A Sensible Match

by Teryl Cartwright

How do you thwart well meaning, but relentless, matchmaking parents without getting caught? Abby's perfect solution was to try too hard to chase down and please her equally reluctant counterpart, the new vicar of Midland. Lord Edwin Chappell was certainly startled by her performance but too smart to be taken in by Abby's act. Just as she was showing him that she was anything but the perfect vicar's wife, he was trying to prove that her idea of a vicar was quite as far fetched. After a humorous battle of wits and wills between the young couple, tragic events lead the matchmaking parents to stand against the match just when Abby and Edwin are falling in love. Now, the couple must decide to obey the time-honored dictates of their respective families or follow the path they believe God has now chosen for them.

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just okay for me. At first I liked it; I really got a kick out of Abby trying to scare Edwin off by talking too much. Instead of scaring him Edwin actually liked her talkative personality, although he sensed there was more to her then what she was showing. I guess my biggest problem with the book was just too much internal dialog. We were told they talked about certain things, but never got to hear the conversations. Just pages and pages of exposition and frankly I lost interest. I had a hard time buying the relationship as well. Abby spent a lot of time not being herself, and yet somehow Edwin was able to see through her scheming to who she really was. They spent very little time together and yet somehow fell in love. The protocol at the time kept them from revealing their true feelings and even kept them from talking at times, there were a few times I just wanted to shake them. And there were a lot of times I wish they would have spoken instead of sitting quietly. Abby especially needed to speak up more. You can tell from her inner dialog that she is smart and had good views, but she doesn’t share them with anyone. Speak up. I didn’t mind the overall story and with a little skimming I thought it was enjoyable. Her sister Constance drove me batty, didn’t like her at all. I know she has her own book, and even though I didn’t care for her I am still tempted to see how she could win Sir Geoffrey back. Overall, it was good and I appreciate it being clean.

Content: Clean.

[Delia · Rating 4 out of 5]

One young woman's attempt to forestall the arranged marriage thrust upon her by a well-meaning parent. A dutiful suitor's efforts to decide how far he's willing to go to fulfill his mother's long-ago promise to a friend. A series of humorous encounters between the young couple arouse a genuine response in the reader, who longs to remove the meddling mothers and allow Abby and Edwin the chance to experience courtship the way it was intended to happen. Can they trust God enough to give their hopes and dreams to Him and allow the Creator of the Universe to mold their futures however He will? Teryl Cartwright's beautiful love story is woven with wonderfully time-authentic detail and threaded with a fine spiritual thread. A captivating plot, well-rounded characters, a touch of suspense, and a couple of surprising twists keep the pages turning from cover to cover.