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The Proxy Brides #17

A Bride for Darrell

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Darrell learns that love can sneak up on a person but so can danger! If Darrell Dean wants to inherit half of the Silver Queen mine, he needs to marry. Though he doesn't like the girl, he agrees to marry the local saloon owner's daughter. He doesn't expect a woman to interrupt the wedding who claims to be his wife.If Willa VanDurring wants to escape the danger stalking her, she needs a new name and home far away from the threat. At her guardian's urging, she agrees to marry Darrell Dean by proxy and then immediately leaves to join him in Colorado. She's shocked to find him marrying another woman.Can a man who didn't agree to marry a proxy bride and a woman pursued by a murderer make a life together? What happens when the danger finds her? In a town with no law, how will she survive?

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 23, 2019

156 people are currently reading
71 people want to read

About the author

Marisa Masterson

75 books255 followers

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5 stars
149 (59%)
4 stars
66 (26%)
3 stars
25 (10%)
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5 (2%)
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4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews122 followers
Want to read
June 17, 2019
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/17/2019)! 🎁
Profile Image for Marie.
5,063 reviews52 followers
February 11, 2023
Corruption, deception and danger

It's a dark and twisted tale that brings Willa and Darrell together, despite this they are perfectly matched and determined to outwit those who wish them harm.
Willa finds herself thrust into a world very different from that she knows, but at no point does she let her fears overtake common sense and for that you have to respect her. She is smart, kind, loving and generous, a true sweetheart and everything Darrell could have hoped for.
I read this on Kindle Unlimited.
755 reviews7 followers
June 6, 2019
A fun and intrigue filled Proxy Bride book! This book starts in New York with Willa being whisked into a Proxy marriage very quickly. She doesn't understand totally what is happening until it is over and done with. Then she is whisked to the train station by her Guardian and sent off to join her husband in Colorado!
Her proxy husband Darrell Dean is in the middle of a marriage ceremony when she arrives and has no idea she exists. She stops the wedding, and creates quite a scene. This begins the intrigue and danger. Love comes quickly between the two, but there are some huge hurdles they must jump to reach their HEA. This book is well written and I enjoyed it very much.
I received an ARC of this book and am choosing to leave an honest review.
1,027 reviews11 followers
May 23, 2019
This is an excellent story with great character development. Imagine as a bride walking into the church to supposedly meet your proxy groom to find him in the process of wedding another!!!! The story has lots of intriguing elements to keep one guessing what is going to happen including greed, deception, mystery, lies, a bad guy or two, good friends, romance and a HEA. I really enjoyed this book (it is a real page turner) and highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Priscila.
849 reviews85 followers
July 22, 2021
A Bride for Darrell was an enjoyable experience :) it's been a while since I read a "moving to the West" story, and the first proxy bride-themed, but I think it won't be my last. I was surprised that the book was Christian since the blurb didn't mention anything about it, but it was a pleasant surprise.

I certainly liked that this story had everything, from sweet romance to a bit of mystery/suspense/danger concerning Willa and her marriage to Darrell. I also found the length of this story to be perfect for my introduction to the proxy genre, but at the same time found it difficult to keep up when more characters kept popping up. However, the narrator did a wonderful job with all the voices (from older to young women, to the different male ones), as well as the nuances and range of emotions (from angry to soothing and everything in between).

Overall, an enjoyable sweet romance proxy bride story perfect for fans of the author and the genre. ~ 4.5 stars

Content: violence: a woman is poisoned; a man kicks a woman in the ribs, head, and touches her breast.
Sex: their marriage is consummated but it all happens behind closed doors. However, there are references to it (either when she's remembering that night or by physical evidence like her finding a wet spot in bed).
870 reviews4 followers
March 9, 2020
Willa is confused about what's going on but her guardian arranges her to wed by proxy and go to safety. There's a redheaded man after her. She doesn't know much else for details except that her Grandfather had sent her away to school, supposedly to keep her safe. She arrives in town to find Darrell at the church, about to wed someone else!
Darrell needs to marry to gain his inheritance. The saloon-keeper's daughter wore him down until he agreed to marry her. But their wedding is interrupted by the arrival of his WIFE. Did he maybe arrange a proxy wedding after he had his concussion and that's why he doesn't remember?
They need to piece together what's going on while also adjusting to newlywed life.
This is a clean, sweet romance. I thought the mystery was really interesting. And it was pretty good all around.
Profile Image for Vibliophile.
1,591 reviews130 followers
July 5, 2021
(3.5 stars) - mail order romance with mystery & suspense

Wholesome with a two-pronged mystery to give it a double dose of suspense. The plot transition between chapters wasn't always smooth, and it was a little weak in places compared to previous, but it was still a fairly entertaining novella.

*Clean romance level: sweet kisses

*Scene of threatened rape & death, while not overly lengthy or detailed, may be distressing for some readers

*Religion: protagonist is a Methodist, but the handful of light faith moments are generically Christian, as well as natural to the story
Profile Image for Karen.
735 reviews7 followers
July 20, 2021
Willa has only ever lived in one place that she remembers. It is a girls school. Suddenly for reasons that are unknown to her she is suddenly entering into marriage as a proxy bride. She has been prepared to one day marry but didn’t know she would be entering into marriage in this manner.
But Darrell is even more surprised. He never sent for a proxy bride. And even more shocking she arrives to interrupt the marriage he arranged for himself with a local girl.
This book had a few twists and turns as it wasn’t all about two people learning to live their lives together. It was more about the circumstances that brought the two together. There is mystery surrounding those circumstances.
90 reviews1 follower
March 24, 2020
Wow!! This book is action-packed from beginning to end!! Willa's guardian rushes her to a lawyer's office and into a proxy wedding with no explanations; just a warning to watch out for a red-headed, scar-faced man. She arrives in Colorado just in time to stop her proxy husband from marrying someone else. Darrell has no memory of a proxy marriage, but he is relieved to be saved from marrying a woman e doesn't like. Then, boom!! Suspicious things begin to happen. Very exciting story. I couldn't put it down. Definitely 5 stars
Profile Image for BrendaLee .
426 reviews17 followers
December 27, 2021
This bride by proxy book was really enjoyable. I listened to the audiobook which was even better. A surprised Darrell is stopped from saying his vows at the alter when Willa makes her appearance. If you like mail-order bride books with a mystery to it you will enjoy this one. The author sure kept me guessing about the marriage and the mystery taking place. I enjoyed the fact that the bride and groom didn’t fight all the time.
I received a copy of this audiobook from the author but was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Nethanja.
838 reviews9 followers
May 23, 2019
Being swept away from the only home she ever had Willa finds herself on the train to meet she was married to by proxy.
But when she arrives she’s just in time to stop her husband Darrell’s wedding. Why did he send for a proxy bride when he was about to get married to someone else? And there’re more strange things that needs to be answered.
Interesting story, it will keep you guessing until the problems are solved.
Profile Image for Dorothy Roller.
480 reviews3 followers
March 26, 2020
To good to pass this one up.

I really enjoyed this story. I really loved the hero and heroine in this story. Both characters were absolutely wonderful as added a
few others too, but some were downright dastardly. This story has all the good, bad, and really ugly stuff we come to love in western romances. I highly recommend this story in the Proxy Bride series, and I have loved all the books I've read from this author. She is amazing.
2,109 reviews37 followers
July 5, 2021
I listened to the audiobook of this story. Narrator was good. Darrell needs a wife to gain his inheritance and Willa needs to get away from danger. She agrees to become a proxy bride to Darrell, but he doesn't know that. When she arrives in Colorado, she interrupts his wedding to the saloon owners daughter. He rather be married to Willa. Can these two people make a go of it, before the danger arrives in town. Great story.
I was given a copy of this book by the author for an honest review.
351 reviews5 followers
March 24, 2022
A Bride for Darrell

I really enjoyed this book. There was a lot going on, but it was easy to keep up with. Darrell an Willa both agree on a proxy marriage so they can both claim their inheritance. But, it seems someone is out to harm both of them. I loved both of the main characters and how Darrell regained his faith. The story wraps up nicely, with all the mysteries being solved and a HEA. It's a great book by talented author Marisa Masterson.
Profile Image for Shonda.
Author 10 books46 followers
May 23, 2019
This is my first book by Marissa Masters and won’t be my last! The characters were wonderful, I really enjoyed Willa. The story was very engaging from beginning to end. There was mystery, action and romance. The whole story just was such a sweet tale, what was meant for evil God turned around for the good of his children. Awesome book!
Was given a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
2,608 reviews16 followers
May 24, 2019
Darrell and Willow

