The Marriage Committee

by Catherine Snodgrass

1st Place Winner in the Historical Category of the RWA Texas Gold Contest!
Winner of Word Museum's Reviewer's Choice Award! Former Texas ranger Paul Harrington is now a preacher trying to amend his former errant ways. It’s a constant battle to keep his previous self from surfacing. He fears that giving in to passion will open the door to the dangerous man he used to be. Belle Marshall is a self-sufficient woman. As the town healer and manager of a boarding house, independence is hers. The role of traditional wife isn’t something that appeals to her. A husband will only get in the way. But the townsfolk of Cottonwood Bend have other ideas, and when they form a committee to find Belle a husband…well, that’s something Paul just won’t have.

Genres: Historical

224 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[CaliGirlRae · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well written story that moves along nicely. I think my gripe is a personal one. As soon as Paul and Belle got together, his whole preacher status felt like it was left on the wayside. I loved the fact that he was conflicted with his past colliding with his new identity but I wish we could have seen more evidence of him comfortable as a preacher. Previously we had evidence of him spending time with his parishioners, holding sermons and other events. That is until Belle arrives in town and he's constantly fighting his lust for her. As written, it seems like he became a preacher to run and hide from his past and that he was basically lying to the whole community from the time he arrived. I wish we had more of a balance a la Shepard Book (from the Firefly series).

Belle wasn't as engaging a character as Grace was. I liked that she was independent at first but later she started using sex and marriage as a bargaining chip to get what she wanted from Paul. She waffled between "I'd be crazy not to marry him, look how awesome he is!" and "this is why I'm never getting married!" She seemed too modern to me and although I understand why (her father's infidelity), it seemed too extreme for the time period the story takes place in. I LOVED the first book and enjoyed seeing two people who couldn't be more opposites come together to find solace in each other despite whatever is thrown their way. This one, although the setting, background characters and mores of the time were very enthralling, just didn't grab me as much.