Backcountry Brides Collection

Eight 18th Century Women Seek Love on Colonial America’s Frontier
by Angela K Couch, Debra E Marvin, Shannon McNear, Gabrielle Meyer, Carrie Fancett Pagels, Jennifer Hudson Taylor, Pegg Thomas, Denise Weimer

Informational Colonial Historical Christian fiction with some of the strongest women you'll ever meet. And handsome rugged men with true hearts, to love this kind of woman. Living hard lives in harsh environments.  Hope, love and faith come through each time. Excellent - makes a great summer read. You'll learn as you read.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Harvest House Publishers and the Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

Publisher's Description:
Love on Colonial America’s Frontier  
Travel into Colonial America where eight women seek love, but they each know a future husband requires the necessary skills to survive in the backcountry. Living in areas exposed to nature’s ferocity, prone to Indian attack, and cut off from regular supplies, can hearts overcome the dangers to find lasting love?
 
Shenandoah Hearts by Carrie Fancett Pagels
1754 - Great Wagon Road, into the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia)
As the French-Indian War commences, Magda Sehler wonders if Jacob Owens lost his mind to have abandoned his Philadelphia business and moved to the Shenandoah Valley. Or has he lost his heart?
 
Heart of Nantahala by Jennifer Hudson Taylor  
1757 - (North Carolina)
Joseph Gregory plans to buy a lumber mill, but Mabel Walker becomes a formidable opponent. When she’s forced to make a painful decision, she must choose between survival and love.
 
Her Redcoat by Pegg Thomas
1763 - Fort Michilimackinac (Michigan) during Pontiac’s Rebellion  
Laurette Pettigrew grew up in the northern frontier. Henry Bedlow arrived against his will. Their chance meeting changes everything. Will a deadly clash of cultures keep them from finding happiness?
 
A Heart So Tender by Debra E. Marvin
1764 – (New York)
As thousands of Native warriors converge on Fort Niagara, jaded British Lieutenant Archibald Walsh and idealistic schoolmistress Susannah Kimball learn the greatest risk lies in guarding their hearts.
 
A Worthy Groom by Angela K. Couch
1771 - Sapling Grove settlement on the Holston River (Tennessee)
The Cowden temper has been Marcus’s lifelong bane. A trait Lorinda Cowden curses. Now, winning the heart of his bride hinges on fighting a war without raising a fist.  
 
Across Three Autumns by Denise Weimer
1778-1780 – (Georgia)
Fighting Loyalists and Indians, Jenny White settles for strength over love . . .until Scottish scout Caylan McIntosh leads her family on a harrowing exodus out of Georgia’s Revolutionary “Hornet’s Nest.”
 
The Counterfeit Tory by Shannon McNear
1781 – (South Carolina)
Tasked with infiltrating an infamous Tory gang, Jed Wheeler has no wish to endanger the leader’s cousin, Lizzy Cunningham. He risks not only his life. . .but his heart.
 
Love’s Undoing by Gabrielle Meyer
1792 - Fur Post on the Upper Mississippi River (Minnesota)
When Englishman Henry Kingsley meets Abi McCrea, the daughter of a Scottish fur trader and Indian mother, will their worlds keep them apart, or have they finally found somewhere they truly belong? 

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The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

I was prepared to not like this story. I don't generally like modern themes. And this was not just modern, but Hollywood too. The initial appeal of this story for a historical fiction lover like me is that the core of the story is a letter written at the beginning of the Revolutionary war. As I read I found that the author made it personal, both in old and new eras, and it grew on me. The modern characters became just people and meshed with the old. Their stories wove back and forth, over and under, like ribbons, then did a mobius flip. Wow what a journey. And when completed, how smooth it actually was.  Esther and Hamilton, Chloe and Jesse - each on their own journey, yet bound together - with a path to Jesus meant for each, illustrating the mountains, valleys and triumphs only He brings to lives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Thomas Nelson--FICTION - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

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Description from the Publisher
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes a story of long-lost love and its redemption in future generations.
Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle’s forte—in life or on screen. But everyone knows who to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career.
When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. But once on-set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.
Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years, and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart. 
Set in stunning upcountry South Carolina, The Love Letter is a beautifully-crafted story of the courage it takes to face down fear and chase after love, even in the darkest of times. And just maybe, all these generations later, love can come home in a way not even Hollywood could imagine.

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The Story Peddler by Lindsay A. Franklin

I can so picture this.
This would make a spectacular movie or series. Animators would have a blast!

From farmland to palace, simple clothes to gowns, secrets and an orphan looking for guidance. Set in a syfy world, this author is a master weaver. In this story some characters have a talent to tell a story and make it visual, with swirls of colors and objects flowing from their hands as they speak. Tanwen aspires to a life telling stories for the king, not realizing at first the tyrant he is. She did know that he has outlawed stories not sanctioned by him and found it hard to comply, which put her and those around her in great danger. His kingdom is full of goddess worship by force, but some still only worship the Creator. This story is very well written and is a place I am looking forward to seeing more of.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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From the Publisher:
Selling stories is a deadly business
Tanwen doesn’t just tell stories—she weaves them into crystallized sculptures that sell for more than a few bits. But the only way to escape the control of her cruel mentor and claw her way from poverty is to set her sights on something grander: becoming Royal Storyteller to the king.
During her final story peddling tour, a tale of treason spills from her hands, threatening the king himself. Tanwen goes from peddler to prey as the king’s guard hunts her down . . . and they’re not known for their mercy. As Tanwen flees for her life, she unearths long-buried secrets and discovers she’s not the only outlaw in the empire. There’s a rebel group of weavers . . . and they’re after her too.

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Wynn in the Willows by Robin Jansen Shope

Wynn is a girl after my own heart. She loves botany – plants, the woods – more than cities. She has been to college and has a grant to study the plants where she is from as a child and where her Aunt still lives on Willow Island. I don’t envy her mixed up life though. After her father died, her mother left for overseas. She was taken in by her Uncles and raised in a happy environment, but she still has a lot of unresolved mysteries – how her father died for example. She loves the island and small town atmosphere but is surrounded by murder and mystery shortly after getting to her Aunt’s guesthouse. She is drawn to the local handyman, but he soon becomes part of the mystery surrounding the town, making her more confused. Her Aunt’s bible study group takes Wynn in, and they all have something to contribute and learn. Life lessons and faith play a part in their daily lives, and they find ways to support and help each other. Interesting story about personal growth and family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

From the Publisher:
Wynn Baxter returns to Willow Island to study rare plant life and welcomes the opportunity to investigate the mysterious circumstances of her father's death. But the truth gets complicated as twenty year-old memories begin to surface. What Wynn learns will shake her emotional foundation. A haunting story of forgiveness, science, murder, and other matters of living.

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The Weaver's Daughter by Sarah E. Ladd

Murder, social pressure, strength, love, faith. Fully engaging Christian Historical.

This is a time of struggle in England with the traditional mode of business of weavers, mill owners and those who provide other services in making cloth. Family owned businesses that also made up the fabric of the village life and livelihood. Of course, as time goes by new options come up and some are more business minded than others in handling that business. Those who make decisions to grow their business affects the others, with some becoming wealthier than others. Combine wealth and society where the wealthy control and socially snub others makes for a stirred pot in a small village.

Kate's family are weavers. She loves her father and brother, but her brother left them to work at the mill, where he feels the future is. Kate is fully capable of running their business but since she is a woman her father will not allow it. She is being forced by her father to marry a weaver. The man of his choice is not happy when she doesn't want to marry him. Years ago Kate's best friend Frederica, from a mill family, cut off their friendship because of her family's wishes, and she too is being forced to make a decision and marry. But the one she wants is not progressing towards her as she wants.

Kate is both very strong and capable yet has deep feelings and feels hurt by her father, friend and the plight of those who are worse off than her.

Henry was away at war and presumed dead. He returns to his home with his grandfather at the mill to find things have changed. His grandfather has grown their business at the expense of others and made him downright mean in the process. Then he is murdered.

Kate is as intrigued by Henry as much as she distrusts him. But her brother does trust him, and she finds herself thrown together with him more and more.

Henry's grandfather and partner want him to marry Frederica, but he is not so sure.  And he's drawn towards Kate.

Would the village, let alone their families, allow them to have a relationship?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Thomas Nelson--FICTION - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

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A Borrowed Dream by Amanda Cabot

Secrets, danger and mystery, trust and faith learned. 1881 Texas Christian Historical

Catherine doesn't like doctors since the town doctor accelerated her mother's death. She is a school teacher with close family relationships in a town she grew up in.

Austin is a plastic surgeon hiding from a mafia boss in Philadelphia. He was born a rancher so that's what he decides to do when he and his daughter move to Texas. She’s an introverted six year old to the point that the adults are quite concerned about her - until Catherine brings her out of her shell. She’s good at keeping secrets, but she’s only a child.

A fast paced excellent read that keeps you engaged from the start, with characters you'll come to know and love.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Author and Revell/Baker Publishing Group - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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From the Publisher:
Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the town doctor's excessive bleeding treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as Cimarron Creek's dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life without love or family, a life where dreams rarely come true.
Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He's managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.
With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.