Darrell owned a small mercantile in a small sliver mining town. He needed a wife soon in order to meet the requirements of an inheritance. Will was a student at a private girls school. She needed to answer a proxy mail order bride request to leave town for her own safety. How will this work for the both of them?
51 reviews
June 3, 2019
This was an interesting, complicated story. I think there were more bad folks than good ones. But the Proxy Bride and her husband lived through the other folks greed and violence to their happily ever after. It was amazing that they could really like each other having never met till she arrived in Colorado.
4,558 reviews31 followers
June 7, 2019
In a twist on the usual beginning to a proxy marriage, Marisa Masterson brings the story of Willa, a bride who didn’t know she was going to get married, and Darrell, a groom who finds his wedding interrupted by his heretofore unknown proxy bride. This delightful story has more than a few surprises and twists. It was fun to read and I totally enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Miriam.
397 reviews8 followers
June 20, 2019
Changing points of view

I enjoyed the storyline but it seemed like it changed points of view mid-paragraph. A narrator told much of the story and occasionally it would slip into first person. It was just really confusing at times. On the plus side this was very clean-no bad language, some nondescript kissing, and only marital relations implied not described.
Profile Image for Heather Connolly.
78 reviews1 follower
July 5, 2019
Really Bad Editing

The story might have been good if the story line and editing had been better. Plot and characters were very tangled and not even well defined by the end of the book. Many times the tale went from third person to first person narrative, even in the middle of a sentence. Very disappointing!
Profile Image for Tracy Sylvester.
1,015 reviews8 followers
January 22, 2020
Willa VanDurring is away at a private school that her ill grandfather sent her to. As she's getting older her school master decides to whisk her off on a day trip and ends up at a lawyers office to find she's married by proxy to a man named Darrell Dean. This early mail order bride romance is full of twists and turns that will keep you wanting more.
723 reviews2 followers
February 12, 2020
A triple crown winner-proxy bride romance, Christian and suspense

Once started to read, I had to finish before stopping. The book was very well written! I did figure out some of the mystery as more of the story was revealed but not everything or the "whys" behind the plots. In this case God certainly brought this loving couple together
Profile Image for Tara.
1,175 reviews8 followers
September 2, 2022
This was just the read I needed: a sweet, loveable escape with just enough drama to keep me engaged. The characters are well developed, the story had good pacing, no lagging or rushing in the telling of the tale. Jenn Lee does a fantastic job narrating this book and bringing the characters to life. I really enjoyed listening to this book.
454 reviews1 follower
August 22, 2019
He didn't send for a Proxy Wife but got one anyway

They were after her inheritance , I liked the way the story was told how they stopped the people from getting it from her and how she ended up really married to him.
Profile Image for Robyn Echols.
Author 5 books28 followers
November 30, 2019
Quite the Mystery

Will a becoming a proxy bride turned out to be quite a mystery. However, Darrell soon felt grateful she arrived, even with the complications. I enjoyed the hints and false leads, as well as the suspense in this sweet romance.
Profile Image for Babs Wenk.
1,022 reviews5 followers
January 10, 2020
Willa and Darrell

Many twists and turns in this murder mystery romance. Willa was sent as a proxy bride being given no information the groom did not even know she was coming! - Babs
Profile Image for Norma Jean.
298 reviews11 followers
August 1, 2021
Interesting Storyline - Great narration

A Bride for Darrell is the first book from this author that I have ‘read’ (via Audible). It is a sweet, wholesome Christian romance with a little suspense added. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the Proxy Bride series.
54 reviews
July 28, 2022
Poorly written

This story was difficult to follow. The author switched from third person to first person quite often. Poor grammar was also a problem. A book that could have had such potential was sadly lacking.
Profile Image for Mary Jane McLeod.
2,902 reviews6 followers
May 24, 2019
Great series

Another good book in a good series. I'm really enjoying this series and loved Darrell and Willa's story. It held my attention from the beginning.


Profile Image for Nancy.
391 reviews
May 24, 2019
WOW! I just finished A Bride for Darrell and I would highly recommend it. It is a book that grabs you right from the start and you can't stop until the end. Great job Marisa Masterson!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews

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