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Second Chance Bride
Second chances are rare in Annie MacAllister's life, and the sudden opportunity to pose as a respectable schoolteacher is too good to pass up. Annie plans to stay in the friendly Texas town of Trail's End just long enough to earn money for a new start. But she never dreams that in helping herself, she would help her students—and the one man who could uncover her truth…
As Trail's End's most righteous citizen, John Sullivan thinks that believing in God is only about right and wrong. But he's challenged by the new schoolteacher's unconventional methods—and her unexpected past. Now, he and Annie will need some divine forgiveness to reignite their faith…and find a future together.
As Trail's End's most righteous citizen, John Sullivan thinks that believing in God is only about right and wrong. But he's challenged by the new schoolteacher's unconventional methods—and her unexpected past. Now, he and Annie will need some divine forgiveness to reignite their faith…and find a future together.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 25, 2008
132 people want to read
About the author
Jane Myers Perrine
15 books57 followersA Missouri native, Jane Myers Perrine earned her B.A. from Kansas State University and her M.Ed. in Spanish from the University of Louisville. She was a finalist in the Regency category of the Golden Heart Awards, and her short pieces have appeared in the Houston Chronicle and Woman's World magazine. A high-school Spanish teacher as well as an ordained minister, she currently lives in Texas with her husband, who is the minister of a local Christian church.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 26, 2012
I really like this author until it comes to the end of the books! This is the second book of hers I've read and with both I felt like there should be at least one more chapter or an epilogue. Maybe it's just what I've been used to but it seems like almost every author, especially in this genre, does this. Otherwise this is nice story with nice historical details and romance.
November 11, 2011
Annie MacAllister, an illiterate prostitute, is heading west to Trail’s End with the sole purpose of escaping her former life. She wants to start new, to leave behind the horrors of her past. While on her journey (by stage coach), she suffers quietly from the disdainful glare of one “lady” and the barely-concealed lecherous advances of a “gentleman” who are traveling with her. A third passenger, Matilda Susan Cunningham, displays a gentle warmth and acceptance towards her. Matilda is also traveling to Trail’s End as she has a job waiting for her.
This is Annie’s first encounter with someone who is not judgmental and like a moth to a flame, she gravitates towards the kind young woman. It is through Matilda that Annie starts to believe that she is a good person, that she is worthy of forgiveness for a past that, if she’d had a choice in the matter, wasn’t her fault.
On the second leg of their journey (after the other two passengers get off at a previous stop) Annie learns more about God’s grace and the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. Matilda tells her that she prays and gives thanks for the smallest good thing and Annie, eager to start the change within, learns to do so.
A freak accident causes the stage coach to crash. Matilda is killed instantly and Annie is badly injured. Annie is distraught at the loss of her first true friend and when she is asked her name by the driver, she assumes Matilda’s identity. Annie doesn’t do this without suffering from bouts of regret. She questions the reasons behind Matilda’s death and why she was spared.
When Annie arrives at Trail’s End, she is beyond horrified to learn that Matilda’s job was that of a school teacher. Equally distressing is the fact that John Sullivan, the upright, honourable banker, is head of the school board. He is a moral man with a strict sense of what’s right and wrong. Matilda and John have been corresponding through letters and Annie, who cannot read nor write, is about to get a whole new lesson on what it means to have a second chance in life.
I don’t know about any of you, but I grew up on the Little House of the Prairie books and television show. I didn’t think anything of the religious platform that it was based on, nor was I worried about it. All I knew was that I was hooked on them and even to this day, I’ll watch an episode now and then.
When I first saw the cover to Second Chance Bride and read the blurb on the back, I was instantly intrigued. But when I realized it was an Inspirational romance, I did a chin-scratching hmmm. My first question was how can you write a inspirational romance novel? I mean, I know about Amish romances but they’re Amish. You automatically think religion. And yes, my ignorance is showing but stay with me, folks. It does get better :)
I have to admit, I was expecting the book to shout about the Holy Scriptures but I was pleasantly surprised. The story flowed wonderfully and the characters were very well-written. Annie’s personal growth as a good and strong Christian woman brought a smile to my face many times. The romantic tension between John and Annie kept me in suspense. There were added passages from the Bible that I remembered (yes, folks, a heathen such as I went to church at one time) and they fit in perfectly with the internal torment that both John and Annie go through.
Ms. Myers-Perrine writes with a smart and with a tasteful hand. In all honesty, I really appreciate having my assumptions about Inspirational romances thrown right out the window. It gives me another sub-genre to read and I like that.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Second Chance Bride, and would recommend it.
This is Annie’s first encounter with someone who is not judgmental and like a moth to a flame, she gravitates towards the kind young woman. It is through Matilda that Annie starts to believe that she is a good person, that she is worthy of forgiveness for a past that, if she’d had a choice in the matter, wasn’t her fault.
On the second leg of their journey (after the other two passengers get off at a previous stop) Annie learns more about God’s grace and the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. Matilda tells her that she prays and gives thanks for the smallest good thing and Annie, eager to start the change within, learns to do so.
A freak accident causes the stage coach to crash. Matilda is killed instantly and Annie is badly injured. Annie is distraught at the loss of her first true friend and when she is asked her name by the driver, she assumes Matilda’s identity. Annie doesn’t do this without suffering from bouts of regret. She questions the reasons behind Matilda’s death and why she was spared.
When Annie arrives at Trail’s End, she is beyond horrified to learn that Matilda’s job was that of a school teacher. Equally distressing is the fact that John Sullivan, the upright, honourable banker, is head of the school board. He is a moral man with a strict sense of what’s right and wrong. Matilda and John have been corresponding through letters and Annie, who cannot read nor write, is about to get a whole new lesson on what it means to have a second chance in life.
I don’t know about any of you, but I grew up on the Little House of the Prairie books and television show. I didn’t think anything of the religious platform that it was based on, nor was I worried about it. All I knew was that I was hooked on them and even to this day, I’ll watch an episode now and then.
When I first saw the cover to Second Chance Bride and read the blurb on the back, I was instantly intrigued. But when I realized it was an Inspirational romance, I did a chin-scratching hmmm. My first question was how can you write a inspirational romance novel? I mean, I know about Amish romances but they’re Amish. You automatically think religion. And yes, my ignorance is showing but stay with me, folks. It does get better :)
I have to admit, I was expecting the book to shout about the Holy Scriptures but I was pleasantly surprised. The story flowed wonderfully and the characters were very well-written. Annie’s personal growth as a good and strong Christian woman brought a smile to my face many times. The romantic tension between John and Annie kept me in suspense. There were added passages from the Bible that I remembered (yes, folks, a heathen such as I went to church at one time) and they fit in perfectly with the internal torment that both John and Annie go through.
Ms. Myers-Perrine writes with a smart and with a tasteful hand. In all honesty, I really appreciate having my assumptions about Inspirational romances thrown right out the window. It gives me another sub-genre to read and I like that.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Second Chance Bride, and would recommend it.
July 1, 2012
Annie MacAllister is an unusual heroine for a Love Inspired romance – a former prostitute (with a heart of gold to quote the old cliche). Annie had a horrible childhood after her mother died and, orphaned at age 14, uneducated and illiterate, her only option for survival was to go to work in the local brothel. Having saved her money, she's now on a stagecoach for the town of Trail's End, hoping to put her old life behind her and make a fresh start. Then a horrible accident occurs, and a young woman named Matilda Cunningham, also traveling to Trail's End, is killed. While the driver goes for help, a distraught Annie mourns for the lovely young woman and wonders why she should be allowed to live instead. And then in a flash of inspiration (for lack of a better word), she goes through the other girl's belongings and puts on her clothes and shoes, and becomes Matilda.
Annie doesn't know much about Matilda, except that the other girl had a job waiting for her in Trail's End and someone would be meeting her when the stagecoach arrived. So she was somewhat dismayed to discover that Matilda was a schoolteacher.
John Sullivan, a member of the school board and president of the bank, meets Annie/Matilda and drives her to the schoolhouse. He's a little concerned that maybe she received a head injury in the stagecoach accident as she seems a little disoriented, asking him questions about her job, the answers to which he'd already detailed to her in letters and the contract she signed when she accepted the position.
John is a likable hero, though a little high hatted. He's a widower who is a wonderful father to his young daughter. He's a pillar of the community, but doesn't really give God much consideration in his everyday life. He seems more about what's proper and accepted than about spiritually right and wrong. He arrogantly tells Annie/Matilda that she is to basically, to paraphrase, live in the schoolhouse, attend church every Sunday, attend meetings when the Board of Education requires it of her, and not have a social life of her own. Okay, maybe that's not quite what he said, but that's how it came across to me. Naturally, he is attracted to the new schoolteacher, but he tamps down that attraction as it is improper. Not to mention she seems terrified if he gets too close to her.
While the story is told from both Annie's and John's POVs, the majority of it is Annie's story, and it's an engrossing story. Annie wonders how she will teach her students when she herself can neither read nor write, and I was pretty curious myself. She prays that she can have just a few days, maybe a week, to enjoy sleeping in a warm bed and having enough food for the first time since she can remember. While Annie seems quiet and shy, she is a strong character, with good morals despite her previous career. She is determined to never go back to that kind of life, and to stretch this schoolteacher gig out as long as she can. Annie overcomes so much during the course of the book that you can't help but admire her.
Eventually of course the truth must be told, and I was gratified that Annie's friend Amanda and the sheriff both wrap her in their love and friendship, with no judgment of her past. John's reaction on the other hand made me want to smack him. But I guess there has to be some conflict before they can have their HEA.
All in all, a very enjoyable story.
Annie doesn't know much about Matilda, except that the other girl had a job waiting for her in Trail's End and someone would be meeting her when the stagecoach arrived. So she was somewhat dismayed to discover that Matilda was a schoolteacher.
John Sullivan, a member of the school board and president of the bank, meets Annie/Matilda and drives her to the schoolhouse. He's a little concerned that maybe she received a head injury in the stagecoach accident as she seems a little disoriented, asking him questions about her job, the answers to which he'd already detailed to her in letters and the contract she signed when she accepted the position.
John is a likable hero, though a little high hatted. He's a widower who is a wonderful father to his young daughter. He's a pillar of the community, but doesn't really give God much consideration in his everyday life. He seems more about what's proper and accepted than about spiritually right and wrong. He arrogantly tells Annie/Matilda that she is to basically, to paraphrase, live in the schoolhouse, attend church every Sunday, attend meetings when the Board of Education requires it of her, and not have a social life of her own. Okay, maybe that's not quite what he said, but that's how it came across to me. Naturally, he is attracted to the new schoolteacher, but he tamps down that attraction as it is improper. Not to mention she seems terrified if he gets too close to her.
While the story is told from both Annie's and John's POVs, the majority of it is Annie's story, and it's an engrossing story. Annie wonders how she will teach her students when she herself can neither read nor write, and I was pretty curious myself. She prays that she can have just a few days, maybe a week, to enjoy sleeping in a warm bed and having enough food for the first time since she can remember. While Annie seems quiet and shy, she is a strong character, with good morals despite her previous career. She is determined to never go back to that kind of life, and to stretch this schoolteacher gig out as long as she can. Annie overcomes so much during the course of the book that you can't help but admire her.
Eventually of course the truth must be told, and I was gratified that Annie's friend Amanda and the sheriff both wrap her in their love and friendship, with no judgment of her past. John's reaction on the other hand made me want to smack him. But I guess there has to be some conflict before they can have their HEA.
All in all, a very enjoyable story.
May 21, 2011
Second Chance Bride written by Jane Myers Perrine is the first Love Inspired Historical that I have read. The Love Inspired books have always caught my eye and I’ve had this book for awhile on my to read list. I’m so glad I finally read it! This Love Inspired Historical takes place in the 1880’s. The story is about Annie MacAllister who is going to Trails End to leave her old life behind. We learn that Annie had a very hard life. Her father beat her when she did not make enough money, she slept outside a lot, and after her mother dies she is forced to get a job in a brothel as a prostitute. After her father dies and the house is sold to pay for debts, and she decides it is time for her to start over. With little money to her name, she takes the stage to Trail’s End. Along the journey, she meets Matilda Susan Cunningham. Matilda is very nice to Annie. Annie learns she is on her way to meet her new employer and that she has no living relatives. On the way there, the stage loses a wheel and they have a serious accident. Matilda is killed and Annie is bruised up. Annie decides to tell the stage coach driver that the dead person is her and she assumes Matilda’s identity. When she finally gets to Trail’s End she meets Matilda’s employer, John Matthew Sullivan who is the school board chairman. Annie learns Matilda was going to be the new school teacher. She wonders how she will do the job since she is can't read or write. Annie has never had a warm place to sleep and plenty of food and she does here, so she decides she will learn to read and write and will teach the children as she learns. She ends up doing a good job and just when she thinks she is in the free, one of Matilda’s friend’s writes her a letter, an old brothel customer spots her, she finds the Lord in her life and does not want to sin anymore, and then John falls in love with her. How will she pull it all off and still get to be Matilda Susan Cunningham? Will she find true love like she has never experienced? Will she finally get a second chance? You will have to read to find out.
I thought the story sounded kind of crazy and that Annie would never get away with assuming someone else’s identity. The story really got me interested from Chapter one, and I found myself wanting everything to work out for Annie. I felt like she deserved it! This is such a feel good story that includes love and overcoming the worst of things. I love the fact that the book looked at overcoming things, like sin, by asking for forgiveness from a loving God and recieving it because Jesus Christ died so our sins could be forgiven. Annie and John both learn a lot about forgiveness in the book. I really like the book and the love story and recommend it to people who love romances, historical fiction, and inspirational fiction. If you don’t like a lot of inspiration in the books you read, this book is probably not for you. for some reason, I have stayed away from Love Inspired books because I thought they were like Harlequin romance novels, which I don't really care for at all, but this story was so great, I will have to give them another chance!
I thought the story sounded kind of crazy and that Annie would never get away with assuming someone else’s identity. The story really got me interested from Chapter one, and I found myself wanting everything to work out for Annie. I felt like she deserved it! This is such a feel good story that includes love and overcoming the worst of things. I love the fact that the book looked at overcoming things, like sin, by asking for forgiveness from a loving God and recieving it because Jesus Christ died so our sins could be forgiven. Annie and John both learn a lot about forgiveness in the book. I really like the book and the love story and recommend it to people who love romances, historical fiction, and inspirational fiction. If you don’t like a lot of inspiration in the books you read, this book is probably not for you. for some reason, I have stayed away from Love Inspired books because I thought they were like Harlequin romance novels, which I don't really care for at all, but this story was so great, I will have to give them another chance!
August 25, 2019
Annie McAllister a young who had been basically abandoned by her drunken father (except when he needed money for more drink). With no one else to care for, at age seven she started working for others cleaning or doing whatever else she could do earn money. On the death of her father and the loss of there home hat fourteen she was forced in prostituion to have a place to live and food. Finally She had saved $3.50 and bught a ticket to the farthest place she could go, Trail's End. This story is one the best LI Historicals I have read and will stay in my collection. This book also highlights that sometimes you have to go thru very difficult circumstances to get to the good stuff and realize the power of God. HIghly reccomend. A keeper.
September 9, 2012
An enjoyable romance from the Love Inspired Historical line. Not my favourite from this line, but I really liked the concept of the story. The overall plot, Annie's characterisation and the sub-plot about Amanda were great, but I wish the hero had had more character development. I just never really connected with him, and the sections in his POV were much less than Annie's. The ending was a little bit preachy, and John's sudden desire to pray was a bit out of character considering his past, so considering that, I'd give this book 3.5*.
February 17, 2010
A different kind of heroine who is brave and smart and resourceful. I rooted for her from the very first page. She shows some good growth in the book. The hero was okay, not to die for, but pretty likable overall.
June 3, 2024
Really sweet. My only dislike was the quick ending.
February 9, 2009
I confess that inspirational romances aren't really my thing--not that there's anything wrong with them--but Perrine's premise of an illiterate prostitute who assumes a dead woman's identity and passes herself off as a prim schoolteacher caught my eye. It's a heartwarming love story, and I enjoyed the 1880s small-town Texas setting.
September 28, 2015
A tale of a young woman running away from her life when a stagecoach accident gives her a chance to trade identities with another passenger who is going out to be a teacher. Annie becomes that teacher by using her wit and intends to stay long enough to earn enough money to move on. She tries not to fall in love with the rancher pays her to teach. Then disaster rides in!
October 23, 2010
A prostitute gets a second chance to pose as a teacher in a small town. She learns how to teach and everyone believes she is this teacher woman. She learns more about God and about a particular guy in town. When a stranger comes to town, he threatens to tear them all apart.
January 2, 2010
This was a great story. Spiritual, and uplifting. Very good.
January 20, 2011
Good book
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews