Folly's Bride

Brides of Montclair #4

by Jane Peart

Headstrong southern belle Sara Leighton finds herself torn between her wealthy husband, Clay Montrose, and a former, failed love. Reprint.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Christian, Historical, Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Jane Johnson Peart of Asheville, North Carolina, Humboldt and Marin counties, California, and in recent years, Hawaii, passed away in 2007. She was the author of more than 60 works of suspense, historical fiction and romance, which touched the hearts and minds of thousands of readers whose correspondence she treasured. She wrote for the secular and Christian market, and is best known for the Brides of Montclair series.

Reviews

[MK ( MaKayla) · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a teenager I found the first three books of the Bride's of Montclair Series in a rummage pile given to my mother. I quickly claimed it for my own library * let's be honest she doesn't love books like I do and it would've taken her years to read it 😂😂. That volume became some of my favorite romance books ever . They were swoony * with a capital S * and back then I was a hopeless romantic . I've probably read them a hundred times . 😂😂

So when I found out that there were more books I was BEYOND EXCITED !!

Unfortunately, this book felt so far short of the previous three , the story just fell flat for me . There is still hope because many reviews said that this was there least favourite book in the series , and that they like me found Sarah out heroine to be unlikable and frankly the epitome of a Mary Sue . She was just too beautiful , why does she need to be the hottest girl in the room . In fact it's so dramatic that two guys almost got into a duel over her ( guys who are not even important characters ) . 😆

So despite this ' bad egg' I'm going to hope and pray that the rest are as good as the first trio .

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that I can depend on these books to give me characters who genuinely want to do the right thing in their personal lives, even if they have various flaws.
In this book, Sara Leighton is in love with a man she met while she was off at school, but when he gets engaged to someone else, she "settles" for a different man and gets married too. In many other books this would be the catalyst for adultery or at least a lot of angst, and while she does pine for her lost love to some degree, she also matures and gets on with life and is just fine.
I think the idea that first love isn't always successful, and that that's not necessarily a life-ruining thing, is a valid and realistic point.

The nitpicking: I'm not sure why her husband first fell in love with her, other than for her beauty. It was very much a love at first sight, that's-who-I'm-going-to-marry knee jerk reaction from him, and I'm not a huge fan of moments like that.
Also, I continue to be uncomfortable with the fact that these stories are primarily set in the antebellum South, and that slavery is not mentioned as a remotely problematic thing...and it's not like these books are a "product of their time," because they were written in the 90's. The characters seem to take it for granted that the established order of things is right and proper, and I guess that's realistic, but it's awfully grating for a modern reader.

[Monique Takens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit is een zich in Amerika afspelende christelijk historische roman . Dit is niet helemaal mijn ding waardoor mijn waardering wat lager uitvalt .

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Folly's Bride is different from the preceding Montclair brides because throughout most of the book she is self-centered and self-indulgent, unappreciative of her blessings and grasping for what is not her lot in life. This may annoy some less tolerant readers, but there are some cautionary lessons to be learned from her mistakes.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read and loved the previous book in this series directly before reading this one, and unfortunately this one suffered from the comparison. To be fair, I'm sure the quality of the story and the writing were at the same level as the other book, but I strongly disliked the main character (I don't really even want to call her a "heroine"). I was pretty young when I read this book, and I honestly don't remember much of the story, or why I hated her, but I think it was because she didn't at first appreciate her love interest enough for me, which seems like a pretty harsh thing to judge her for. Perhaps if I re-read the book now I would see her differently (or be more lenient), and would enjoy the book more.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

In comparison to Fortune's Bride, and the ones that follow it, this was my least favorite in the series. Although it provided a different character study than those in the other books, I struggled to like Sara at any point in the book. She was a very real character, but she remained caught in the initial struggle through the last pages. The resolution of the central problem was not expounded upon, and I finished it feeling unsatisfied.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably my least favorite book! Sara simply never becomes a likable character and to make things worse, she ends up sticking around through the next two books! She never really loves her husband but then pours all of her attention into her firstborn son, spoiling him and unfortunately making him into an equally unlikable character.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself liking this book despite the fact that it is complete fluff. Sara was a character I liked despite her faults. I would not call this a romance but instead more of a woman's fiction. The ending was slightly bittersweet but more realistic than most romances.

[Lisa Nelson]

Ended well! listened to it as an audiobook.

[Penny Simms]

Only just started reading this book on my nook. I'm up to Chapter 2 so have a ways to go yet.

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as much character development as i like