Book review: Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund

Emma and her brother were traveling by steamship from Mackinac Island to Detroit, in order to begin a new life and have more opportunities.  Their ship was robbed by pirates, set on fire, and they had to jump from the burning ship to save their lives.  Hours later, Emma says, “I do,” and marries a complete stranger.  Patrick, her new husband, is a lighthouse keeper on Lake Huron, and needs a wife to care for his young son.  Emma gladly embraces the opportunity to form a new family, and although keeping a home and cooking are new responsibilities for her, she takes on her tasks with determination.  As Emma develops feelings for her new husband, questions about his past continually surface, and she wonders how they could possibly continue their lives together.

I truly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it.  The good guys were good, and the bad guys were bad.  The question of which side Patrick was on is resolved well.

I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review, which I have happily given.  

Book review: A Most Inconvenient Marriage

A Most Inconvenient Marriage was an enjoyable book to read.  The main character, Abigail, a Civil War nurse, agrees to marry soldier Jeremiah Calhoun on his deathbed, in order to inherit his farm and what she desires most of all, a family.  Abigail, a Northerner, takes her responsibility to her new family seriously, and manages their farm well.  She does experience post-war prejudice in the small Missouri community.  However, living Jeremiah Calhoun shows up, and she finds out that she had been deceived by the man she married.  Because of business arrangements, she is allowed to remain on the farm for a while, and Abigail is able to help Jeremiah adjust to life after the war.  In addition to recovering from a war injury, Jeremiah learns that the woman he loves has fallen for someone else.

Both Abigail and Jeremiah are honorable, loving, hard-working people, who desire to do the right thing for their family and friends.  Both can be stubborn, and Abigail’s trusting manner gets her into some scrapes.  Both characters were fun to get to know and the development of trust between them made a great story.

I recommend this book.  This is the first I have read by Regina Jennings, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was given a copy of this book from the author & publisher in exchange for an honest review, which I have given.