Short-Straw Bride

Short-Straw Bride. Karen Witemeyer. 2012. Bethany House. 368 pages.

From the prologue: Ten-year-old Meredith Hayes balled her hands into fists as she faced her tormentor, "Hiram Ellis! Give me back my lunch bucket this instant!"

From chapter one: "I don't think I can do it, Cass." Meredith peered up at her cousin through the reflection in the vanity mirror. Cassandra pulled the hairpin from her mouth and secured another section of Meredith's braided chignon. "Do what?" "Marry a man who wants me only for the land I can bring him." 

This isn't my first Karen Witemeyer book; however, it is the first Karen Witemeyer book that I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED. Short-Straw Bride is a Christian historical romance; it is set in Palestine, Texas in the 1880s.

In the prologue, Travis Archer saves the then-ten-year-old Meredith, her leg having gotten trapped in a hunting trap. The incident stays with her, as you might imagine. First, because she can't forget Travis Archer, he is forever her hero, the stuff of her dreams, despite the fact that that isolated incident is the only time she's seen him. Second, because it left a scar on her leg and the damage to the bone prevented it from growing as it should; one leg being slightly longer than the other.

The novel opens with Meredith all grown up and living with her aunt and uncle who are her guardians. They have arranged a marriage for her with an up-and-coming businessman, Roy Mitchell. Meredith prays for a sign, an indication one way or another if she should marry the man her guardians have chosen for her, or, if she should be stubborn and refuse their choice. And the sign, when it comes, is definite: she not only overhears him calling her a cripple, she overhears him making unethical arrangements to acquire land. He WANTS the Archer land, and since the Archer brothers won't sell, won't negotiate, won't budge, he's decided that if he burns their barn down, it will be a good first step to getting what he wants.

So what's a woman to do? Well, she does try going to the sheriff--or the deputy?--but when she's not taken seriously, when she's instead ridiculed for being a silly woman with a vivid imagination, she does what she must: she rides out to the Archer land herself to warn them. The problem? She doesn't have the time to ride out there and back before nightfall. And she wasn't counting on her cousin giving into the pressure of revealing her whereabouts. So her heroic ride to warn them just in time turns into a compromising reputation-killer. Her uncle demanding that one of the four Archer brothers step forward to marry her....

I admit this one could sound a bit silly to some readers, but, oh how I loved it!!!! I loved Meredith! I loved Travis! I loved their relationship, their marriage, their courtship-coming-after-marriage. I loved seeing how Meredith's presence on the Archer farm transforms the place, transforms the brothers. I loved just about everything in this one!!! There were quite a few giddy-making scenes!

Will Short-Straw Bride appeal to every reader? I doubt it. It's definitely for those that love Christian fiction, those that love Christian historical romance. I could see it having some appeal to non-Christians who love and seek out clean romance novels (smut-free romance novels).

Read Short-Straw Bride

• If you enjoy Christian fiction
• If you enjoy Christian historical romance
• If you enjoy clean romance novels
• If you are looking for historical romance set in Texas

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Wonderland Creek

Wonderland Creek. Lynn Austin. 2011. Bethany House. 400 pages.

If my life were a book, no one would read it. People would say it was too boring, too predictable. A story told a million times. But I was perfectly content with my life--that is, until the pages of my story were ripped out before I had a chance to live happily ever after.

Our heroine, Alice Grace Ripley, has spent most of her life in Illinois taking things for granted. Things like her job at the library, even though it's the middle of the Depression, Alice assumes that work at the library will continue on. After all, don't people need to read more than ever? And she completely takes her boyfriend, Gordon, for granted. Assuming that he will always be by her side--even though the two have little in common. She's not interested in his work--he's an undertaker, or at the very least he works in the funeral home business. And he's definitely not interested in her work, the number of books she's read that week, the characters in those books, plot elements and twists, etc. So when Gordon discovers her reading a book at a funeral, well, he makes the decision that their relationship would never work. Soon after this disappointment, she learns that the library will have to change its hours and let go of their newest hire; yes, that would be Alice.

Her parents--her father in particular--are big on lists. So Alice won't be allowed time at home to be depressed. So when her Aunt and Uncle mention a trip to a spa--a trip that will take them through Kentucky, well, she asks--almost begs--to join them. For there is a small town (a mountain town) in Kentucky in need of books. Alice has been having a book drive for them, and she's got five boxes of books. She'd love to deliver them herself.

What Alice couldn't predict was her welcome in that town. And how VERY different this rural life would be from everything she's ever known. The librarian, Leslie MacDougal (Mack), isn't all that thrilled with her when she arrives. Where will she stay? Where will she sleep? There isn't exactly a hotel or boarding room about?! And Alice is shocked to discover that the librarian is a man! Which definitely complicates things!

But soon SOMETHING happens that changes everything, it seems that God had a very clear purpose for Alice coming to stay just when she did...

Will her friends and family ever believe her story?!

Wonderland Creek is a great book. Alice is a librarian, a book lover. Though her life in Kentucky does not offer much opportunity to read. The book is a fascinating look at packhorse librarians. Librarians who deliver books to their patrons--by horse. And, of course, it's an interesting look at Appalachian life as well.

If you enjoy historical fiction--set in the 1930s--or mysteries, or romance, then you should try Wonderland Creek. I loved the setting. (It reminded me--in a good way, of course--of Christy.) I loved the characters. And the story.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Love on the Line

Love on the Line. Deeanne Gist. 2011. Bethany House. 365 pages.

"Everybody off the train."

Love on the Line had me hooked from the start. Texas Ranger, Lucius Landrum, is trying his best to catch a gang of train robbers, a gang led by Frank Comer. His quest leads him on an undercover job. He'll be coming to the small Texas town as Luke Palmer, a troubleman for the phone company. He'll be putting up new lines for the company, repairing lines, trying to get new customers, etc. The town has a phone operator, Georgie Gail, who's VERY independent and a bit unsure about Luke--at least in the beginning.

Luke is trying to catch the bad guys, but he's undercover, so he has to go about it in a certain way. He has to become very friendly with all sorts of different people in the town. Including Miss Gail.

Miss Gail is trying to fight injustice in her own way. The milliner in town infuriates her by his use--his over-use--of bird parts on his hats and accessories. She thinks ANY use of a dead bird is over use. And she's appalled that fashion is so out of control that it is threatening the bird populations. She LOVES birds and wants to see a change. So she's out to organize the women and children in the community.

I enjoyed both characters very much. Loved how the story came together.

The novel is set at the turn of the century.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. Ree Drummond. 2011. HarperCollins. 341 pages.

Forget this, I said to myself as I lay sprawled on the bed in which I grew up. In my Oklahoma hometown on a self-imposed pit stop, I was mired in a papery swamp of study guides, marked-up drafts of my resume, and a J.Crew catalog, from which I'd just ordered a $495 wool gabardine winter coat in olive, not chocolate, because I'm a redhead, and because Chicago, I reminded myself, is a tad more nippy than Los Angeles, which I'd just left weeks earlier.

Ree Drummond, the "Pioneer Woman," shares her love story with readers in this memoir. She met her Marlboro Man around Christmas. In a bar. And the meeting, well, it was magical. But. He. Didn't. Call. She'd just about given up hope of ever hearing from him again, when he calls four months later. But there's a slight little problem. She's a week (or two) away from moving to Chicago. Now that he's finally asked her out, does she want to bother with going knowing that she's going to be leaving for Chicago so soon? But he's oh so cute. And she can't imagine not saying yes. I mean every time she thinks of him, well, she swoons. So she agrees to see him even though the timing isn't the best in the world. The more she sees him--they see each other daily, from the very start, the more she wants to keep seeing him. She puts off her move to Chicago, always telling herself it's not a permanent decision to not go. No, she'll go, just give her a little more time with him. But. There comes a time when she knows that Chicago is not in her future plans...at all. That she loves her Marlboro Man...and it's a forever kind of love.

So this true romance is about her courtship, wedding, and first year of marriage. A first year of marriage that bring a baby girl! Readers get a glimpse into her life. There's plenty to laugh about! From Ree's first experiences on the ranch with the cows, to her experiences meeting his family, etc.

I liked this one. I did. It was a light read. A fun read. If you're a fan of the TV show or the blog, then chances are you'll be charmed by this one too.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews