All of these stories are new for this publication of 2020. They are historical short stories with a Christian flair. Angela Breidenbach is the only author with which I am not familiar; Margaret Brownley is the reason I bought this book. Her stories are charming and usually filled with humor; I've found that to be an important ingredient in books chosen in this rather difficult year (2020). In conclusion, I will rate these books from favorite-to-least-favorite.
RIGHT ON TIME (Angela Breidenbach) --
As the third son of an earl, Lord Higginbottom saw no future in England. He would have to marry money and he wanted to create wealth himself. Instead, he took a job as a foreman on a ranch in Montana, hopefully leading to his marriage to Tara Johnston, daughter and co-owner of a 1000 acre cattle ranch. Tara is horrified to hire an English 'swell' and Timothy was upset with a graceless girl. They both had much to learn. This was a great story, only marred by the very quick turn around of Timothy's mother. It just didn't ring true.
PISTOL-PACKIN' BRIDE (Margaret Brownley) --
The author started the story with a Mark Twain quote: "Adam was a lucky man. He had no mother-in-law." The whole story tells why that truism is so funny. Elizabeth Colton accidentally shoots her intended groom, Ben Heywood, and the town wants to hang her. Ben was a foundling and 3 couples decided to raise him; he has 6 parents and is considered the town's 'favorite son.' This is an enormously funny story that is sure to tickle your funny-bone.
THE BRIDE WHO DECLINED (Susan Page Davis) --
This is definitely a different type of story; the story begins when the intended groom (Randolph Hill) dies and leaves his ranch to the woman he wanted to marry (Rachel Paxton). Rachel had decided not to marry Randolph and they had stopped corresponding a few months before his sudden death. She has a struggling seamstress business in Boston who must go live on the ranch for 30 days to own it. Then, she may run it or sell it, her choice. The only problem is that Randolph's cousin thinks he should own it and causes trouble.
TWICE THE TROUBLE (Vickie McDonough) --
Twin Irish lasses come to marry the town marshal and the town mercantile owner of Cactus Creek, Texas. However, the girls come from a hard life, where they couldn't trust others, so they refused to marry Brian and Connor McLoughlin (cousins) immediately when they arrived. They felt it was important to learn if they could trust the men they were betrothed to before walking down the aisle. This is a very pleasant story with lots of wrinkles in the road. The problem is that the cover oversold this story as a comedy; it isn't.
**Overall, favorite to least favorite is Brownley, Davis, Breidenbach, McDonough. Actually, these are four strong stories; not a weak one in the bunch. A delightful collection. Overall score = 4.5 stars.
RIGHT ON TIME (Angela Breidenbach) --
As the third son of an earl, Lord Higginbottom saw no future in England. He would have to marry money and he wanted to create wealth himself. Instead, he took a job as a foreman on a ranch in Montana, hopefully leading to his marriage to Tara Johnston, daughter and co-owner of a 1000 acre cattle ranch. Tara is horrified to hire an English 'swell' and Timothy was upset with a graceless girl. They both had much to learn. This was a great story, only marred by the very quick turn around of Timothy's mother. It just didn't ring true.
PISTOL-PACKIN' BRIDE (Margaret Brownley) --
The author started the story with a Mark Twain quote: "Adam was a lucky man. He had no mother-in-law." The whole story tells why that truism is so funny. Elizabeth Colton accidentally shoots her intended groom, Ben Heywood, and the town wants to hang her. Ben was a foundling and 3 couples decided to raise him; he has 6 parents and is considered the town's 'favorite son.' This is an enormously funny story that is sure to tickle your funny-bone.
THE BRIDE WHO DECLINED (Susan Page Davis) --
This is definitely a different type of story; the story begins when the intended groom (Randolph Hill) dies and leaves his ranch to the woman he wanted to marry (Rachel Paxton). Rachel had decided not to marry Randolph and they had stopped corresponding a few months before his sudden death. She has a struggling seamstress business in Boston who must go live on the ranch for 30 days to own it. Then, she may run it or sell it, her choice. The only problem is that Randolph's cousin thinks he should own it and causes trouble.
TWICE THE TROUBLE (Vickie McDonough) --
Twin Irish lasses come to marry the town marshal and the town mercantile owner of Cactus Creek, Texas. However, the girls come from a hard life, where they couldn't trust others, so they refused to marry Brian and Connor McLoughlin (cousins) immediately when they arrived. They felt it was important to learn if they could trust the men they were betrothed to before walking down the aisle. This is a very pleasant story with lots of wrinkles in the road. The problem is that the cover oversold this story as a comedy; it isn't.
**Overall, favorite to least favorite is Brownley, Davis, Breidenbach, McDonough. Actually, these are four strong stories; not a weak one in the bunch. A delightful collection. Overall score = 4.5 stars.
