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Wilderness Brides #1
Their Frontier Family
No one is more surprised than Sunny Licht when Noah Whitmore proposes. She's a scarlet woman and an unwed mother—an outcast even in her small Quaker community. But she can't resist Noah's offer of a fresh start in a place where her scandalous past is unknown.
In Sunny, the former Union soldier sees a woman whose loneliness matches his own. When they arrive in Wisconsin, he'll see that she and her baby daughter want for nothing...except the love that war burned out of him. Yet Sunny makes him hope once more—for the home they're building, and the family he never hoped to find.
In Sunny, the former Union soldier sees a woman whose loneliness matches his own. When they arrive in Wisconsin, he'll see that she and her baby daughter want for nothing...except the love that war burned out of him. Yet Sunny makes him hope once more—for the home they're building, and the family he never hoped to find.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 30, 2012
50 people are currently reading
655 people want to read
About the author
Lyn Cote
127 books593 followersLyn grew up loving books. Her favorite night of the week was Friday night, when the Bookmobile came to her neighborhood in Illinois. She’d spend those two hours chatting with the driver of the Bookmobile and the librarian and making the big decision of the week — which books to check out! In those distant days, children were limited in how many books they could check out. Lyn could only take home six a week — and there were so many to choose from. Her favorites were Cotton in my Sack by Lois Lenski, The Little House series and the One of a Kind Family series. Later, she discovered Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances!
This love of books led to a desire to write. Lyn won prizes in high school and college for her poetry and, not surprisingly, Lyn became a history and English teacher. When she became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Then she wrote her second and third. Long years of rejection followed — as it does for most writers. Finally in 1997, Lyn got "the call." Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen to appear in the first year of the new Love Inspired line. Lyn has written many articles on writing and the emerging Christian Booksellers Assoc. (CBA) fiction market. In 2006, Lyn's book, Chloe, is a finalist for the RWA's RITA, the highest award in the romance genre in the inspirational category.
Now, Lyn spends her days writing books that show the power of divine as well as human love. Her nest is empty and she and her real life hero, her husband, have more and more time to spend together in their home on a lake in the lovely northwoods. And books are still dear to her heart.
This love of books led to a desire to write. Lyn won prizes in high school and college for her poetry and, not surprisingly, Lyn became a history and English teacher. When she became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Then she wrote her second and third. Long years of rejection followed — as it does for most writers. Finally in 1997, Lyn got "the call." Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen to appear in the first year of the new Love Inspired line. Lyn has written many articles on writing and the emerging Christian Booksellers Assoc. (CBA) fiction market. In 2006, Lyn's book, Chloe, is a finalist for the RWA's RITA, the highest award in the romance genre in the inspirational category.
Now, Lyn spends her days writing books that show the power of divine as well as human love. Her nest is empty and she and her real life hero, her husband, have more and more time to spend together in their home on a lake in the lovely northwoods. And books are still dear to her heart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
October 15, 2012
One of my favorites!! Lyn Cote is awesome and I loved the nod to the Ingalls family :)
March 31, 2019
Two main characters of this book are Sunny and Noah.
Sunny and her baby girl were rescued from a life of prostitution by a Quaker family, but never quite fit in because of her previous life.
Noah, raised a Quaker, returned to his family's community in Pennsylvania after serving as a soldier in the Civil War, which is forbidden in Quaker society. So he too was an outcast. He knew he couldn't stay there so he chose to take a wife and move to Wisconsin. His choice of wife was the shy yet attractive Sunny, knowing she could use a fresh start as well.
Both had interesting personalities. Noah was reserved, downright stoic, and rarely spoke unless he needed to. Noah's quiet ways were due to his Quaker upbringing, but also because the war saddled him with guilt. Killing people changed him. He wanted to do right by Sunny but felt he could never be a true husband to her. Sunny of course felt dirty because of her past. Abused by men from a young age, she never felt worthy of happiness either.
Over time, events involving neighbors, a starving Indian woman, and a very kind, elderly preacher, and of course learning to love each other changed Noah and Sunny.
I really like this book. It was well written, interesting, and had great characters. Some people criticized the book, saying it wasn't really a romance, but I disagree. Beginning a new life, getting to know each other, learning how to fall in love can be a different kind of romance.
I would recommend this to anyone of any age.
Sunny and her baby girl were rescued from a life of prostitution by a Quaker family, but never quite fit in because of her previous life.
Noah, raised a Quaker, returned to his family's community in Pennsylvania after serving as a soldier in the Civil War, which is forbidden in Quaker society. So he too was an outcast. He knew he couldn't stay there so he chose to take a wife and move to Wisconsin. His choice of wife was the shy yet attractive Sunny, knowing she could use a fresh start as well.
Both had interesting personalities. Noah was reserved, downright stoic, and rarely spoke unless he needed to. Noah's quiet ways were due to his Quaker upbringing, but also because the war saddled him with guilt. Killing people changed him. He wanted to do right by Sunny but felt he could never be a true husband to her. Sunny of course felt dirty because of her past. Abused by men from a young age, she never felt worthy of happiness either.
Over time, events involving neighbors, a starving Indian woman, and a very kind, elderly preacher, and of course learning to love each other changed Noah and Sunny.
I really like this book. It was well written, interesting, and had great characters. Some people criticized the book, saying it wasn't really a romance, but I disagree. Beginning a new life, getting to know each other, learning how to fall in love can be a different kind of romance.
I would recommend this to anyone of any age.
September 25, 2013
I cannot say enough good things about this book! I really enjoyed it. Sunny, a former prostitute, with a child is an outcast in her town. Noah also feels like an outsider. He is a Quaker who went off to war and has come back a changed man.
When Noah proposes marriage to Sunny and a new start in Wisconsin, she jumps at the chance to start over. The trials this small, new family must face as they set up their home make for a very interesting read. It is a very well-written story, with interesting characters. I am glad that it is part of a series. I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Baby Bequest.
I would recommend this book to fans of historical romance.
When Noah proposes marriage to Sunny and a new start in Wisconsin, she jumps at the chance to start over. The trials this small, new family must face as they set up their home make for a very interesting read. It is a very well-written story, with interesting characters. I am glad that it is part of a series. I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Baby Bequest.
I would recommend this book to fans of historical romance.
December 5, 2021
I loved that the author included the Ingalls family as characters in this story since the Little House series was my favorite childhood read:) This story was very inspiring in 2 respects: (1) the blossoming relationship of Sunny and Noah (adorable) and (2) the growth of their characters as they found out how much easier it is to open up to others and stand up for what they believe is right regardless of how society reacts to those decisions.
August 25, 2023
I absolutely LOVED this book!! I didnt want it to end!
December 22, 2014
One of my favorites from the Love Inspired Historical line.
November 3, 2012
Somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5. My wife "got me hooked" on these "love inspired" books, especially the mysteries, several years ago, and this is, without a doubt, the best one I have read. Though the authors probably don't appreciate the analogy, a romance novel is like a strip-tease dance - since everyone knows what the outcome will be, the success of the performance depends on the beauty and skill of the dancer. This was written with both beauty and skill. It was unlike most similar novels in that there was there no doubt the woman and man would "get together" - they start out the novel by marrying. The tension in the novel is they are both wrestling with the same spiritual issue - "Can God really forgive me when I have done such evil in the past? Can I forgive myself?", and this issue keeps them from relating to God and each other. The author manages to resolve this without getting "preachy." The only issue - as a person with pastoral responsibilities, I wish Ms. Cote could give me the wisdom and insight of "Old Saul." However, as this is clearly a novel, this did not interfere.
March 8, 2025
2.5 star rating.
The kindness of Noah is very evident through this book. Sunny has started fresh. When Noah offers marriage she accepts it will be the best thing for Dawn. But Sunny grows to live Noah even though she is sure his will never live her back.
The kindness of Noah is very evident through this book. Sunny has started fresh. When Noah offers marriage she accepts it will be the best thing for Dawn. But Sunny grows to live Noah even though she is sure his will never live her back.
July 13, 2013
Sunny Licht is a scarlet woman: she was a prostitute and bore a child out of wedlock. However, she has found love and acceptance within a small family of Quakers in Pennsylvania, even if the larger Quaker community treats her like an outsider. Noah Whitmore, a young Quaker, unexpectedly proposes marriage to Sunny, who accepts more out of curiosity than anything else. I loved the attention to detail that the author gave to Quaker customs, including details of the very plain wedding of Sunny and Noah.
Noah and Sunny settle in rural Wisconsin, where Noah begins homesteading. It’s a fascinating read when you consider that building a home today requires the input of so many people: contractors, architects, electricians, and the like; back then, it required Noah to cut down trees for a log cabin. Frontier life is very hard and the author makes this clear by her use of details. Noah has to cut logs for furniture and to build a cabin; Sunny cooks everything from scratch and sews her own clothes. Bears threaten the community at least once.
While Sunny is faithful and wants her child to learn about God, Noah isn’t so sure, despite his Quaker upbringing. He’s argued with his father for many years and feels that the war has burned his faith completely out. With Sunny’s help, as well as the love of neighbors and a wily preacher who visits the community, Noah’s resolve strengthens.
I loved this book. I loved the details of life on the frontier as well as Quaker customs that brought the characters to life. Sunny and Noah seem mismatched at first, but seeing them grow to love each other over the course of the book is heartwarming. Highly recommended.
Noah and Sunny settle in rural Wisconsin, where Noah begins homesteading. It’s a fascinating read when you consider that building a home today requires the input of so many people: contractors, architects, electricians, and the like; back then, it required Noah to cut down trees for a log cabin. Frontier life is very hard and the author makes this clear by her use of details. Noah has to cut logs for furniture and to build a cabin; Sunny cooks everything from scratch and sews her own clothes. Bears threaten the community at least once.
While Sunny is faithful and wants her child to learn about God, Noah isn’t so sure, despite his Quaker upbringing. He’s argued with his father for many years and feels that the war has burned his faith completely out. With Sunny’s help, as well as the love of neighbors and a wily preacher who visits the community, Noah’s resolve strengthens.
I loved this book. I loved the details of life on the frontier as well as Quaker customs that brought the characters to life. Sunny and Noah seem mismatched at first, but seeing them grow to love each other over the course of the book is heartwarming. Highly recommended.
January 16, 2016
Their Frontier Family by Lyn Cote
Wilderness Brides Series Book 1
Noah Whitmore don’t know where he belongs. Dismissed by the Quakers for joining the war. An outcast among the soldiers because of his odd speech. Unforgiven by his father and living with the nightmares of killing men. Starting over he claims land in Pepin, Wisconsin and asks the beautiful Sunny to be his wife. He sees that Sunny and her daughter need protection. He may not be able to give her love but he can protect her and they can start over in a place where no one knows their pasts and they can stick to themselves.
Sunny Licht has escaped Idaho and prostitution but she still is not fully accepted in this small Quaker community and when she goes to town….men think they can take liberties with her. When Noah asks for her hand in marriage she sees it as her only escape to a new life for her and Dawn. If she can just make sure to never let her past known.
Travel to 1869 where the frontier was still open and wild. Where it took hard work to clear the land, build a home and make a new life. Noah was happy to be far away from people but Sunny missed having friends. Soon enough even Noah finds that helping each other is more important than keeping to himself. Sunny’s story begins in Her Healing Ways, book 3 of the Gabriel Sisters Series.
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...#
Wilderness Brides Series Book 1
Noah Whitmore don’t know where he belongs. Dismissed by the Quakers for joining the war. An outcast among the soldiers because of his odd speech. Unforgiven by his father and living with the nightmares of killing men. Starting over he claims land in Pepin, Wisconsin and asks the beautiful Sunny to be his wife. He sees that Sunny and her daughter need protection. He may not be able to give her love but he can protect her and they can start over in a place where no one knows their pasts and they can stick to themselves.
Sunny Licht has escaped Idaho and prostitution but she still is not fully accepted in this small Quaker community and when she goes to town….men think they can take liberties with her. When Noah asks for her hand in marriage she sees it as her only escape to a new life for her and Dawn. If she can just make sure to never let her past known.
Travel to 1869 where the frontier was still open and wild. Where it took hard work to clear the land, build a home and make a new life. Noah was happy to be far away from people but Sunny missed having friends. Soon enough even Noah finds that helping each other is more important than keeping to himself. Sunny’s story begins in Her Healing Ways, book 3 of the Gabriel Sisters Series.
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...#
March 22, 2016
This is a better-than-average Christian Historical. Sunny and Noah are two people with pasts that have hurt them - Sunny's forced upon her by circumstances, Noah's troubles coming because he chose to follow his conscience against his Quaker roots and fight in the Civil War. I thought the author did a good job with both characters, their fears and uncertainties.
It was interesting to read a book set in this time and place, but I'm not sure how I felt about the reference to Laura Ingalls Wilder's family. I don't think it was necessary, but I guess it didn't hurt the story, either. As a farm girl I'd say this book, like most of them, makes the work look a lot easier than it was, and the ending didn't knock my socks off. But the story of these two people and their slowly developing relationship was a pleasure to read.
It was interesting to read a book set in this time and place, but I'm not sure how I felt about the reference to Laura Ingalls Wilder's family. I don't think it was necessary, but I guess it didn't hurt the story, either. As a farm girl I'd say this book, like most of them, makes the work look a lot easier than it was, and the ending didn't knock my socks off. But the story of these two people and their slowly developing relationship was a pleasure to read.
November 26, 2012
Sunny was raised by a prostitute and became one age 14 when her mother passed, and then was rescued by a Quaker family. Noah was a Quaker who couldn't sit by during the Civil War, and enlisted. Neither of them really belong to the community, so they marry, move to Wisconsin and try to create their own family. Sweet, funny, and I loved them both. Less conflict than I thought there would be (two possible sources of conflict got resolved very easily and fairly early), but the story was really about the two of them learning to forgive themselves, anyway.
The inclusion of the Fitzhugh family - Charles, Caroline, Mary and Laura - outside Pepin and on their way to Kansas grated a little. To on point for me.
The inclusion of the Fitzhugh family - Charles, Caroline, Mary and Laura - outside Pepin and on their way to Kansas grated a little. To on point for me.
October 1, 2012
Noah Whittmore feels like he's an outcast from the Quaker community he's a part of. Sunny is an unwed mother with a shameful past. These two marry and move West in the hopes of starting over away from both of their pasts. Yet what they find is a community of people who are kind and caring and a God who loves them.
This was a fast read for me. Noah cares about Sunny immediately. And she knows that if she doesn't want her daughter to grow up as an outcast she needs to move with Noah. I really loved Noah's struggle for understanding from God about his time during the war.
This was a fast read for me. Noah cares about Sunny immediately. And she knows that if she doesn't want her daughter to grow up as an outcast she needs to move with Noah. I really loved Noah's struggle for understanding from God about his time during the war.
August 28, 2013
Sunny longs for a life in which no one knows her past. When Noah proposes to her and asks her to move with him to the frontier of Wisconsin, Sunny jumps at the chance. Will her hopes be realized by her going with him? This question remains unanswered throughout most of the book keeping us on the edge of our seats. This historical novel takes place in 1869 and reminds us of many of the issues that were important during that time period. Lyn Cote has created wonderful three-dimensional characters with which to tell this story and is more than worth the read.
November 11, 2013
Nice story of redemption. A little bit TOO preaching at times for me, and I thought once or twice that Sunny should grow a backbone but then five pages later, she did and I so overall, I am happy with this book. Only part I wished the author would have paid attention to was Sunny's past as a prostitute and how that affected the way she interacted with other "good" women in the community. I mean, she paid a little attention to it but then it was swept under the rug and I thought that wasn't fair to Sunny's character development. But that could just be me being too picky.
May 26, 2015
I liked the plot of Their Frontier Family and the way Lyn Cote showed all the things that a couple like this would go through trying to start over. My only disappointment in the book was the fact that it all ended so quickly. All of a sudden, in one chapter, everything was fixed. It just left me wanting to understand a bit more about them. But otherwise it was good and I would recommend this book to anyone.
January 9, 2013
Really enjoyed this story of a couple who started over together. Both had things in their lives that people could not forgive, so they move to another area and are able to become prominent members of the community because the prejudices are no longer held against them. Really enjoyed this story and the things that this couple were able to accomplish together.
December 19, 2012
I really enjoyed reading The Frontier Family by Lyn Cote. Noah and Sunny are troubled souls who believe they don't deserve forgiveness. They both have big hearts and get married and travel to Wisconsin to get a fresh start. Both feel tremendous guilt over pasts sins and fighting God about giving up control.
October 4, 2013
I was really glad to see that this was a spin off of Lyn Cote's Gabriel Sister's series. We're introduced to three of the sisters as well as Sunny while still at the Saloon.
You can read about the Gabriel's 3 daughters in this this series, and see the beginning of Sunny's story in the third book "Her Healing Ways"
http://www.goodreads.com/series/50939...
You can read about the Gabriel's 3 daughters in this this series, and see the beginning of Sunny's story in the third book "Her Healing Ways"
http://www.goodreads.com/series/50939...
February 7, 2015
Picked this up at the library sale and the librarian gave it to me free since I wasn't buying enough books for the minimum needed to use a credit card to buy them!
I enjoyed the story. Squeaky clean and not too preachy. I would have liked it better if certain aspects of the story were explained or explored more in the book.
I enjoyed the story. Squeaky clean and not too preachy. I would have liked it better if certain aspects of the story were explained or explored more in the book.
June 19, 2013
Fun to read but not a lot of literary genius. Two people are thrown together in less than ideal circumstances, but make a go of it, just like we all try to do. I did like the juxtaposition of what was said along side what was thought.
December 21, 2015
This book is a sweet and cute story. I am not much for Christian romance novels, but this one was very well done and created a sweet story where you were hoping and wanting the best for the characters.
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December 27, 2014Miniseries: Wilderness Brides
Category: Inspirational Romance
Category: Inspirational Romance
Read
November 2, 2012Miniseries: Wilderness Brides
December 30, 2013
Very sweet and quick read! Christian overtones.
February 27, 2014
An absolutely beautiful story about God's love and forgiveness!!
July 9, 2014
Great series!
August 15, 2014
Awesome story
This was an awesome story of faith and forgiveness as well as a wonderful, clean, Christian romance. I loved it and hope to read more in this series.
This was an awesome story of faith and forgiveness as well as a wonderful, clean, Christian romance. I loved it and hope to read more in this series.
November 24, 2014
The book cover looks nice and very breath taking.
August 3, 2015
3.5 out of 5 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews