SUMMARY: Annalisa Werner's hope for a fairy-tale love is over. Her husband failed her in every way, and now his death has left her with few options to save the family farm. She needs a plentiful harvest. That, and a husband to help bring it in. Someone strong, dependable. That'll be enough. A marriage for love . . . that's something she's given up on.
So her father sends a letter to his brother in the Old Country, asking him to find Annalisa a groom.
Then a man appears: Carl Richards, from their home country of Germany, and a former schoolteacher - or so he says. He's looking for work and will serve on the farm until her husband arrives.
With time running out, she accepts Carl's help, but there's more to this man than he's admitting. He's also gentle, kind, charming - unlike any man she's ever known. But even as he is shining light into the darkness of Annalisa's heart, she knows her true groom may arrive any day.
REVIEW: The concept of a mail-order groom is unique and interesting. The idea of marrying a total stranger, especially when you have no choice in the matter, is a foreign idea to us nowadays but in 1881, it was acceptable. Annalisa's husband died and she needed help with her farm. Since there were no eligible men in their area, her father suggested seeking one from home. Annalisa did not get to pick who her husband would be. She just hoped he wouldn't beat her like her sister's husband did and steal from her like her own husband had done.
The contrasts in Carl's life are numerous. He goes from having the best of everything to working in the fields from sunrise to sunset while also helping with the other farm chores. He goes from having plenty to eat at every meal to having to shoot wild game himself and hoping there would be enough food to feed him, a pregnant Annalisa and her daughter Gretchen. Used to having money readily at his disposal, Carl now faces the threat of watching Annalisa lose her farm to a local thug or to the banker if they don't harvest enough crops to pay off her loan.
This is a wonderful book. It made your heart go out to both Carl and Annalisa with the troubles they face. This is one to put on your "must read" list.
This book was provided by Bethany House for review without compensation.
Jody Hedlund is the best-selling author of Unending Devotion and The Preacher's Bride, which won the 2011 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award and the 2011 Award of Excellence from the Colorado Romance Writers, and was a finalist for Best Debut Novel in the 2011 ACFW Carol Awards. Jody loves hearing from readers on Facebook and on her blog at JodyHedlund.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment