decided that the proprieter of the general store would be the one to ask about available positions in town, and the sheriff was there. He gave her the coldest look she had ever seen, setting off alarm bells, but she just nodded to him and assumed a place in line. She could feel his glare. She heard the name of a young man who was just getting ready to leave the general store. The sheriff nailed her and said his piece about the telegram and how she fit the description. She turned to the young man and acted as if she was with him, asking if he was ready while mouthing, "Help me!" Through a comedy of errors, they ended up married. Like a typical male even now, his idea of the perfect woman was someone who barely came up to his shoulders and put her doe eyed and always loving, admiring attention on him alone, someone he could protect and shelter, and his preference was not a blonde woman with blue eyes (like Emma), but a dark haired, brown eyed beauty (and they say women have fanciful ideas about men, as if the reverse wasn't also true!) Emma had no desire to marry at all. She wanted her independence. And then she discovered a few things: One, he had 4 kids at home but this was his first and only marriage...Two, there was a woman helping him with the kids, a woman with a fiery temper, whom she continued to discover at every encounter was manipulative, coquettish, vicious, backstabbing, and played dirty. Once she found out about Emma, she started in on the snide remarks about how "big and ugly" Emma was, and how Jed would come to his senses, divorce Emma, and marry her like he said - yet, he had never, as he reminded her, made any promises of romance or marriage to her. Meanwhile, Emma found out Jed had come here with his brother-in-law and best friend, and his sister, during the land rush, but after they had put in a well, a garden, a springhouse, a smokehouse, a barn, a root cellar, a cabin with a large loft, glass windows, and canned the garden's yield or put it in the root celler, smoked, canned, or dried meat, and things were starting to get easier, he had lost both of them to cholera and ended up with a now 3 year old girl, a 6 year old boy, and 2 school aged girls (though, unless I misremember, the book doesn't elaborate on birth order). Jed has to take the youngest, Molly, with him to the fields unless someone is willing to watch her, and so his work is going slowly. Emma comes to a house with a mean tempered and jealous woman, also in need of a thorough cleaning, but at least has a meal there her first night.
And so the games begin. Little Molly, who has been weepy and mopey and cranky since her parents died, bewildered as to why they're no longer there, takes to Emma like a duck takes to water. The next day, Emma takes charge after breakfast. She asks the girls what is involved in their cleaning routine, where the food is stored, and sets them all to different tasks, working right beside them. She teaches one of the girls how to make mayonnaise for potato salad, asks about sewing supplies, and they make 2 meals, using the last ham because there is a picnic that Sunday and she can use the ham for both that and supper. She even sews a new dress for Molly, with pintuckimg and lace trim, no less. When Jed comes in late, he and Jimmy's meals are on the warmer, and despite the baked beans, glazed ham, and other delights, Jed is upset because he was saving the ham for Anne Marie's birthday celebration - the hot tempered, jealous young woman who was watching the kids Emma's first day at the house. This upsets Emma more because there was no way for her to know, nor for the kids to know, and she had gone to a lot of trouble to set up the meal to last for the picnic and to give them a nice meal as well. Plus, while Anne Marie always made excellent biscuits but never bread, Emma made very good homemade bread, and even in his anger, Jed had to admit that. He was angry at her for just taking over even though his life was easier, his kids were happier, his house was cleaner than it had been since before his sister died, and he had accomplished much more than he'd been able to for a long time.
Jed begins, slowly, to realize his wife-in-name-only cooks like a chef, sews like an expert dressmaker, can make lace, has learned about the garden, keeps a spotlessly clean house, loves the children, helps with their homework and teaches them like a teacher would, can manage the laundry, and is nothing like the spoiled, lazy, rich Southern Belle he expected.
Between Anne Marie, a spat about working from home that ends up netting him more benefits and no gaps in her care of the home, Emma's discovery of the huge dog that Sarah and Mary help her corrall when he gets loose and threatens the laundry - and who likes her but hates Anne Marie, which Jed later reflects tells him something about Anne Marie - there is the tornado. It injures the dog and takes out a window plus soaks the floors as they hide in the tiny root cellar. There is also one trip to their home by Emma's dad & Matthew (whom the dog wants to take out of the carriage and chew on, and I kind of hoped the dog could have had at least one bite tbh) as they try to get her to come back and marry Matthew instead, things go along fairly well. They have the bolster his sister wanted for the bed between them so they can share it wothout touching, and the bed is extra long because his sister was about the same height as Emma and her husband even taller than Jed's 6 ft 1 in. But because neither of them had intended marriage, Jed plans to ask his cousin Beulah to come from Texas. as cook, housekeeper, and babysitter so Emma can leave, and one of them can divorce the other. By the time Beulah says she's coming, Jed realizes he has fallen in love with Emma, and Emma realizes she has fallen hard for Jed...not that they'll tell each other that! They decide to tell the kids that Emma is going to visit her dad, not that she isn't returning. Leaving the kids, esp. Molly, breaks her heart, but as Beulah soon discovers from listening to the children's chatter, and watching a despondent Jed, and from Violet (the seamstress for whom Emma traded sewing for material for her needs) comes the news that makes it all too obvious to her Emma loves Jed. So, like in all good romance books, they come up with a way to make the reluctant couple finally admit their feelings for one another...and hope it works.
Meanwhile, Emma's father has found a forthright, efficient, take-charge yet gracious woman about 10 years his junior, one to whom Emma takes an immediate shine. She helps with the preparations for their engagement party and next morning's private wedding, and they're talking about having more children. Emma is ecstatic to see her dad happy and in love with a wonderful woman. But Matthew is still there like a millstone around Emma's neck. His desperation makes him show his true colors, and next morning, after slugging him and kicking him off the property, her Daddy takes his accounts to a different bank and tells the banker just why he is doing so. Matthew gets fired and ends up in NYC, gold digging some more, no doubt. This is a huge relief to Emma, and she is happy for her dad and new stepmother but she wants her independence...and those 4 kids wedged in her heart along with their dad.
Will what Beulah and Violet cooked up work, or is it too late? Will Beulah's sudden return home make Jed desperate enough to seek Emma? Will Beulah's last ditch "boost" to her plan make Emma seek Jed? If they do see each other again somehow, will they get homest with one another and confess their love?
This is a nice, clean romance - one that is a real story, not like some I have seen that are pornography strung together with a meager plot. I like my romace stories with meat to them, and this has plenty without being a difficult read, yet isn't a baby, easy read. I read books like this when I don't feel well enough to dive into nursing, education, and computers (my 3 main fields before retirement) or news and analysis from both left and right viewpoints. They're engaging enough to take my attention off the page, but not as exhausting as my other reading can get.
I also, as a bit of a language arts geek, appreciate the excellent writing. There are no missing open or close quote marks. Punctuation is beautiful. The right word is used always - there is no mixing of homonyms (like road v rode), no mixed modifiers, spelling is accurate. The prose flows, which is like a gift. I have read well written stories that have errors in the above items, and for me, ar least, those errors break the flow of the story. This is why I like this author so much and one reason why I follow her and read her books. Her characters are never boring. Tall, independent Emma; overworked but kind and loving Jed; childish, jealous, desperate, mean, spoiled Anne Marie; misguided but loving Mr. Cummins, Emma's father; Satan's right hand man, Matthew; gossipy Mary, quiet Sara, clingy Molly, little man Jimmy, and the big protective mutt they all love, all remind me of the many kids on the military bases I was fortunate to go to with my now retired military husband, kids with whom I interacted in various ways. The first child I ever protected and cared for was 3, I was 8, and I made sure the bullies left her alone. I had just learned how to do that and it became my habit to protect younger & smaller kids. I did so as long as I could. So when I say her characters are portrayed in a way that they seem more like real people than just some character in a book, I am not exaggerating. The emotional reaction I had to Matthew and Anne Marie, for example, shows how real her characters feel.
Carolyn Brown is a gift to readers everywhere. I hope she writes more beautiful stories for a long tome to come.
Emma had a bicycle, but in that era, those were for girls ane even then, were frowned upon...but she still rode hers. Romance novels were a new thing, also frowned upon as a waste of time and something that put frivolous ideas in a girl's head - but Emma enjoyed them. And, the one unusual thing about Emma was her height. At 5 ft 11 in. tall, in an era when most women were an average of around 5 ft 1 in tall, and most men were between 5 ft 8 in and 5 ft 10 in tall, she was tall, even by the standards of a man (I can relate - we lived in Scotland for a while a few decades ago, so perhaps things have changed. But back then, Highlanders tended to be taller than lowlanders, but at 5 ft 8 in tall, I was the height of the average male in our area, and the women averaged 5 ft 3 in to 5 ft 4 in, so in any event, I was shoved into the back with the men, and my 6 ft tall husband was behind most of them...and I was always taller than average. My best friend, btw, is the same height as Emma).
Emma's mother went out to tend to her roses one day, when Emma was 16. One of the gardeners came in to say she was lying in the garden and unresponsive. When Emma reached her, she was gone, not even cold yet. Today, as a retired nurse who once held ACLS certification and taught CPR instructors, I know today we would have EMTs who'd have defibrillated her, given her oxygen, hooked her up to an EKG , heart monitor, and pulse oximeter, and kept her in the coronary care unit had it been her heart, of course doing whatever was necessary (medications, angioplasties, stents, pacemakers, or even bypass or valve repair) and she might have lived another 20 years or more. Of course, a pulmonary embolism, brain aneurysm, or hemorrhagic stroke would not have responded to treatment). But from age 16, she was mistress of the plantation, participating in the chores as well as supervising them, efficient as her mom.
