A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund

Happy Sunday!  I want to share with you some books that will be out in early July.  Promises of Tomorrow by Shelley Shepard Gray releases July 6.  A Springtime Heart by Marta Perry publishes July 7 along with The Amish Schoolteacher by Jerry Eicher and Steadfast Mercy by Ruth Reid.  A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber publishes on July 14 and so does What You Wish For by Katherine Center.  Are any of these upcoming releases on your wish list?

Victoria, Vancouver Island

A Bride of Convenience by Jody Hedlund has Zoe Hart arriving in Victoria, Vancouver Island on a bride ship in January of 1863.  Zoe was a mill worker in London along with many of the women on the ship.  She is determined to find her brother, Zeke who left home a year ago bound for the gold fields of British Columbia.  Zoe is visiting her dying friend in the hospital when she meets Pastor Abe Merivale.  Herman Cox walks in with his infant daughter.  He is no longer able to care for Violet and wants Pastor Abe to find her home.  Zoe is instantly taken with Violet, a mixed breed child, that she wishes to keep.   The only way to do that is to take a husband right away.  Dexter Dawson, an unscrupulous man, offers to marry Zoe, but Pastor Abe cannot let that happen.  After receiving surprising news, Abe marries Zoe upsetting Abe’s superior.  Both have regrets after the ceremony, but they are determined to make this marriage of convenience work out.  There will be difficulties ahead for this newly wedded couple.  Can this convenient marriage become something more?

Victoria Harbor

A Bride of Convenience is the 3^rd novel in The Bride Ships series.  It can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading this engaging series in order.  I thought A Bride of Convenience was well-written with developed characters.  Jody Hedlund captured the time-period and I enjoyed her descriptions of Vancouver Island.  I was especially taken with the cave with the hot spring.  In A Bride of Convenience, it is women who worked in the cotton mills who are on the bride ship.  They have been unemployed, and food was lacking at home.  Zoe Hart’s family fell apart when her mother passed.  Her father took to the bottle while her sister, Meg became addicted to laudanum.  Two things haunt Zoe.  The loss of her sister’s baby and the reason her brother, Zeke fled England.  Zoe came on the bride ship to find Zeke and set things right for him.  Pastor Abe Merivale is three years into a five-year assignment in British Columbia.  After his time there, he wishes to return to England to marry his sweetheart and get his own parish.  Abe has plans to become a bishop.  First, though, he must do well on this assignment and get the local bishop’s recommendation.    Zoe is a spunky woman who is kind, caring, and compassionate.  She has a natural affinity with children.  Abe has the same qualities.  He wants to do more than just address his parishioners’ spiritual needs.  Abe has a hands-on approach.  He wishes to make sure they have a good home life, food, and shelter.  Abe even finds ways to keep the kids occupied during the long winter months.  The Christian element is developed and integrated into the book.  I liked how all the various parts of the book worked together for one complete story. It was interesting learning about headache remedies utilized.  I could feel for Zoe and the pain she suffered.  I could tell the author did her research for this series, and I enjoyed reading the Author’s Note at the end of the book.  A Bride of Convenience has drama, suspense, family, friendship, and romance.  A Bride of Convenience is a captivating tale with a neglected newborn, a bullying bishop, an immoral man, an absent brother, and a wanton woman.

Cotton Mill in England

A Bride of Convenience comes out June 30 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon*.  The other two novels in The Bride Ships series are A Reluctant Bride and The Runaway Bride.  The next tale in the captivating The Bride Ships series is Almost a Bride which will be out on August 25.  It will feature Zoe's brother, Zeke Hart and Kate Millington who traveled on the ship with Zoe.  Thank you for reading my review.  I will be reviewing His Pretend Amish Bride by Rachel J. Good tomorrow.  It is the part of the Unexpected Amish Blessings series.  I hope you have a bright day. My mask making project is not gotten farther than picking out the material (the fun part). I am off to watch a video tutorial that will hopefully spur me on to the next stage. I need to get to work since my county now requires the wearing of masks when out in public. I have a feeling I will be ordering one online.  Take care, stay safe, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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