Deeply Devoted

I started with Maggie Brendan in her first novel No Place for a Lady and felt she did well and could not wait to find more. She takes tragedy and turns it into something of love. Then the second one in that Hearts of the West Series with The Jewel of His Heart was so visual and even though I was not in love with the characters personalities I enjoyed the story. Lastly for that series was A Love of Her Own that did not capture me, but you can go back to read that review. I am delighted to say that Maggie Brendan has brought me back in with the beginning of this Blue Willow Brides Series and I am excited to read more.

Catharine and Peter are not quite characters that I love, because I do not really understand why they felt that secrets were so important, but then I am a person that feels that honesty is so important and so I think I'm just on different wavy lengths from them. So many things happen from the slightest misunderstandings and it's amazing how things can mushroom! This is an interesting take on a mail order bride story and I find it very neat. I have to admit that I always assumed that if love came at all in these scenarios it was after time. I never really thought about the love already having formed through letters. It's is very neat to me as well because through letters is how I met and got to know my husband (emails really). Different era and technology, but getting to know someone in many ways first of all does help a friendship, yet there are blanks to fill in later.

Thanks to Revell Books for providing a copy for review.

“Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell,
a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Originally posted: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2011/10/01/deeply-devoted-by-maggie-brendan/

3.5 stars. I picked this up on a whim yesterday in the church library...

This book lost an entire star because of historical flavor. I actually really enjoyed the story and the characters.

The author's local flavor is great. I loved reading about Wyoming in those days. However, while I am quite ready to accept that the young ladies have a fine command of English, since their parents were well-to-do and in shipping, the slang is out of place. Nowadays there is much slang in our language that still mystifies speakers of English as a Second Language (believe me, I taught it for two years), but back then even Peter himself probably wouldn't have known what the terms like “cute” (came into fashion in the early 1900s, as a shortening of “acute”, meaning smart; didn't catch on in general society for a while.) meant.

And durable dresses and protective shoes for farm work is a practical thought...but the women would have been thoroughly insulted at thought of overalls...that was scandalous when it came into general use during WW1 when the men were off to war. And a mercantile most likely wouldn't have stocked sizes to fit women, especially not one with such delicious curves as Catharine's!

So, yes, good story...fully authentic, no. But sweet.