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Prairie Brides: The Bride's Song/The Barefoot Bride/A Homesteader, A Bride and a Baby/A Vow Unbroken
"Four New Inspirational Love Stories from the Historic North American Prairie."
343 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2000
4 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
JoAnn A. Grote
71 books20 followersJOANN GROTE lives in Minnesota, where she grew up. She uses the state for most of her story settings, and like her characters, JoAnn seeks to serve Christ in her work. She believes that readers of novels can receive a message of salvation and encouragement from well-crafted fiction. She has over 35 books to her credit, including novels, "The American Adventure" series for children, and the "Heartsong Presents Inspirational Romance" series. She captivates and addresses the deeper meaning between life and faith.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 22, 2010
I loved the book it was the first inspirational romance I ever read!
June 12, 2010
Once again, a collection of four very beautiful stories. Heartwarming and inspirational.
December 17, 2018
Light Christian romance. Perfect for vacation reading.
May 23, 2023
Surprisingly better than a lot of anthologies.
The Bride's Song was my least favorite of the 4. It lacked the passion and excitement of the others
The Barefoot Bride was just charming.
A Homesteader, A Bride, and a Baby was lots of fun as two strangers unexpectly become parents through adoption and learn to form a loving family
A Vow Unbroken. This one easily could have been as good or better than the previous two but the other let all the scriptures overwhelm the feeling of the story.
The Bride's Song was my least favorite of the 4. It lacked the passion and excitement of the others
The Barefoot Bride was just charming.
A Homesteader, A Bride, and a Baby was lots of fun as two strangers unexpectly become parents through adoption and learn to form a loving family
A Vow Unbroken. This one easily could have been as good or better than the previous two but the other let all the scriptures overwhelm the feeling of the story.
October 2, 2025
Sweet and short romances. I really enjoyed these, but as someone who likes to see the stories continue I didn't like how the stories ended just when they started; but of course, this is not the authors' or book's fault, as this is a short story collection I suppose. I would've really loved these stories had they been longer/been their own books.
August 23, 2019
4.5* Enjoyable reading. I was going to read these stories just one a day...but I couldn't put the book down. I ended up reading this book in one day!
April 24, 2023
Fun reading about men wanting a woman to come to the prairies to keep house for them. They are willing to marry them to get that service
June 6, 2023
B. fiction, historical fiction, Christian fiction; "A Homesteader, a Bride, and a Baby"; from stash, keep
July 7, 2011
Brides Song by Linda Ford 7/4/11
Dora Grant escaped the life with her parents and siblings four years ago. They were homesteaders and life was tough and at times that had to depend on others for help. She hated that life and promised never to marry a cowboy, only a town person.
Working for the town Dr she was there when they brought Josh Rivers in. In the days of his recovery she really enjoyed his company but he was heading to be a homesteader so she knew he could not be the man for her.
But hearts can change.
This book was written from only Dora's view.
Barefoot Bride by Linda Goodnight 7/4/11
Dr Matthew Tolivar has been running from himself for 6 years. He could not save his wife and child and so he refuses to be a Dr. When he comes to Goodhope, Kansas and sees an ad for a husband he gets curious. The store owner says the widow Emma Russell is crazy. The more he heard of the woman the more he thought they would be good together.
Emma is twirling around laughing and talking like a crazy woman when Matt arrives at her farm. He quickly learns she is just a loving and joyous person who talks with Jesus and sees pictures in the cloud and even lifts his spirits. They have to go to the next city to get married as their Parson refuses to marry them. Matt is angry how Emma is treated in town and not even allowed in church but when he is needed as a Dr and helps Emma biggest enemy there is a change of heart.
The story is told from Matt's view.
A Homesteader, A Bride and a Baby- JoAnn A. Grote 7/5/11
Lorette comes to see her sister and start a job as governess. Bess is her only family she has. She gets off the train to be handed baby Samuel and be told Bess, Tom and the 2 older children had all died the day before.
Chase was Tom's best friend and neighbor. He has been doing chores. After 2 weeks as a governess Lorette is told she cannot keep Samuel with her. Chase talks her into staying in the house and teaches her some of the chores.
When rumors start that they are spending too much time together he marries her.
Told from both sides.
A Vow Unbroken- Amy Rognlie
Abby had vowed never to love another man. Aunt Caroline sent her to Colorado from New York to be a housekeeper. Widowed and 6 weeks away from giving birth Abby went.
James Parrish met the train so excited to meet his new wife, only when he did meet her she was not Caroline and she was heavy with child. He dropped her off at his sisters boarding house and went home. His dream of being with his new wife seemed shattered only he felt that God had sent Abby to him and he would still wed her.
Abby and James did well together. He taught her more about trusting God. If only Abby could love him but she had her vow.
Abby lives in fear of everything. Sure that God will punish her as he did in taking her father and husband. She is sure one wrong move and her baby will die as well.
Good story.
Dora Grant escaped the life with her parents and siblings four years ago. They were homesteaders and life was tough and at times that had to depend on others for help. She hated that life and promised never to marry a cowboy, only a town person.
Working for the town Dr she was there when they brought Josh Rivers in. In the days of his recovery she really enjoyed his company but he was heading to be a homesteader so she knew he could not be the man for her.
But hearts can change.
This book was written from only Dora's view.
Barefoot Bride by Linda Goodnight 7/4/11
Dr Matthew Tolivar has been running from himself for 6 years. He could not save his wife and child and so he refuses to be a Dr. When he comes to Goodhope, Kansas and sees an ad for a husband he gets curious. The store owner says the widow Emma Russell is crazy. The more he heard of the woman the more he thought they would be good together.