Nevertheless, Daddy still saw, when he looked at her, his little girl who needed a man's protection from the cold, cruel world, and sought to see her married - of course, as was the custom then, to a man of his choosing, not hers, and love had nothing to do with it. But the man he finally insisted she marry was the VP of his bank, short, balding, paunchy, self-satisfied, smug, and greedy as well as vicious. He knew he would inherit the plantation when Daddy died, and was convinced he could tame "that hoyden" of a woman (a hoyden apparently being a term for a tomboy type as opposed to a girly girl type, from what I can manage of the various dictionaries trying to describe a 19th century term in 21st century language). Anything was possible to get his hands on a huge and profitable cotton plantation.
When Emma looked into his hard, beady eyes, all she saw was greed and evil, but her father was blinded to his faults. He gave Emma an ultimatum: She gave her consent to announce their engagement in 2 days, or the plantation would go to charity.
She bought a train ticket to Enid, Oklahoma, with the intent to jump off somewhere else. After all, she could sew, cook, manage a place, even teach school. She could support herself. Let the plantation go to charity so long as she was free of that devil, Matthew, she would manage.
Daddy got there first, in a manner of speaking, though the message was incomplete due to a breakdown in the telegraph system. A tall, blonde woman, a runaway crazy person, was being sought to be returned to her family. So Emma discovered when she decided that the proprieter of the general store would be the one to ask about available positions in town, and the sheriff was there. He gave her the coldest look she had ever seen, setting off alarm bells, but she just nodded to him and assumed a place in line. She could feel his glare. She heard the name of a young man who was just getting ready to leave the general store. The sheriff nailed her and said his piece about the telegram and how she fit the description. She turned to the young man and acted as if she was with him, asking if he was ready while mouthing, "Help me!" Through a comedy of errors, they ended up married. Like a typical male even now, his idea of the perfect woman was someone who barely came up to his shoulders and put her doe eyed and always loving, admiring attention on him alone, someone he could protect and shelter, and his preference was not a blonde woman with blue eyes (like Emma), but a dark haired, brown eyed beauty (and they say women have fanciful ideas about men, as if the reverse wasn't also true!) Emma had no desire to marry at all. She wanted her independence. And then she discovered a few things: One, he had 4 kids at home but this was his first and only marriage...Two, there was a woman helping him with the kids, a woman with a fiery temper, whom she continued to discover at every encounter was manipulative, coquettish, vicious, backstabbing, and played dirty. Once she found out about Emma, she started in on the snide remarks about how "big and ugly" Emma was, and how Jed would come to his senses, divorce Emma, and marry her like he said - yet, he had never, as he reminded her, made any promises of romance or marriage to her. Meanwhile, Emma found out Jed had come here with his brother-in-law and best friend, and his sister, during the land rush, but after they had put in a well, a garden, a springhouse, a smokehouse, a barn, a root cellar, a cabin with a large loft, glass windows, and canned the garden's yield or put it in the root celler, smoked, canned, or dried meat, and things were starting to get easier, he had lost both of them to cholera and ended up with a now 3 year old girl, a 6 year old boy, and 2 school aged girls (though, unless I misremember, the book doesn't elaborate on birth order). Jed has to take the youngest, Molly, with him to the fields unless someone is willing to watch her, and so his work is going slowly. Emma comes to a house with a mean tempered and jealous woman, also in need of a thorough cleaning, but at least has a meal there her first night.
And so the games begin. Little Molly, who has been weepy and mopey and cranky since her parents died, bewildered as to why they're no longer there, takes to Emma like a duck takes to water. The next day, Emma takes charge after breakfast. She asks the girls what is involved in their cleaning routine, where the food is stored, and sets them all to different tasks, working right beside them. She teaches one of the girls how to make mayonnaise for potato salad, asks about sewing supplies, and they make 2 meals, using the last ham because there is a picnic that Sunday and she can use the ham for both that and supper. She even sews a new dress for Molly, with pintuckimg and lace trim, no less. When Jed comes in late, he and Jimmy's meals are on the warmer, and despite the baked beans, glazed ham, and other delights, Jed is upset because he was saving the ham for Anne Marie's birthday celebration - the hot tempered, jealous young woman who was watching the kids Emma's first day at the house. This upsets Emma more because there was no way for her to know, nor for the kids to know, and she had gone to a lot of trouble to set up the meal to last for the picnic and to give them a nice meal as well. Plus, while Anne Marie always made excellent biscuits but never bread, Emma made very good homemade bread, and even in his anger, Jed had to admit that. He was angry at her for just taking over even though his life was easier, his kids were happier, his house was cleaner than it had been since before his sister died, and he had accomplished much more than he'd been able to for a long time.
Jed begins, slowly, to realize his wife-in-name-only cooks like a chef, sews like an expert dressmaker, can make lace, has learned about the garden, keeps a spotlessly clean house, loves the children, helps with their homework and teaches them like a teacher would, can manage the laundry, and is nothing like the spoiled, lazy, rich Southern Belle he expected.
Between Anne Marie, a spat about working from home that ends up netting him more benefits and no gaps in her care of the home, Emma's discovery of the huge dog that Sarah and Mary help her corrall when he gets loose and threatens the laundry - and who likes her but hates Anne Marie, which Jed later reflects tells him something about Anne Marie - there is the tornado. It injures the dog and takes out a window plus soaks the floors as they hide in the tiny root cellar. There is also one trip to their home by Emma's dad & Matthew (whom the dog wants to take out of the carriage and chew on, and I kind of hoped the dog could have had at least one bite tbh) as they try to get her to come back and marry Matthew instead, things go along fairly well. They have the bolster his sister wanted for the bed between them so they can share it wothout touching, and the bed is extra long because his sister was about the same height as Emma and her husband even taller than Jed's 6 ft 1 in. But because neither of them had intended marriage, Jed plans to ask his cousin Beulah to come from Texas. as cook, housekeeper, and babysitter so Emma can leave, and one of them can divorce the other. By the time Beulah says she's coming, Jed realizes he has fallen in love with Emma, and Emma realizes she has fallen hard for Jed...not that they'll tell each other that! They decide to tell the kids that Emma is going to visit her dad, not that she isn't returning. Leaving the kids, esp. Molly, breaks her heart, but as Beulah soon discovers from listening to the children's chatter, and watching a despondent Jed, and from Violet (the seamstress for whom Emma traded sewing for material for her needs) comes the news that makes it all too obvious to her Emma loves Jed. So, like in all good romance books, they come up with a way to make the reluctant couple finally admit their feelings for one another...and hope it works.
Meanwhile, Emma's father has found a forthright, efficient, take-charge yet gracious woman about 10 years his junior, one to whom Emma takes an immediate shine. She helps with the preparations for their engagement party and next morning's private wedding, and they're talking about having more children. Emma is ecstatic to see her dad happy and in love with a wonderful woman. But Matthew is still there like a millstone around Emma's neck. His desperation makes him show his true colors, and next morning, after slugging him and kicking him off the property, her Daddy takes his accounts to a different bank and tells the banker just why he is doing so. Matthew gets fired and ends up in NYC, gold digging some more, no doubt. This is a huge relief to Emma, and she is happy for her dad and new stepmother but she wants her independence...and those 4 kids wedged in her heart along with their dad.
Will what Beulah and Violet cooked up work, or is it too late? Will Beulah's sudden return home make Jed desperate enough to seek Emma? Will Beulah's last ditch "boost" to her plan make Emma seek Jed? If they do see each other again somehow, will they get homest with one another and confess their love?
This is a nice, clean romance - one that is a real story, not like some I have seen that are pornography strung together with a meager plot. I like my romace stories with meat to them, and this has plenty without being a difficult read, yet isn't a baby, easy read. I read books like this when I don't feel well enough to dive into nursing, education, and computers (my 3 main fields before retirement) or news and analysis from both left and right viewpoints. They're engaging enough to take my attention off the page, but not as exhausting as my other reading can get.
I also, as a bit of a language arts geek, appreciate the excellent writing. There are no missing open or close quote marks. Punctuation is beautiful. The right word is used always - there is no mixing of homonyms (like road v rode), no mixed modifiers, spelling is accurate. The prose flows, which is like a gift. I have read well written stories that have errors in the above items, and for me, ar least, those errors break the flow of the story. This is why I like this author so much and one reason why I follow her and read her books. Her characters are never boring. Tall, independent Emma; overworked but kind and loving Jed; childish, jealous, desperate, mean, spoiled Anne Marie; misguided but loving Mr. Cummins, Emma's father; Satan's right hand man, Matthew; gossipy Mary, quiet Sara, clingy Molly, little man Jimmy, and the big protective mutt they all love, all remind me of the many kids on the military bases I was fortunate to go to with my now retired military husband, kids with whom I interacted in various ways. The first child I ever protected and cared for was 3, I was 8, and I made sure the bullies left her alone. I had just learned how to do that and it became my habit to protect younger & smaller kids. I did so as long as I could. So when I say her characters are portrayed in a way that they seem more like real people than just some character in a book, I am not exaggerating. The emotional reaction I had to Matthew and Anne Marie, for example, shows how real her characters feel.
Carolyn Brown is a gift to readers everywhere. I hope she writes more beautiful stories for a long tome to come.
December 3, 2020
Quick little read about finding love around the time of the land rush. Sweet story mixed with the history of the time.
September 23, 2016
Emma's Folly
So many misconceptions in loving another. Carolyn Brown has a gift of understanding the many nuances of people who believe they know what a another person is thinking. It's always wonderful when two people finally realize they belong together. Sweet.
So many misconceptions in loving another. Carolyn Brown has a gift of understanding the many nuances of people who believe they know what a another person is thinking. It's always wonderful when two people finally realize they belong together. Sweet.
April 21, 2020
I read Carolyn Brown's From Wine to Water last week, my first novel of hers and I absolutely adored it, I gave it a 4 star. So, I was really looking forward to my next one, and it didn't take long to realize once I started, the stories are so similar, it's only the settings that are different. I was so disappointed in Emma's Folly I could only give it a 1 star.
It's 1889, Emma is a 20 year old, almost an old maid, who lives on a plantation home in Atlanta Georgia, and has an overbearing father who wants to marry her off to a man she despises. She decides she's going to run off, and make her own way. She's always wanted to go to Oklahoma. How a wealthy sheltered female thinks she’ll be able to pull this off especially in that time period when women’s professions were either 1) teacher or 2) prostitute is beyond me?
I’m not going to get too much into the story, because anyone can just read the inside of the sleeve of the book of what it’s about, but Emma meets Jed Thomas. They end up marrying each other by lying to the town’s Sheriff (too silly to get into). Jed is a farmer and has 4 children! Emma who has always had slaves to do all the baking, cooking, laundry, sewing (all after all she has a Singer sewing machine at home), cleaning somehow knows how to do it all. She also helps the children with their homework, sews clothes for the children and makes clothes on the side for some extra cash (much to Jed’s dismay, what a woman earning her own money, it hurts my male pride because that’s what it all boils too). She can do all this in one day! She’s amazing! She’s like Super Woman if Super Women ever did any domestic chores! It’s so farfetched, it’s ridiculous!
She’s on the farm being Super Woman and it’s her 2nd day and all of a sudden there appears to be a dog. He’s an outside dog (poor dog). Where was the dog the day before? Did no one feed it? Did it not bark at all? So that seemed odd to me.
Like the book, From Wine to Water, the two main characters are in denial they like/love each other. Same thing in this novel. In both novels, it’s the whole story of denying before they realize they love each other. Like From Wine to Water, the women are strong characters and I like that! Like From Wine to Water, the stories are under 200 pages. Like From Wine to Water, you can get through the book easily. I read the last 110 pages my second day reading it.
From Wine to Water, I was content in how it ended that I felt I didn’t want to carry on with the three book series (good thing since I don’t have books 2 & 3). I definitely don’t want to carry on with books 2, 3 & 4 in Emma’s Folly.
I have one more Carolyn Brown book, Choices sitting in my bookcase. It’s another series. Five for this one. I’m dread picking it up. It may take me a little while before I do.
It's 1889, Emma is a 20 year old, almost an old maid, who lives on a plantation home in Atlanta Georgia, and has an overbearing father who wants to marry her off to a man she despises. She decides she's going to run off, and make her own way. She's always wanted to go to Oklahoma. How a wealthy sheltered female thinks she’ll be able to pull this off especially in that time period when women’s professions were either 1) teacher or 2) prostitute is beyond me?
I’m not going to get too much into the story, because anyone can just read the inside of the sleeve of the book of what it’s about, but Emma meets Jed Thomas. They end up marrying each other by lying to the town’s Sheriff (too silly to get into). Jed is a farmer and has 4 children! Emma who has always had slaves to do all the baking, cooking, laundry, sewing (all after all she has a Singer sewing machine at home), cleaning somehow knows how to do it all. She also helps the children with their homework, sews clothes for the children and makes clothes on the side for some extra cash (much to Jed’s dismay, what a woman earning her own money, it hurts my male pride because that’s what it all boils too). She can do all this in one day! She’s amazing! She’s like Super Woman if Super Women ever did any domestic chores! It’s so farfetched, it’s ridiculous!
She’s on the farm being Super Woman and it’s her 2nd day and all of a sudden there appears to be a dog. He’s an outside dog (poor dog). Where was the dog the day before? Did no one feed it? Did it not bark at all? So that seemed odd to me.
Like the book, From Wine to Water, the two main characters are in denial they like/love each other. Same thing in this novel. In both novels, it’s the whole story of denying before they realize they love each other. Like From Wine to Water, the women are strong characters and I like that! Like From Wine to Water, the stories are under 200 pages. Like From Wine to Water, you can get through the book easily. I read the last 110 pages my second day reading it.
From Wine to Water, I was content in how it ended that I felt I didn’t want to carry on with the three book series (good thing since I don’t have books 2 & 3). I definitely don’t want to carry on with books 2, 3 & 4 in Emma’s Folly.
I have one more Carolyn Brown book, Choices sitting in my bookcase. It’s another series. Five for this one. I’m dread picking it up. It may take me a little while before I do.
February 17, 2021
Very good for a sweet, Western historical romance
I really enjoyed the sweet, Western, historical read. It seemed very G-rated. Sweet hero, independent, high spirited heroine, and four very cute munchkins thrown in. My only complaint in this book, along with Violet’s book is that they end abruptly. It would be nice to have an epilogue. If you are looking for a G Rated Western romance that is an easy read, this is a good a NBC d enjoyable book to read. At first I read Violet’s story, not realizing that these books are in. A series. I highly recommend they are read in order. I did note some inconsistencies in Violet’s book compared to this book. ****Spoiler Alert**** In this book, it sounded like Violet and her husband’s marriage had fire and spice to it, meaning they fought, so they could make up. In Violet’s book, when she spoke of her marriage, it was described as a very boring, marriage. I find it best you read the book series in order. When you do, you will see what I mean. Still enjoyed Violet’s book and Emma’s Folly. The books were very enjoyable and easy reads. A nice distraction. At the end of the day. I read Emma’s Folly in one sitting. I highly recommend this author and this series.
I really enjoyed the sweet, Western, historical read. It seemed very G-rated. Sweet hero, independent, high spirited heroine, and four very cute munchkins thrown in. My only complaint in this book, along with Violet’s book is that they end abruptly. It would be nice to have an epilogue. If you are looking for a G Rated Western romance that is an easy read, this is a good a NBC d enjoyable book to read. At first I read Violet’s story, not realizing that these books are in. A series. I highly recommend they are read in order. I did note some inconsistencies in Violet’s book compared to this book. ****Spoiler Alert**** In this book, it sounded like Violet and her husband’s marriage had fire and spice to it, meaning they fought, so they could make up. In Violet’s book, when she spoke of her marriage, it was described as a very boring, marriage. I find it best you read the book series in order. When you do, you will see what I mean. Still enjoyed Violet’s book and Emma’s Folly. The books were very enjoyable and easy reads. A nice distraction. At the end of the day. I read Emma’s Folly in one sitting. I highly recommend this author and this series.
November 17, 2018
Where is the love?
This book annoyed me. The only reason I finished it was because I kept hoping it would get better and it was relatively short. The main character were never in love with one another. Sure they said they loved each other but there was no proof.
At one point the main male character says “It was a whole lot easier to make her into a wonderful person when she was in Georgia. The minute she came back he realized just how sassy and vinegary she could be. Boy, that roast was sure good for supper, and did you ever taste anything like that cobbler? a little voice in the back recesses of his mind chided him.”
This was at the end of the book. They only loved each other cause of the things they could do not because of who they are/ their character.
Oh and the references to God bothered me too. Don’t get me wrong I have no problem reading a Christian story but this one just made no sense. One lady decided it was a sign from God to abandon people that needed her with no notice because she felt home sick. Also saying things like “this has happened because I lied to God” makes no sense either.
Overall the whole story bothered me.
This book annoyed me. The only reason I finished it was because I kept hoping it would get better and it was relatively short. The main character were never in love with one another. Sure they said they loved each other but there was no proof.
At one point the main male character says “It was a whole lot easier to make her into a wonderful person when she was in Georgia. The minute she came back he realized just how sassy and vinegary she could be. Boy, that roast was sure good for supper, and did you ever taste anything like that cobbler? a little voice in the back recesses of his mind chided him.”
This was at the end of the book. They only loved each other cause of the things they could do not because of who they are/ their character.
Oh and the references to God bothered me too. Don’t get me wrong I have no problem reading a Christian story but this one just made no sense. One lady decided it was a sign from God to abandon people that needed her with no notice because she felt home sick. Also saying things like “this has happened because I lied to God” makes no sense either.
Overall the whole story bothered me.
January 24, 2023
Emma Maureen Cummins is fleeing from an overbearing father and the prospect of a loveless marriage in Atlanta, Georgia. She's intrigued by stories of the Oklahoma land rush the previous year, 1889, and buys a train ticket to Oklahoma. After all, that's where the excitement is. Trouble arises the moment she steps inside the general store in Guthrie, coming face to face with the sheriff, who has received a telegram to be on the lookout for a tall blond from Georgia.
Jed Thomas just came to town to buy supplies for his homestead. The sheriff asked a strange lady a question just as she begins mouthing the words, "Help me, please," in Jed's direction. In half an hour Jed was married to the woman and wondering just how in the world it had all come about.
They're married on paper only but slowly come to realize through daily living, arguments, and compromises that they've fallen in love. However, Jed doesn't think a blue-eyed Southern belle could ever really love a dirt farmer like him. And Emma thinks Jed will always love Anna Marie, the woman with whom he almost had an agreement before he married her.
Jed Thomas just came to town to buy supplies for his homestead. The sheriff asked a strange lady a question just as she begins mouthing the words, "Help me, please," in Jed's direction. In half an hour Jed was married to the woman and wondering just how in the world it had all come about.
They're married on paper only but slowly come to realize through daily living, arguments, and compromises that they've fallen in love. However, Jed doesn't think a blue-eyed Southern belle could ever really love a dirt farmer like him. And Emma thinks Jed will always love Anna Marie, the woman with whom he almost had an agreement before he married her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2019
Charming and Predictable
Really liked the couple, the children.........Details of a domestic nature are a favorite of mine, how it was done at that time. More about the Land Rush would have been interesting. Lots of high drama was not developed......covering that event and introducing the parents of the children alive. On the other hand, “Hoyden” was so overused and occasionally misused, that it drew ones attention to other little jarring attempts at authenticity.
No review could be complete without saying that the story and premise follows the “mail order bride” faithfully. I was hoping for a little more...Willa Cather’s My Antonia it’s not.
Really liked the couple, the children.........Details of a domestic nature are a favorite of mine, how it was done at that time. More about the Land Rush would have been interesting. Lots of high drama was not developed......covering that event and introducing the parents of the children alive. On the other hand, “Hoyden” was so overused and occasionally misused, that it drew ones attention to other little jarring attempts at authenticity.
No review could be complete without saying that the story and premise follows the “mail order bride” faithfully. I was hoping for a little more...Willa Cather’s My Antonia it’s not.
June 29, 2018
I have enjoyed some of Carolyn Brown’s more recent books, so I decided to give this a try. There are some lovely pieces, and there are hints of the author’s later skill, but overall the writing is choppy, the characters shallow, and the storyline underdeveloped. Points of view change in the middle of a paragraph and sometimes even a sentence; sometimes we even get a point of view from a character who hardly even matters to the story, which breaks the flow entirely. I’d love to see a rewrite from the author someday. For now I’ll stick to her newer novels.
July 5, 2021
What a cute story. Emma Cummings is fleeing from her father to avoid being forced to marry and older dud of a man. She is caught by the Sheriff in Guthery’, Oklahoma and is rescued by a farmer but is forced to marry him to avoid being detained for her father. She also has to care for farmer Jed’s 4 nieces and nephew but quickly falls in love with the children but leaves to return home because she doesn’t think Jed lives her. She eventually returns and soon they realize they have both fallen in love with each other. This story is clean, will tug at your heat, make you laugh and for sure leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling.
November 5, 2022
Carolyn Brown never disappoints me
Carolyn Brown's characters are real to life. She holds the reader's attention throughout the story and you are involved in the lifes of each character. Reading about a friend who raises the children of his best friend and befriends a stranger by marrying her without asking a question, makes you think there are still good caring peop!e in this life!
Carolyn Brown's characters are real to life. She holds the reader's attention throughout the story and you are involved in the lifes of each character. Reading about a friend who raises the children of his best friend and befriends a stranger by marrying her without asking a question, makes you think there are still good caring peop!e in this life!
August 25, 2024
all time favorite Brown
I adored this story and all of the characters. It is one of those books that is so endearing that once I started it, I read it from beginning-to-end without putting it down. I was a little heartbroken when it ended. The main character is a true heroine. I will read another book by Carolyn Brown, but in a month or two will read this one again because I know I will miss these characters.
I adored this story and all of the characters. It is one of those books that is so endearing that once I started it, I read it from beginning-to-end without putting it down. I was a little heartbroken when it ended. The main character is a true heroine. I will read another book by Carolyn Brown, but in a month or two will read this one again because I know I will miss these characters.
January 20, 2018
Sweet Confusion
Emma and Jed have their relationship figured out in practical terms, but at last the heart wins out, and love flows freely. Amazing how our emotions trap us into believing the wrong things. It was a joy to read about all the rich characters. Love all the laughter too and family values.
Emma and Jed have their relationship figured out in practical terms, but at last the heart wins out, and love flows freely. Amazing how our emotions trap us into believing the wrong things. It was a joy to read about all the rich characters. Love all the laughter too and family values.
February 19, 2018
A very good book
Jed and Emma's story is well written. I couldn't put down this book once I started reading it. An old fashioned take of a love that turns out to be true. I loved the real characters and Buster. I was glad they had a root cellar and what a surprise Emma turned out to be . A Great author.
Jed and Emma's story is well written. I couldn't put down this book once I started reading it. An old fashioned take of a love that turns out to be true. I loved the real characters and Buster. I was glad they had a root cellar and what a surprise Emma turned out to be . A Great author.
March 4, 2020
Runaway bride! Set to be engaged to a greedy banker who only wanted her fathers plantation, Emma Maureen heads west. She has heard about land grab and she is a independent thinker. She plans to get some land and start a new life away from Atlanta society.
Jed Thomas ran the land rush and has a homestead. He is raising a family and building a new life. Their lives collide and sparks fly.
Jed Thomas ran the land rush and has a homestead. He is raising a family and building a new life. Their lives collide and sparks fly.
September 4, 2025
My entry into Carolyn Brown and I very much enjoyed this one. The short novel (a bit more than a novella) is filled with quick banter and great characters and keeps you moving along at a great pace. I laughed and I cried, so I call that a win. There was just enough to make the story satisfying, but not so long it drags before the end. I mostly enjoy historical romance (easier to go along with the fairy tale aspect) but I will definitely check out her more contemporary novels based on her writing style.
June 1, 2017
Emma's love
I gave this story a five star rating because it is a love story about real women's issues and clean honest emotions. I couldn't put it down. I was thinking about this story all through the day. I will tell my sisters about this book.
I gave this story a five star rating because it is a love story about real women's issues and clean honest emotions. I couldn't put it down. I was thinking about this story all through the day. I will tell my sisters about this book.
June 13, 2017
I like the way the story is wrote it held my interest plumb through
It was sweet and they were kind and devoted to the kids and friends I am a reader of lots of book my name is Ethel Brock I am73 and my pass time is reading thank you
It was sweet and they were kind and devoted to the kids and friends I am a reader of lots of book my name is Ethel Brock I am73 and my pass time is reading thank you
February 21, 2018
Carolyn Brown is a horrible guilty pleasure. Nearly all of her characters are the same from series to series and the use of “was” vs “were” makes me want to “kill someone graveyard dead.” But I’m pulled back every time!
November 21, 2018
No folly here
Good read with lively characters. Interesting plot with a little twist to keep the story honest. Nice introduction of the next book's couple without being heavy handed.
Good read with lively characters. Interesting plot with a little twist to keep the story honest. Nice introduction of the next book's couple without being heavy handed.
February 25, 2019
Emma’s Folly
Loved this book I love all of Carolyn Browns books. They are so down to earth and funny sometimes. She knows how to write. I have a lot of her books and love them all. This book was just wonderful. I couldn’t put it down .
Loved this book I love all of Carolyn Browns books. They are so down to earth and funny sometimes. She knows how to write. I have a lot of her books and love them all. This book was just wonderful. I couldn’t put it down .
March 27, 2019
Cute, quick read. Really shows that communication is the key to happiness and trust.
Love sometimes is hard to understand! It takes a lot of give and take, patience and understanding, and never assumptions.
Love sometimes is hard to understand! It takes a lot of give and take, patience and understanding, and never assumptions.
July 1, 2019
I loved it
Thank you, Carolyn Brown for another terrific story. Emma and Jeb had a hard time trusting and finding the love in each other. The delightful children were surely able to convince the adults that they should stay together.
I highly recommend this story.
Thank you, Carolyn Brown for another terrific story. Emma and Jeb had a hard time trusting and finding the love in each other. The delightful children were surely able to convince the adults that they should stay together.
I highly recommend this story.
August 17, 2019
Emma's Folly
This was such a good book! I loved Emma's character. She didn't put up with any crap from Jed or anyone else. I do wish it would've had a little more romance and "bodice -busting" moments, but it still was a great story over all.
This was such a good book! I loved Emma's character. She didn't put up with any crap from Jed or anyone else. I do wish it would've had a little more romance and "bodice -busting" moments, but it still was a great story over all.
January 21, 2021
Truth or folly?
From the plantation home in Georgia to the plains of Oklahoma, Emma has run from a forced marriage. She finds herself almost instantly married to Jed and a houseful of children however! Could this be another fiasco for her, or her “happily ever after?”
From the plantation home in Georgia to the plains of Oklahoma, Emma has run from a forced marriage. She finds herself almost instantly married to Jed and a houseful of children however! Could this be another fiasco for her, or her “happily ever after?”
November 1, 2021
3/5 stars
May 6, 2022
Oh Emma and her stubborn heart
Jed and his foolish pride! And sweet Molly who needs them both. Jimmy, Sarah and Mary, a family woven together though necessary just missing one piece - three little words!
Love the stories Mrs. Brown weaves
Jed and his foolish pride! And sweet Molly who needs them both. Jimmy, Sarah and Mary, a family woven together though necessary just missing one piece - three little words!
Love the stories Mrs. Brown weaves
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