jjares reviewed on 5/30/2015 + 3413 more book reviews

Facing marriage to a boor, Prudence Perkins decides to leave her life of luxury behind and quietly accept a mail-order marriage proposal in Paradise, Oklahoma Territory. Departing from her controlling Gram and spineless father, Pru disappears; she plans to show her family that she can survive without their money or connections.

Unfortunately, she also has a surprise for her intended; Pru doesnt plan on marrying him either. She wants the freedom to try her wings and prove that Pru can live a full life as an independent woman. She rejects the usual womans desire for a mans protection and security.

Former lawman Jack McCavett, Prus fiancée, just wants an average, quiet woman to help him fulfill his dream as an average man with a growing ranch. However, neither Jack nor Pru are what a person would call average. Jack is not prepared for the aristocratic, attractive woman who fights the thieves who rob the Paradise-bound stage in which Pru is travelling.

Pru quickly proves herself to be a social agitator and suffragette; before long, she has the town in a stir. However, those stage robbers continue to threaten Pru; they promise to kill Jack and the town sheriff if she describes the robbers with enough detail to create wanted posters.

I found Pru to be somewhat over-the-top as a social reformer. She might be fun and assertive, but she was not the typical woman of the era. The storys pacing moved the story at a fast stride; over-thinking was not the storys goal. 3.5 stars

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