The Unexpected Bride Review

I am happy to give my review of Lena Goldfinch's The Unexpected Bride, coincidentally on it's release day. So, if you are interested in the book, be sure to click on one of my links!

Description

What's a man to do when his father orders him a bride?

Rebecca Sullivan has been "Becky" all her life, a real hoyden. Her childhood sweetheart taught her to ride bareback and shoot a rifle, but then he chose a "perfect lady" for a wife--a real Southern belle, who's now expecting a baby. Heartbroken, Becky signs up to be a mail-order bride to a Seattle man, sight unseen. She resolves to squelch her hoydenish ways and become a "perfect lady" for her future husband.

If logging-operation owner Isaac Jessup had wanted a bride, he'd have chosen a sturdy frontier woman, not some fragile lady from back East. Ready to explain the mistake, honorable Isaac takes one look into Rebecca's vulnerable eyes...and knows he'll marry her, even though this delicate waif is obviously unsuited for wild Seattle.

Could an unexpected marriage be a match made in heaven?

This is Book One in the The Brides Series. The books can be read in any order.
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Goodreads

My Review

The Unexpected Bride was a sweet historical romance by Lena Goldfinch. Brokenhearted with nowhere else to go, Becky signs up to become the mail order bride of Isaac, hoping against hope that her new romance will be as successful as the Biblical Isaac and Rebecca’s. But, in order to be the perfect bride, Becky has chosen to hide her true self. Will she ever gain the courage to show her husband her “hoydenish” true self?

I am having a very hard time writing this review. I always have trouble giving complements or defining what I like, but I will try. I couldn’t find anything I disliked about this book, but I have to say something in this review.

I certainly like this book. I was so engrossed in it from the start that I read it all in one night. The characters were unique and human-like, the plot entertaining. The setting was realistic and would have been beautiful if I could have seen it. I also appreciated the added drama in the climax. (I’ll leave you, readers, to figure that out. I wouldn’t want to spoil the ending).

The book’s message, self-confidence, is something that applies to everyone—everyone needs to see themselves as valuable and not be afraid to show their true selves. The best friends are the ones who love you no matter what, anyway, and that includes God, who created you perfect the way you are. Many different characters throughout the novel played a role in Becky’s growing self-confidence, which gives realism to the story. How many times in life do we learn everything we need to know at one time from one person?

The romance was sweet, just as the cover said. I love that the characters, Isaac and Rebecca, took time to get to know each other and work through their problems before truly falling in love. It makes the romance seem more realistic than love at first sight would have.

On the whole, The Unexpected Bride was beautiful.

I received a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.