caslater83's review against another edition
2.0
While the book itself is clean, I felt that the writer did a terrible job drawing me in...because I never did feel any sense of connection to the characters. It was too dry. It's still a good book for the Christian community, but it just lacks the things I need to be hooked into a good read.
duchessnikki's review against another edition
The historical inaccuracies made it so hard to focus on the storyline. The way the characters spoke and behaved was so unlikely for the time. The affection between the main characters was so strange. How can you write letters to someone for six months and leave out so much about your life? I am tired of stories where the drama is based on secrets.
thecajunbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I did love the premise of the story. However the lack of historical accuracy and language was what stopped me from giving more stars.
blackngoldgirlsbookspot's review against another edition
5.0
This spring I read a beautiful mail-order bride story by Catherine Richmond (Spring for Susannah) and I was blown away and figured it would be a long time before I read another on par with it. This fall Maggie Brendan has once again proven that mail-order bride stories can be fresh and exciting. It just goes to show that even if you think there can't possibly be anything that hasn't been written before in a romance the right person with the right kind of talent may come along and blow that thought out of the water. Ms. Brendan is definitely one of those talents.
Catharine Olsen leaves the tragedy of her past behind her as she sails to America to meet her husband Peter Andersen little does he know that Catharine brings more baggage than just her mother's Blue Willow china. Both want their relationship to work but Peter's nosey mother, Clara will go to any length to prove that Catharine has ulterior motives when it comes to marriage. Secrets kept and a drought and pestilence threat could prove to be the straw that breaks their tenuous romance in two.
From the first page I was captivated. I loved seeing a real romance develop between two people who first fell in love through letters. It seems in most mail-order bride tales the love story unfolds gradually and by the end they're married (predictable) but not so with this book. Ms. Brendan does not shy away from issues like love and intimacy. Everything is tastefully done and not offensive in any way and the story just gets better and better.
The secondary characters are equally as impressive as the main characters. Catharine's little sisters, the nearly grown Greta and the precocious Anna definitely cause their fair share of problems but they support their eldest sibling as any sister would. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Anna and Greta in this series. It will be especially interesting to see what happens between Greta and her beau (who I don't like very much). Don't even get me started on Clara Andersen, oy vey that woman most definitely fits the meddling mother-in-law mold, however she does gain your sympathy by the conclusion of the book.
As far as romance goes Deeply Devoted is one of my favorites this year. If I hadn't already promised this book to someone else it would be going on my keeper shelf. Maggie Brendan has definitely outdone herself with this book, it is by far my favorite of hers to date. If you only read a few romances this year make sure Deeply Devoted is one of them.
*Thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy*
Catharine Olsen leaves the tragedy of her past behind her as she sails to America to meet her husband Peter Andersen little does he know that Catharine brings more baggage than just her mother's Blue Willow china. Both want their relationship to work but Peter's nosey mother, Clara will go to any length to prove that Catharine has ulterior motives when it comes to marriage. Secrets kept and a drought and pestilence threat could prove to be the straw that breaks their tenuous romance in two.
From the first page I was captivated. I loved seeing a real romance develop between two people who first fell in love through letters. It seems in most mail-order bride tales the love story unfolds gradually and by the end they're married (predictable) but not so with this book. Ms. Brendan does not shy away from issues like love and intimacy. Everything is tastefully done and not offensive in any way and the story just gets better and better.
The secondary characters are equally as impressive as the main characters. Catharine's little sisters, the nearly grown Greta and the precocious Anna definitely cause their fair share of problems but they support their eldest sibling as any sister would. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Anna and Greta in this series. It will be especially interesting to see what happens between Greta and her beau (who I don't like very much). Don't even get me started on Clara Andersen, oy vey that woman most definitely fits the meddling mother-in-law mold, however she does gain your sympathy by the conclusion of the book.
As far as romance goes Deeply Devoted is one of my favorites this year. If I hadn't already promised this book to someone else it would be going on my keeper shelf. Maggie Brendan has definitely outdone herself with this book, it is by far my favorite of hers to date. If you only read a few romances this year make sure Deeply Devoted is one of them.
*Thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy*
mistree's review against another edition
5.0
When Catherine comes to Wyoming Territory as a mail order bride from Holland she also brings her two younger sisters. Her new husband is hospitable and accepts all three into his home. A six month long correspondence between Catherine and Peter helped them like each other and this quickly grew into love. However, she has not shared about her tragic past and he has a few secrets of his own. Very enjoyable first book in the Blue Willow Brides series.
brittanybwrites's review against another edition
5.0
To tell you the truth I don't pick up books like this. I really really don't. But as soon as I opened it started to read it, that's when I just couldn't stop. I read this whole book in two weeks (blame school and that I have only one more week left of it before I graduate!!) and honestly this has to be one of my favorite books that I've ever read. I never thought I'd pick up a book about Cheyenne, Wyoming or about Mail-Order Brides, but I did.
Catharine Olsen left her beautiful Amsterdam for Wyoming as a mail-order bride, bringing her two sisters, Greta and Anna, along with her, along with her mother's set of Blue Willow china, along with a tragic and horrible past. She's going to meet and marry a man named Peter Andersen, who is a wheat farmer, and they did....but for some reason (apparently I'm cursed) Peter's mama, Miss Clara, decided to hire a private investigator to look into Catharine's past.
But at the same time, she didn't know she was going to fall for the private investigator till the end, when she found the documents about Catharine's divorce from her now ex-husband, and felt so terrible for what she did to Catharine and Peter, driving a wedge between them. But Peter forgave her, and now Anna is staying with her so she can start school.
Greta started a relationship with a local solider named Bryan, whom Catharine and Peter didn't like at first because of how he was courting her and how they were sneaking around. But at the end Bryan had to go to a different Army Base, making Greta miss him by writing letters like Catharine and Peter did in their six months writing to each other before she came to Cheyenne.
Other than that this book was cute and wonderful, with the sisters settling in Peter's farm and learning how to live in the farm and the faith of the Lord, along with the troubles of the farm with the wheat not growing this year and the locust keep swarming around. But in the end it was amazing book and I really do reconmend it a lot!!
Catharine Olsen left her beautiful Amsterdam for Wyoming as a mail-order bride, bringing her two sisters, Greta and Anna, along with her, along with her mother's set of Blue Willow china, along with a tragic and horrible past. She's going to meet and marry a man named Peter Andersen, who is a wheat farmer, and they did....but for some reason (apparently I'm cursed) Peter's mama, Miss Clara, decided to hire a private investigator to look into Catharine's past.
But at the same time, she didn't know she was going to fall for the private investigator till the end, when she found the documents about Catharine's divorce from her now ex-husband, and felt so terrible for what she did to Catharine and Peter, driving a wedge between them. But Peter forgave her, and now Anna is staying with her so she can start school.
Greta started a relationship with a local solider named Bryan, whom Catharine and Peter didn't like at first because of how he was courting her and how they were sneaking around. But at the end Bryan had to go to a different Army Base, making Greta miss him by writing letters like Catharine and Peter did in their six months writing to each other before she came to Cheyenne.
Other than that this book was cute and wonderful, with the sisters settling in Peter's farm and learning how to live in the farm and the faith of the Lord, along with the troubles of the farm with the wheat not growing this year and the locust keep swarming around. But in the end it was amazing book and I really do reconmend it a lot!!
More...