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Mail-Order Bride
This irresistible classic novel from Debbie Macomber puts a modern spin on an old-fashioned way of finding “the one.”
After Caroline Myers gets her heart broken, her beloved great-aunts send her on a spur-of-the-moment northern adventure, equipped with little more than a batch of their special spiked tea. But soon after hopping a plane to Gold River, Alaska, a still loopy Caroline takes part in an odd ceremony that ends with a kiss from her personal tour guide. The next thing she knows, she wakes up with a ring on her finger.
Paul Trevor has always wanted a family, but his long work hours and remote location make dating impossible, so he takes an unconventional first sending away for a wife. He falls hard for Caroline’s photograph and letter, but after the wedding, it’s clear they’ve both been duped by his new bride’s well-meaning aunts. Caroline’s afraid this trip has been a mistake. Now Paul just needs to convince her it’s the best mistake she’ll ever make.
Published by Debbie Macomber Books
After Caroline Myers gets her heart broken, her beloved great-aunts send her on a spur-of-the-moment northern adventure, equipped with little more than a batch of their special spiked tea. But soon after hopping a plane to Gold River, Alaska, a still loopy Caroline takes part in an odd ceremony that ends with a kiss from her personal tour guide. The next thing she knows, she wakes up with a ring on her finger.
Paul Trevor has always wanted a family, but his long work hours and remote location make dating impossible, so he takes an unconventional first sending away for a wife. He falls hard for Caroline’s photograph and letter, but after the wedding, it’s clear they’ve both been duped by his new bride’s well-meaning aunts. Caroline’s afraid this trip has been a mistake. Now Paul just needs to convince her it’s the best mistake she’ll ever make.
Published by Debbie Macomber Books
Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1987
447 people are currently reading
799 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Macomber
894 books20.6k followersDebbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.
In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.
Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.
She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.
In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.
Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.
She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
December 11, 2018
I will never read a worse book by Debbie Macomber. I still don't know why this book was greenlit. Such a shocking waste of time. This book was like the fantasy of thousands of wives whose husbands abuse them.
So, our resident heroine Caroline Myers, is sent by her two great aunts to Alaska on a holiday to help her forget her broken heart. Caroline calls her great aunts, aunts. That should have set off the alarm bells. These aunts have spiked her tea so that she is tipsy when she marries a yahoo from the arctic circle.
Her husband Paul is such a moron and an abrasive person. The fact that it all ends happily after is mind boggling. How did this get a 3.86 score on Goodreads? It's a book with the mindset of a third world arranged marriage. Nothing redeemed the book for me. Don't read this romance from hell.
So, our resident heroine Caroline Myers, is sent by her two great aunts to Alaska on a holiday to help her forget her broken heart. Caroline calls her great aunts, aunts. That should have set off the alarm bells. These aunts have spiked her tea so that she is tipsy when she marries a yahoo from the arctic circle.
Her husband Paul is such a moron and an abrasive person. The fact that it all ends happily after is mind boggling. How did this get a 3.86 score on Goodreads? It's a book with the mindset of a third world arranged marriage. Nothing redeemed the book for me. Don't read this romance from hell.
March 28, 2018
I enjoy Debbie Macomber's books. I read all of the Cedar Cove series as well as her latest, The Girls' Guide to Moving On, which I rated highly. However, Mail Order Bride is awful. I kept thinking it was a very early effort, from when she was a less-skillful author. Maybe she dug out the manuscript, dusted it off, and published it anew without realizing how bad it sounds. Time have changed.
The main character is a histrionic woman with not much brainpower, and the male lead is creepy. But this is the worst: I kept imagining a woman being kidnapped as a "bride" for a crazy man, and having to submit to his rules of captivity. Not the least bit romantic! And those elderly aunts who cooked up the scheme were deranged as well. I am sorry but this book was awful.
The main character is a histrionic woman with not much brainpower, and the male lead is creepy. But this is the worst: I kept imagining a woman being kidnapped as a "bride" for a crazy man, and having to submit to his rules of captivity. Not the least bit romantic! And those elderly aunts who cooked up the scheme were deranged as well. I am sorry but this book was awful.
January 15, 2020
Recommended for fans of Stockholm Syndrome, what the fuuuuuuuck was this?
My first - and likely last - Macomber, who came highly recommended by my grandmother. Never trust my grandmother.
My first - and likely last - Macomber, who came highly recommended by my grandmother. Never trust my grandmother.
July 16, 2023
Ok so if you changed the genre to horror, changed the cover, it might be a three star read. Set up is ridiculous in the extreme but the rest is a pretty effective horror.
January 14, 2022
This has to be one of the worst books I've ever read... If I wasn't one of those people that can't leave a book unfinished, I would have used this as fire starter
February 10, 2013
A quick fun read. Fairly unrealistic but not too out there to impair my enjoyment. Their feelings developed very fast, especially on the part of the hero who was in love within 2 or 3 days. I liked the stuff about the native people of Alaska. It was a little glimpse into what their lives were like. This book would really have been much better with about 100 more pages.
December 21, 2022
Giving this one star because giving it zero stars is not an option. Why was this book ever published? It is horrible and creepy. Not to mention just plain weird. The tea, the weird wedding ceremony, the forced wedding and that he wouldn’t let her leave, ALL of it is horrible. Definitely do not recommend this one. 😬
November 22, 2020
I read this one because it was in a double feature Christmas book. I usually enjoy Debbie Macomber’s Christmas stories, this one fell short for me.
I’ve never met a more irritable male lead character then Paul. 😳 talk about controlling! Forcing her to come with you to work every day so you can keep an eye on her? Literally not allowing her to leave? So frustrating that Caroline just allowed this behavior and went along with it!
She was kind of the worst too. So helpless. She was getting mad at him every 10 seconds and then when she wasn’t angry with him she was swooning over him! I don’t understand what she saw in Paul and how she fell for him. He literally was holding her as a hostage and she even joked at the situation by calling him “master” 🙄. He was not as great of a man as she made it seem. The story was written in 1987 so definitely outdated for today’s modern world, but still! The way the man had such a say over every little thing Caroline did did not fly well with me. I did not find this story romantic in any way, I couldn’t take their “relationship” serious.
With all that being said, I didn’t hate the book. It had an interesting enough storyline to want to finish it. It had a cozy atmosphere in a small town in Alaska. The aunts made me laugh with their scheming. This book was just not my cup of tea. I still like Debbie as an author, her books have definitely gotten better over the years!! This one in particular was just not that cozy Christmas read I was looking for. ⭐️ ⭐️
I’ve never met a more irritable male lead character then Paul. 😳 talk about controlling! Forcing her to come with you to work every day so you can keep an eye on her? Literally not allowing her to leave? So frustrating that Caroline just allowed this behavior and went along with it!
She was kind of the worst too. So helpless. She was getting mad at him every 10 seconds and then when she wasn’t angry with him she was swooning over him! I don’t understand what she saw in Paul and how she fell for him. He literally was holding her as a hostage and she even joked at the situation by calling him “master” 🙄. He was not as great of a man as she made it seem. The story was written in 1987 so definitely outdated for today’s modern world, but still! The way the man had such a say over every little thing Caroline did did not fly well with me. I did not find this story romantic in any way, I couldn’t take their “relationship” serious.
With all that being said, I didn’t hate the book. It had an interesting enough storyline to want to finish it. It had a cozy atmosphere in a small town in Alaska. The aunts made me laugh with their scheming. This book was just not my cup of tea. I still like Debbie as an author, her books have definitely gotten better over the years!! This one in particular was just not that cozy Christmas read I was looking for. ⭐️ ⭐️
January 13, 2020
DNF 50%. This was awful. Was it written in 1960-1980 Harlequin times? He man in Alaska marries woman while she’s drunk and keeps her prisoner in his cabin. No, it’s not some kinky master servant thing. She jump ropes with the 6th grade girls, plays soccer with the boys, and the town grump adores her. She’s a nurse and delivers a breach baby in a backwoods cabin. Apparently, in this little Alaska town, the best thing you can give your husband is a son. Suzy Sunshine cooks his dinner every night and knits him a sweater to get him to love her.
Then I barfed. And almost died. So, as an act of self preservation, I quit reading this atrocity. Even the narrator, Kate Rudd, did the voices terribly. I feel like I need an explanation for this book! Why? How is Debbie Macomber popular? Is this just a one off?
Then I barfed. And almost died. So, as an act of self preservation, I quit reading this atrocity. Even the narrator, Kate Rudd, did the voices terribly. I feel like I need an explanation for this book! Why? How is Debbie Macomber popular? Is this just a one off?
September 18, 2021
I’ve never been so glad to finish a book. This popped up as a ‘related to’ mini book for another historical romance and it’s a library app so I thought hey, why not. I’ll review it if nothing else. It’s awful. Usually mail order bride stories can be sweet and funny and the premise of two drunken aunts tricking her was funny. I expected her to arrive, for the miscommunication to be noticed immediately, for them to slowly fall for one another and for the epilogue to be a wedding but my god no she arrives absolutely blottoed and he knows this and marries her anyway! The bits with the aunts was cringey and yeah I wouldn’t recommend this over her other books by a mile
July 29, 2019
It starts off really good, good premise, she's an unsuspecting mail order bride. She thinks she's going on holiday.
