A BRIDE IN THE BARGAIN by Deeanne Gist was so enjoyable, I
read it in less than eight hours.Set in
1860s Seattle, Anna Ivey is leaving the East Coast after the War Between the
States has robbed her of her family.Destitute
and working for the strong-handed Hoke, she decides traveling to the West is
the fresh start she needs.Answering an
ad in the local paper, she signs on to travel to Seattle to be a cook for a
logging camp.Once there, she finds out
her contract reads much different from that of Joe Denton's, the man she is to
work for.
Joe Denton is about to lose half of what he has worked over
ten years for.When he was given the
land grant of 640 acres in the Seattle, Washington area, he was married, but he
headed to his new land alone so he could establish it before sending for his wife.Unfortunately, his wife died before she could
make the trip and as the land grant stipulates, single men only were to receive
320 acres.With the possibility of
losing half of what he has slaved over for the last several years, he has no
choice but to find himself a wife, and fast.When he reads of Asa Mercer's plan to go to the East and bring back widows
and orphans suitable enough for marriage, he signs on.The fact that he finds out Ana Ivey can cook
is just an extra bonus.
While Anna agrees to be his cook, she has no intentions of
marrying Joe Denton.Though she finds
him attractive and caring, she feels she has brought death to the ones she
loves and vows never to marry.Joe can't
understand Ivey's misgivings about marriage as he sees his time running
out.He must convince her to marry or
lose the land he loves.But he soon
learns he could lose much more.
I thoroughly enjoyed A BRIDE IN THE BARGAIN.Ms. Gist pushed the envelope in the areas of
attraction and being chaste in a conservative time.But I feel that is what will set this novel
apart from the everyday Christian/Historical.Exploring the attraction that both Anna and Joe had for each other gave
realism to their characters.Lets face
it . . . though these characters are Christians, they're still human.To write them as a man and woman without
desire for the opposite sex insults the reader.Overall, a very entertaining story with great characters.Oh - and I also found the historical side of
the novel quite interesting.♥