Fiction.
Romance.
Christian Fiction.
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Seven women seek husbands to help them rebuild a Kansas town.
Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas', finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn't return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved?
Abigail's Proposal by Cynthia Hickey
When her father never returned from the war, Abigail Melton stepped into his role as town mayor. The town needs men, and she needs a husband??and she has a big idea how to find both??but her first duty is to hire a sheriff. And drifter Josiah Ingram will do just fine.
The Kidnapped Groom by Susan Page Davis
Riding through the Flint Hills on his way to Dodge City, cowboy Sam Cayford finds himself the kidnapping victim of two children. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner??whom the kids insist he should marry??Sam starts to question God's plans versus his own.
A Clean Slate by Susanne Dietze
Schoolmarm Roberta "Birdy" Green won't marry any of the prospective grooms flocking to town. After losing her fiancé in the war, the only love her broken heart can bear is for her students. But then she takes on a new pupil??Drew Cooper, one of the gentlemen drawn to Kansas by the advertisement for grooms.
Sunshine of My Heart by Darlene Franklin
Debbie Barker longs to bring beauty to her new home on the prairie, where her family moved after the war, and seeks a husband to help her father run the ranch. Zack Gage returned home from the war to a life in ruins??family dead and business bankrupted. He answers the mail-order husband ad to seek a fresh start. But neither Debbie nor Zeke know what they are doing when it comes to ranching. . .or love.
Come What May by Patty Smith Hall
Chardy Stevens is at the end of her rope. Between running her late father's store and tending to her four younger brothers, she barely has time to breathe, much less look for a husband to help her. The boys scare off most of her prospects and throw Chardy together with her childhood friend Luke, a disabled veteran who seeks her happiness above his own.
Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn??and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has no plans of finding a mail-order groom. Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a "cowboy holiday" when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas. When he answers an old "help wanted" ad, Caroline misconstrues Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful and fiesty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home?
Louder than Words by Gina Welborn
After years of writing abolitionist pamphlets and chronicling soldier life during the war, J.R. Lockhart is bored and jumps at the opportunity to investigate an advertisement for husbands for an article in Godey's Lady's Book. Jane Ransome would like to help the charming-but-oblivious-to-life-out-West man chronicle the courtships developing in town, but she has her own husband to find??one who will fit perfectly in her picke
Google Books — Laddar...
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Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands Romance Collection: A Newspaper Ad for Husbands Brings a Wave of Men to a Small Kansas Town by Cynthia Hickey, Susan Page Davis, Susanne Dietze, Darlene Franklin, Patty Smith Hall, Carrie Francett Pagels, and Gina Welborn, © 2017
Thank you, author Carrie Fancett Pagels, for having a print copy of Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands Romance Collection sent to me. I will be reviewing her novella, Dime Novel Suitor, and continue on to other Turtle Springs, Kansas happenings. The Collections are so interesting in theme and the opportunity to meet new authors possibly too.
Turtle Springs, Kansas
April 1866
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn—
and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has
no plans of finding a mail-order groom.
Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a “cowboy holiday”
when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas. When he
answers an old “help wanted” ad, Caroline misconstrues
Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful
and feisty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home?
My Review:
How did I ever come into this? Caring for the Tumble Inn and my five younger siblings. Now that Pa's died, my older sister declares she is making decisions for us to better my situation. She has entered my name as a sponsor for bringing the ragtag (my words) to town for weddin'. And... she has offered the Tumble Inn for all of the commotions!
Caroline Kane has an adventure ahead of her. Have you ever been put in a situation, not of your own doings, that got you so wrapped up in it there wasn't even time to think about what was coming next?
Barden Granville has come to town for a cowboy adventure before continuing on to his British home. His first venture in Kansas City didn't work out exactly as he thought it would.... Innocence sometimes could turn ~ almost ~ deadly.
Spunky Caroline may have unknowingly met her match. Told the "auditions" are over, Barden finds he has arrived late. Has he missed his chance for the job he has come to apply for at the inn? Thankfully, Caroline says she needs help in the kitchen and Barden has declared he has been tutored as a cook by her friends in Kansas City. My, how that worked out well, filling both of their needs! And a room to boot!
Caroline is convinced her friends would not have sent him on if they did not approve. My, the advertisement all the way to Kansas City...
A comedy, indeed. This is what is known as a double-meaning.
"I'm Barden Granville, and I'll be responsible for dinner preparations here." He gave them what he hoped was a winning smile. "For the next six weeks at least."
--Dime Novel Suitor, 323.
A trial period to see if he fits in...
The thrilling stories Barden had read in Beadle's Dime Novels carry him forward to his desire to find a cowboy experience in Turtle Creek on his holiday. Especially then finding there is a ranch nearby, and it is owned by... Caroline's sister and her husband!
"And I should have told you why I'd come to America."
"Cowboy?"
"Yes."
--Ibid., 371.
This is a fun story with a lot of action and moving on as the family comes to seek advice from Barden. He has support from other kitchen staff as he prepares culinary feats for boarders and those stopping by to eat at the inn restaurant. He has other skills that endear him to those in Turtle Creek. (