But I disliked the hero, he is unyielding and even at the end he should have grovelled more.
But I disliked the hero, he is unyielding and even at the end he should have grovelled more.
February 1, 2019
The premise of this book was silly enough to be fun. Caroline's boyfriend left her at the alter and her 2 elderly maiden aunts want her to be happy again, so they decide to respond to an ad for an Alaskan man who is looking for a wife. Caroline sets off for the remote Alaskan village thinking that her aunts have sent her off on a one week vacation. They send her off with sandwiches for the trip and a thermos full of their father's special tea. She is so drunk from the "special tea" that she doesn't realize that the welcome reception the villagers gave her on arrival was actually her wedding to Paul.
Once she realizes that she is married, she tells Paul that she wants to leave. He says no. Of course she soon finds herself responding to his kindness and she falls in love with him. He is being the perfect gentleman and doesn't want to force himself on her, so she is desperately trying to seduce him. Things are suddenly going well when Paul announces that he is going to Fairbanks alone on business. She is hurt that he still doesn't trust her. After all, she did try to escape once.
While Paul is in Fairbanks, many of the villagers fall ill to fever and there are four deaths. Caroline has had enough of Alaska, enough of Paul, and she goes home to Seattle. She says that if Paul loves her, he will come after her. He does, they reconcile, and the story ends abruptly with no epilogue to show them happy back in their Alaskan village.
I found myself enjoying this unlikely story until the very unsatisfying ending. After following the couple through their ups and downs, it is usually nice to see them happy for at least a few pages in the end.
Once she realizes that she is married, she tells Paul that she wants to leave. He says no. Of course she soon finds herself responding to his kindness and she falls in love with him. He is being the perfect gentleman and doesn't want to force himself on her, so she is desperately trying to seduce him. Things are suddenly going well when Paul announces that he is going to Fairbanks alone on business. She is hurt that he still doesn't trust her. After all, she did try to escape once.
While Paul is in Fairbanks, many of the villagers fall ill to fever and there are four deaths. Caroline has had enough of Alaska, enough of Paul, and she goes home to Seattle. She says that if Paul loves her, he will come after her. He does, they reconcile, and the story ends abruptly with no epilogue to show them happy back in their Alaskan village.
I found myself enjoying this unlikely story until the very unsatisfying ending. After following the couple through their ups and downs, it is usually nice to see them happy for at least a few pages in the end.
December 11, 2018
Super cute story! Not likely to actually happen but a quick, fun read. Would make a great Hallmark Christmas movie. 😉
July 21, 2019
This book felt like it was from when arranged marriages were acceptable. In my mind, this had an older setting.
December 18, 2021
This just didn’t work. The characters were cute and it had potential, but the novella style was way too rushed and I didn’t buy the relationship at all. The mail order bride concept also didn’t really fit in the modern setting and came off as more creepy than romantic. There are cuter holiday books you can read than this one - it’s a skip from me.
December 3, 2024
I don’t usually rate books that I DNF, but I’m breaking that rule for this atrocity. This book is terrible, plain and simple. Everything about it is bad. I don’t expect much from Debbie Macomber. She’s not an amazing wordsmith by any means, but I sometimes like to read her Christmas books around this time of year for something light and festive. This was so poorly written, the characters were insufferable, and the premise was infuriating. I’m actually conflicted about donating this one to the thrift store, I’d hate to subject anyone else to this
October 4, 2020
I don’t often say this but it’s so bad. It’s corny and the story is awful. Her aunts trick her into going to Alaska to be a mail order bride. She gets drunk on the plane and gets married without understanding what happened. Then when she realizes what happened she runs away and gets into a dangerous situation with drunk men and acts like a fool. This begins her career a hysterical idiot and his career as an emotionally abusive ass.
So her husband finds her and basically traps her so she can’t leave. She wants to leave but can’t. And it’s sold as romance?
Then over time she decides she loves him. But discovers (she thinks) that he’s had sex with some other single women in town. So she freaks that he’s a horrible person and acts like a raging lunatic.
She spends weeks doing vague things to show him she likes him then freaks when he can’t read her mind.
I couldn’t handle the weird innocent/judgmental nativity. And throw the weird celibate kidnapping theme in and it’s a recipe for disaster.
So her husband finds her and basically traps her so she can’t leave. She wants to leave but can’t. And it’s sold as romance?
Then over time she decides she loves him. But discovers (she thinks) that he’s had sex with some other single women in town. So she freaks that he’s a horrible person and acts like a raging lunatic.
She spends weeks doing vague things to show him she likes him then freaks when he can’t read her mind.
I couldn’t handle the weird innocent/judgmental nativity. And throw the weird celibate kidnapping theme in and it’s a recipe for disaster.
January 29, 2009
Ya' gotta love Debbie Macomber! This book was written in 1987, but re-issued recently as part of Small Town Christmas, a double book which includes this story and one other.
Caroline's two elderly aunts like to indulge in their father's special "tea". One day as they were a bit tipsy from the "tea", they got to worrying about Caroline, and cooked up a scheme "to make her happy". Their idea of happiness may differ from hers, but no matter. So they tricked her into taking an autumn vacation to Alaska, and they sent her off with a big thermos of "tea" to sustain her during the flights. By the time she arrived, she was also a bit tipsy. And was she surprised when she figured out just what kind of vacation her aunts had planned for her!
Caroline's two elderly aunts like to indulge in their father's special "tea". One day as they were a bit tipsy from the "tea", they got to worrying about Caroline, and cooked up a scheme "to make her happy". Their idea of happiness may differ from hers, but no matter. So they tricked her into taking an autumn vacation to Alaska, and they sent her off with a big thermos of "tea" to sustain her during the flights. By the time she arrived, she was also a bit tipsy. And was she surprised when she figured out just what kind of vacation her aunts had planned for her!
February 9, 2017
Author: Debbie Macomber
First published: 1987
Length: 2339 kindle locations
Setting: Contemporary. Alaska
Hero: Does something in Alaska
Heroine: Nurse
Some interesting plot twists but overall it’s Stockholm Syndrome. She’s married while drugged. Kept isolated in a small town. Harassed. Further isolated. And he leaves her there to face a horrific situation alone because he can’t/won’t trust her. Weird huh?
1.5 stars rounded down.
(SBN 9781941824108)
-CR-
First published: 1987
Length: 2339 kindle locations
Setting: Contemporary. Alaska
Hero: Does something in Alaska
Heroine: Nurse
Some interesting plot twists but overall it’s Stockholm Syndrome. She’s married while drugged. Kept isolated in a small town. Harassed. Further isolated. And he leaves her there to face a horrific situation alone because he can’t/won’t trust her. Weird huh?
1.5 stars rounded down.
(SBN 9781941824108)
-CR-
August 3, 2014
Caroline Myers is depressed after being left at the alter by her fiance. So her matchmaking aunts decide to secretly answer an ad for a mail-order bride on her behalf. A few short weeks later, her aunts decide to send her on a "vacation" to Alaska, where she will meet her "guide", Paul Trevor. Not knowing what she is getting into and drinking a thermos of her aunt's home-brewed "tea", Caroline soon finds herself very drunk and very married to Paul.
Cute story, if unbelievable premise. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
Cute story, if unbelievable premise. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
February 12, 2018
An easy quick read Debbie Macomber novel about a Mail-Order Bride who went to Gold River, Alaska. She had been jilted by her fiancé and then tricked into going there ... then the "fun" begins. Will she find true lover there or not?
July 12, 2016
Great light easy read!
December 14, 2017
I consider Debbie Macomber a favorite author—I love her Blossom Street series and a few other books of hers that I’ve read. I have also found that I don’t care for some of her books. (I’ve read the first few Cedar Cove books and didn’t care for them and, except for Mrs. Miracle, I don’t care at all for her angel books.) I was looking for a quick Christmas romance and happened on this book, so jumped in. I made it 3-1/2 chapters and just couldn’t keep going. The premise of the story is SO extraordinarily unbelievable and ridiculous that only a romance novel addict would be willing to buy into it and I personally revile female ‘leads’ that are too helpless or gutless to stand up for themselves or put a stop to events happening to them that don’t seem right. My copy was actually part of a ‘Christmas Double’ released in 2008 containing 2 older Christmas novels. Ms. Macomber stated that it was a 20-year-old story first published by Silhouette Books. It should be encouraging to any aspiring romance writer to know that a very popular writer wrote and got published a VERY less than stellar novel in the beginning of her career. I was also deeply shocked that the maiden aunts Mabel and Ethel were a direct steal of the 2 maiden sisters in The Waltons. I gave this 1 star and have moved on to another author for a Christmas read.
June 14, 2024
A modern mail-order bride book set in Alaska is just the kind of story I like so I looked forward to reading it. I laughed when Caroline's two elderly aunts answered an ad to be a mail-order bride, for her. When she was chosen to marry Paul, her aunts told her they were sending her on a vacation to Alaska, saying nothing about getting married. She thought it was an odd place to vacation, but her aunts were so excited, she didn't have the heart to tell them she didn't want to go. She was not fond of flying so, to help her relax, she sipped her aunts' "special" tea on the flight, making her quite tipsy by the time she got to Alaska. So much so that she did not realize she'd gotten married!
I liked the Alaskan setting and the people who lived there. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Caroline was a strong woman, but she got on my nerves at times. How could Paul be so patient with her? Turned out that Caroline and Paul were happy together and were glad they found each other.
I liked the Alaskan setting and the people who lived there. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Caroline was a strong woman, but she got on my nerves at times. How could Paul be so patient with her? Turned out that Caroline and Paul were happy together and were glad they found each other.
March 14, 2020
I am a fan of the Cedar Cove series, so when I came across this novel and found the description interesting, I decided to read it. Caroline's great aunts were quite sweet and funny, but their well-meaning plot was disastrous. I could bypass the idea that Caroline didn't know what the vacation was truly about until she got to the wedding ceremony. But, if you can close your eyes to how completely drunk or pea-brained she would have had to have been not to understand the nuptials she entered into, you could buy the rest of the story. Their fights were a bit juvenile, and I found it challenging to like Paul. It read quickly, though, and the Alaskan setting was new. I liked how Caroline connected with their community. I also found a scene where Caroline was forced to entertain some male locals a bit funny. All in all, not the worst book I've read, but indeed not this author's best work.
January 9, 2024
I'm not sure where to begin with this one. It was Christmas time, and I selected the book due to the imagery on the cover and the title "Christmas in Alaska" I was very wrong. I discovered that these were 2 different novels in one book...neither book called "Christmas in Alaska." The first novel was called Mail-order bride. I likely would never have chosen a book with that title. It was grim. A woman being tricked into marrying a random guy in middle of nowhere Alaska...while drunk. Then, being held against her will for a spell. It was horrendous. I usually enjoy Debbie Macomber books for light and uplifting material. This was the opposite. Very strange. I hope the second novel in this book isn't as bizarre.
December 15, 2021
I’m having a really tough time with this one. I’m only a few chapters in, but basically, her well-meaning aunts sell her into sex trafficking, and then she’s way too drunk to legally be held to anything she signed, but everyone is acting as if that’s not a thing. But, it’s supposed to be ok because 1) it’s a small town thing; 2) it’s Christmas; and 3) he’s kind of hot?
Everything about the premise is absolutely horrifying, and if this actually happened and someone wanted to pursue legal action, there’s several federal crimes that are being sold as romance. I’ve read Macomber’s other work, but haven’t ever been so horrified so early in that I felt I needed to warn people away.
Everything about the premise is absolutely horrifying, and if this actually happened and someone wanted to pursue legal action, there’s several federal crimes that are being sold as romance. I’ve read Macomber’s other work, but haven’t ever been so horrified so early in that I felt I needed to warn people away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2024
Normally, I LOVE Debbie Macomber books, all the way back to Navy Wife that I read in high school around 1988. However, this title cannot be included in that. I read it as part of a combo book, “Christmas in Alaska” and it was so cringy!! If I were a 15 year old girl in 1986, dreaming of a rugged Alaskan man and the “romance” of being a mail order bride against my wishes, I might have enjoyed it. As a grown woman in 2024, I kept waiting for the female lead (Caroline) to come to her senses!
It does show how much the romance genre has evolved in the last 35 plus years, so that’s a bonus…I think?
It does show how much the romance genre has evolved in the last 35 plus years, so that’s a bonus…I think?
July 12, 2018
1.5 stars
DNF @ Pg. 46.
Honestly, I don't even know why I picked this up but to sum it up...Paul is the type of guy I hate reading about. Nope. Nuh uh. The way Caroline is being treated is unacceptable and yes I know that this is old and outdated but this concept could have been done in an okay, entertaining way. I cannot see myself continuing this and enjoying this. It might get better but I'm not okay with how Paul's forcing Caroline to stay married to him. How did I not see this from the blurb I'll never know. Don't read it people.
DNF @ Pg. 46.
Honestly, I don't even know why I picked this up but to sum it up...Paul is the type of guy I hate reading about. Nope. Nuh uh. The way Caroline is being treated is unacceptable and yes I know that this is old and outdated but this concept could have been done in an okay, entertaining way. I cannot see myself continuing this and enjoying this. It might get better but I'm not okay with how Paul's forcing Caroline to stay married to him. How did I not see this from the blurb I'll never know. Don't read it people.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews