Mail Order Bride: A Bride's Unexpected Love: A Western Romance Book

by Annabel Alden

Secrets. Jealousy. Deceit. Sent west by her parents to avoid the ravages of the Civil War, Charity Stevens doesn’t know what to expect when she finds herself in Wyoming Territory. To make matters worse, she is engaged to the man of her a lazy arrogant man with pockets as deep as the Mississippi River. Chase Cunningham is every woman’s dream. He’s charming. He’s handsome. But his inheritance is locked away until he agrees to marry. Once his fiancée arrives, they start off on the wrong foot toward holy matrimony. It’s not long until Charity begins to suspect that Chase is hiding something from her. Not able to stand one another, they decide to enter a wager. If Charity pretends to be Chase’s fiancée so he can get his inheritance, he will send her anywhere in the world she’d like to go. What Chase isn’t expecting is to actually fall in love with her. When a lover from the past returns and the bitter sting of betrayal threatens any chance of happiness…will true love really overcome all?

Genres: Romance

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2018

About the author

Annabel Alden has always been attracted to Westerns! Deeply influenced by her grandfather's love for Westerns, with whom she spent hours and hours as a little girl, she got hooked in watching old movies of the genre. "The Magnificent Seven" and "Gone With The Wind" became her own all time favorites, while "Little House on the Prairie" is still one of the series she cannot get enough of.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Annabel studied English Literature and worked as a teacher before going after her dreams as a writer. When she is not writing, she likes to spend her time with her lovely husband and their adorable dog Toto travelling and exploring.

So, join her journey and become a valuble companion in a time where people were tough but true romance was alive.

Reviews

[Elsbeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

They come together for the peace of mind of their parents. They don't intend to fall in love.
Apart from a lot of difficult emotions, there are the parents and the ex-lover to complicate things. Oh, and there are horses.
Lovely story.
I received a copy and chose to review it.

[Margaret Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this post civil war mail order bride romance, the ravages of war are highlighted and one gets an in-depth insight into the nature and tragedy of the aftermath of conflict. When Charity’s parents realise that they cannot feed all their children, they choose a wealthy mail order husband for her, and send her off with meagre supplies across the country to meet her new husband. Chase on the other hand, has more than enough to eat, but his parents are putting pressure on him to marry so that his father can go to a less taxing climate for his health. Both Charity and Chase have preconceived notions about each other, separately concluding that they have no intention of marrying, but understanding that if Chase’s parents are going to take their leave and let him get on with the matter of running the ranch, they have to at least pretend to like each other. After a while the blindfolds are lifted and both Charity and Chase begin to see aspects of the others’ personality that are at first hard to see. With interfering parents, an ex that is manipulative and won’t let go and a cowboy that likes to stir up trouble, not everything is plain sailing. I found that I was unable to relate to the characters and in some ways the story was somewhat bland. For that reason I would expect that it would appeal to a younger romance reader. Nevertheless, the historic aspects of the story were interesting to myself as a non-American, and it was a pleasure to read a story without the obligatory bedroom scenes. I understand that a previous issue of this book contained a number of editing errors, however this edition was relatively smooth reading.

[Janet Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars
Poorly Researched but Clean Frontier Romance
This book is almost nothing like the write up described. This book had an entertaining and mild plot and it is clean. However, it was so poorly researched that I may not read any of this author’s work again. The characters were as deep as they could be in this novella length story. The plot was generally realistic and believable. But I could not stand the liberties taken with history. The author has no basic understanding of the American West during the Civil War era. I should have read the author’s bio prior to reading the book as it lists ‘Gone With The Wind’ as her favorite ‘Western’. This story was supposed to take place in Wyoming during the Civil War. The cattle/horse ranch where all of the action takes place is called an ‘estate’ for the entire book. The couple drove around in a white carriage that was also call a wagon. A year earlier, the same carriage was used to take a different couple to galas and balls and dinner parties every weekend (in 1862 Wyoming?) The fictitious cross-country train from South Carolina to Wyoming (yes, during the Civil War) stopped every night in small towns – which also didn’t exist then. A good portion of the plot concerns the breeding of horses. This is interesting because they are planning summer breeding for spring colts – that is about a year out of whack as horses have an 11-month gestation and are bred back within a month or two after giving birth. This year’s breeding plans are usually firmed up before this year’s baby hits the ground. I received this book (ARC) at no cost and voluntarily chose to post my review. It was definitely worth what I paid!

[Lokdyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good love story for everyone. Charity’s Stevens’s parents accepted the mail order bride ad placed by Chase Cunningham, but on her way west, Charity decides she won’t marry Chase because she knows all about rich men. Right? At the same time Chase decides he doesn’t want to marry Charity because he knows what all poor girls want—money. Right? This is the story of Chase and Charity each overcoming their insecurities and pride so they can admit they’ve fallen in love with each other. For me, the only downside of this story is that I would’ve liked more dialogue between the characters. Even so, I would recommend this book to everyone who likes a good mail order bride story. I received an advance review copy of this book and this is my honest opinion of this story.

[Eliza Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful Mail Order Book

Annabel Alden wrote such wonderful characters . They are well rounded characters that makes the story believable. From Charity traveling from South Carolina to the west . How traveling alone was such a hardship. Then meeting her intended husband Chase and all the problems facing them in neither wanting to marry , but his parents wanted
Him settled before they moved to England. Her parents could no longer support their family because of the war back east . Each faced learning how the others personality wasn't what they actually expected . The story had some unexpected turns but Annabel Alden brought the story together in away that was totally believable.

[Dawn Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming Read

This was a wonderfully written story about the journey of a young woman headed west as a mail order bride. It turned out to be a nice and sweet story.
Charity is going west to be married, but as she gets closer to her destination she begins to have second thoughts after all the man is rich and probably lazy and arrogant. Chase is charming and handsome and he is in need of a wife for his inheritance. When they meet they can barely stand one another. Soon they have a plan and the fun starts from there. I enjoyed this story. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay clean romance. I enjoyed the description of the book, but the delivery was not what I expected. I felt the story lost its momentum with the constant insights into the character's thoughts and emotions. There was not much evidence in the plot to support the changes in the emotions of the characters. I also noticed several grammatical and spelling errors. Having more concise sentences would have helped the flow of the story. Several characters that were introduced did not have satisfactory resolution in the story. Overall, the story was okay and had a good plot.

[Suzette · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the moment I met Charity in the hotel on the first few pages I liked her. She was feisty. I knew she was going to be a great character. Chase on the other hand was conflicted. Together they made a great story. Both characters are struggling to satisfy parental expectations while also trying to figure out their own insecurities and what they want out of life. At first they are like two streams going in the same direction, looking for the same outcome and afraid to merge. Eventually they find common ground in their acknowledgement of love for each other and life is sweeter for it.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pride and prejudice

A very sweet story of a poor girl with a chip on her shoulder who goes out west as a mail order bride. Her fiance is as stubborn as she is thinking women are only interested in status and money. They agree they are not right for each other. As they get to know each other and fall in love, neither of them will admit. It will take something unexpected for them to admit it.

[Jeanne Okerlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very first page this book is an easy enjoyable read and page turner. There were no spots in the book that seemed to drag on. It was a book that had really good depth of characters. It includes war, family, illness, responsibility, over beating ex's, and how falling in love can be made harder than it needs to be, to name a few.

I received this book free as an ARC for my honest review. I highly recommend.

[Mikola Fuhrman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! A definite must read!

This book is one that not only can you can read and not be embarrassed when mom or grandma catch you reading it, but your teenage daughter/niece could read it. There is no foul language nor sex scenes in it. I recommend this book to every reader. Charity and Chase have to find their way to an HEA.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this story as I enjoyed The Perfect Bride. This book was too caught up in the main characters thoughts and not enough dialogue between the two that would hook me. There was a lot of grammatical and spelling errors. Perhaps having those errors fixed would have helped with the flow of the story, it felt choppy. Unfortunately, this is going in my DNF pile.

[Annette Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable book with a wonderful cast of very different characters. Set in two different locations with the civil war as the background, this book has a good plot and is often humorous. A really good read.

[Candice Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story

Loved every minute of this book! What a beautiful love story! The two main characters were captivating, and I love how they grow throughout the book. Excellent read for anyone who loves a good romance, western, or both!

[Charlene Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only time will tell

This is a very interesting and valuable lesson learned. When you so people come together from different economics they soon learn that what they thought the other person was in general was not always as they appear. Enjoyed this book from beginning to end

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very engaging story! You will enjoy it!

I really enjoyed this so much that I stayed up thru the night til I finished it!! Such great characters that have you laughing one min then wanting to choke one of them next! I received a free copy and volunteered to leave a review.

[Pamela Pond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

The love story between Charity and Chase is well written. It is full of twists and turns that are surprising and pulls the reader into the story. I will recommend this book and author to my friends.

[Yvonne Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love wins

I was drawn into the story from the beginning. I couldn't imagine being a mail order bride, going off alone to meet the man I was ordered for. Such a good story. Their fears and love coming together to join them as one.

[Heather Bireley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mail order bride

I'm fascinated with mail order bride stories. I can't imagine how these women felt leaving everything h they knew to go to everything h they didn't. It took so much courage.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of courage and hardship.

Charity is very courageous in traveling alone to marry someone she doesn't know. Just an obedient daughter. Well for part of the trip. Then she gets an idea of not getting wed. Things get tough. Very good reading.

[Teresa Champagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good love story

I love western romances and this one was a good one. I was beginning to think they never was going to say they loved each other as it was quite a ride to get there. Loved the story. Good job Annabel Alden

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story

I enjoyed the story. A good, clean read. It needs editorial help: grammar and typos. Great way to relax, by reading this story.

[Vickie Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Good Read

Great storyline. Good details give insight into the main characters. You can feel the turmoil as they work through their feelings and see the love growing.

[Katie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down

Sweet and sassy, chase and Charity both are stubborn as mules and full of pride. They develop and grow beautifully as characters.

[Barbara Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving for the first time

if you believe in the love for too people than this is the story you must read, Just think that you could fine that kind of love

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had some problems, but they are fixed. I have added stars to reflect my opinion for the corrected version of this book. This is a very good story and a clean read. My strong woman is strong at the beginning of the story but gets a little uneasy about things as the story progresses. I look for strong women in most of the books I read. The main characters are just perfect for each other.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good mail-order bride story and this one did not disappoint. A bit different from the typical genre, this particular book provides a range of emotional experiences for the reader with a bit of intrigue added for interest. Chase and his mail-order bride Charity do not immediately hit it off. In fact, they have a few words almost immediately and finally 'agree to disagree' for the sake of his parents who only wish to see their son married before they leave the country. Throughout the book the reader follows the struggle of emotions that both Chase and Charity experience concerning one another. Ms. Alden does a fantastic job of creating an interesting twist on a well-used genre. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mail-order bride romances.