Emma is twirling around laughing and talking like a crazy woman when Matt arrives at her farm. He quickly learns she is just a loving and joyous person who talks with Jesus and sees pictures in the cloud and even lifts his spirits. They have to go to the next city to get married as their Parson refuses to marry them. Matt is angry how Emma is treated in town and not even allowed in church but when he is needed as a Dr and helps Emma biggest enemy there is a change of heart.
The story is told from Matt's view.
A Homesteader, A Bride and a Baby- JoAnn A. Grote 7/5/11
Lorette comes to see her sister and start a job as governess. Bess is her only family she has. She gets off the train to be handed baby Samuel and be told Bess, Tom and the 2 older children had all died the day before.
Chase was Tom's best friend and neighbor. He has been doing chores. After 2 weeks as a governess Lorette is told she cannot keep Samuel with her. Chase talks her into staying in the house and teaches her some of the chores.
When rumors start that they are spending too much time together he marries her.
Told from both sides.
A Vow Unbroken- Amy Rognlie
Abby had vowed never to love another man. Aunt Caroline sent her to Colorado from New York to be a housekeeper. Widowed and 6 weeks away from giving birth Abby went.
James Parrish met the train so excited to meet his new wife, only when he did meet her she was not Caroline and she was heavy with child. He dropped her off at his sisters boarding house and went home. His dream of being with his new wife seemed shattered only he felt that God had sent Abby to him and he would still wed her.
Abby and James did well together. He taught her more about trusting God. If only Abby could love him but she had her vow.
Abby lives in fear of everything. Sure that God will punish her as he did in taking her father and husband. She is sure one wrong move and her baby will die as well.
Good story.
June 22, 2016
*I skipped the first story The Bride's Song by Linda Ford. It didn't sound interesting to me
The Barefoot Bride by Linda Goodnight -3.5 stars -A very, very interesting story! I thought Emma was so admirable! I'm glad that everything finally worked out in the end but I would've killed for an epilogue to this one!
A Homesteader, a Bride, and a Baby by JoAnn A. Grote - 4.5 stars - I thought this story was very good! I sincerely wish that there had been an epilogue!
A Vow Unbroken by Amy Rognlie - 4.5 stars - This one was so enjoyable! I think it had me the most excited to read it out of all the others. I really liked the author's writing style, and purely appreciated the emotional depth she was able to impart with her storytelling. Abby and James had so much dimension and the way they handled themselves was, I felt, very realistic. I was sad when it ended but happy for that little epilogue at the end!
*My review for A Vow Unbroken is taken from my review for The Bartered Bride Collection (another excellent collection of stories) Here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Barefoot Bride by Linda Goodnight -3.5 stars -A very, very interesting story! I thought Emma was so admirable! I'm glad that everything finally worked out in the end but I would've killed for an epilogue to this one!
A Homesteader, a Bride, and a Baby by JoAnn A. Grote - 4.5 stars - I thought this story was very good! I sincerely wish that there had been an epilogue!
A Vow Unbroken by Amy Rognlie - 4.5 stars - This one was so enjoyable! I think it had me the most excited to read it out of all the others. I really liked the author's writing style, and purely appreciated the emotional depth she was able to impart with her storytelling. Abby and James had so much dimension and the way they handled themselves was, I felt, very realistic. I was sad when it ended but happy for that little epilogue at the end!
*My review for A Vow Unbroken is taken from my review for The Bartered Bride Collection (another excellent collection of stories) Here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
May 18, 2016
This book is a collection of 4 novellas about romance on the prairie. In "The Bride's Song" by Linda Ford, Dora is a nurse who's made up her mind she will never be a wife to a homesteader. All she can remember is the hardships of her family. But her heart is drawn to Josh as she takes care of him after he is nearly killed by robbers on his way to his new homestead. My favorite was "The Barefoot Bride" by Linda Goodnight. Matt is new to town and sees an advertisement for a husband. Needing a place to forget his painful past, he decides to check out the situation. Emma is a strange woman, and most of the townspeople think she is crazy or evil. In "A Homesteader, a Bride, and a Baby" by JoAnn A. Grote, Lorette comes to visit her sister and family but arrives to find only the baby survived diphtheria. Chase has been helping run the farm, but soon rumors start that there is more going on between the two of them. In "A Vow Unbroken" by Amy Rognlie, Abby is a mail-order bride, but she's not the bride James was expecting. All the stories were quick, light reading which I needed right now.
October 30, 2015
I love Heartsongs books, especially the historical ones. This one was a good view of what prairie life was like. The stories were enticing, and while mostly predictable, I was drawn in and wanted to see how the romances developed. I did feel like this book had more typos than is typical for a Heartsong. I also wish the stories had been somehow connected because this usually makes for a stronger book. But overall, it was enjoyable.
July 11, 2012
Bought this book for 50 cents at a library sale. The book includes 4 Christian love stories that reminded me of Lynn Austin's books. Cute stories each with a lesson or message that the character(s) learn.
August 4, 2012
A good read, but the stories were a bit too predictable.
October 18, 2012
Great reading for me, I loved it.
February 11, 2014
The first one was sappy and the plot was easy to guess. The middle two stories were the best, entertainment wise.
May 10, 2016
Four delightful Christian stories of love & romance.
Read
December 3, 2008YA For
October 30, 2016
Four inspirational romance stories in one book.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews