Abandoned by his mail-order bride, Silas Jonesey has fought an uphill battle to recover from a pattern of poor choices. Now his prayers for reconciliation have finally come true and his estranged wife has contacted him with her whereabouts.
Kate Dawson was supposed to be a mail-order bride, but upon realizing she’d been deceived about her intended groom, she’s now settled into life as a schoolteacher. When the mother of a student passes away, Kate assumes she’ll take on care of nine-year-old Anthony-until two men suddenly show up in town, claiming to be the boy’s father.
Silas can see Anthony loves Kate, so he enlists her help in reaching out to the boy and attempting to prove his paternity to the court. When a common interest in Anthony leads to an interest in each other and Silas and Kate begin to think they can overcome their rocky start, neither is prepared for the secrets and past hurts that have yet to come to light. Can Silas, Kate, and Anthony’s wounded souls bind them together or will all that stands between them leave them lonely forever?
How far would you go for love? Kate Dawson has to decide that when her student’s mother passes. That decision, on the part of Kate, Silas, and Anthony, makes for a great story. Overcoming a troubled past is not easy, and I love the way that Jagears wrote this spiritual journey.
The book isn’t all serious, though. Kate’s position as a teacher is threatened by the strict rules of the school board, and her search for the missing Anthony sets the town to gossiping. My great-grandmother had a few similar stories of defying school board rules, and while these had serious consequences for Kate, time and distance makes them funny. Jagears did a fantastic job of writing these scenes in a very realistic way. The mild humor and vivid descriptions made the book come alive for me.
I must admit, A Bride at Last is not exactly suspenseful. The final outcome is obvious from the very beginning, but there are many twists and turns written into the story, and these, when combined with the important spiritual lessons, make a sweet story. It’s a perfect summer read.
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Melissa Jagears, an ESL teacher by trade and the author of A Bride for Keeps and A Bride in Store, is a stay-at-home mother on a tiny Kansas farm with a fixer-upper house. She’s a member of ACFW and CROWN fiction marketing, and her passion is to help Christian believers mature in their faith and judge rightly.
Find Melissa online: website, Facebook
I received a free copy of A Bride at Last from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.
When it comes to my summer reading, I love sweet stories that end well, mostly because summer is so light cheery, I want my reading to fit that mood. Thanks for sharing this one. I’ll keep it in mind.
Also, I’d love to invite you, Amy, to join in my weekly link up, we share any post that tells what has been on our hearts, minds and bookshelves. I’d love for you to be part of the community. If you want to, stop by any time this weekend.
Marissa
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