Book Review: The Substitute Bride by Janet Dean


The Substitute Bride
by Janet Dean
Copyright 2010
Steeple Hill Books
278 pages
ISBN: 978-0373-82830-2
Inspirational Historical Romance

Thanks to the wonderful authors @ Seekerville blog and the author Janet Dean I was able to get my hands on one of the first copies of The Substitute Bride that is to be released in February 2010 as part of the Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical Romance line. Since I was fortunate enough to get my copy early I decided to share my thoughts with you so you could start to add books to your must have list for 2010!

Cover blurb: Fleeing an arranged marriage, debutante Elizabeth Manning exchanges places with a mail-order brie bound for New Harmony, Iowa. Life on the frontier can't be worse than forced wedlock to pay her father';s gambling debts. But Ted Logan's rustic lifestyle and rambunctious children prove to be more of a challenge than Elizabeth expects. She doesn't know how to be a mother or a wife. She doesn't even know how to tell Ted the truth about her past--especially as her feelings for him grow. Little does she know, Ted's hiding secrets of his own, and when their pasts collide , there's more than one heart at stake.

My Review: I first have to mention how much I love the beautiful cover, IMO it's not just Steeple Hill but other publishers as well who seem to be coming up with some gorgeous covers for next year. Let's face it when we're in the store, the cover is the first thing that catches us when we're in the book section. We may not decide to buy it after reading the blurb but the cover has done (part of) it's job and got us to consider purchasing the book. The cover for The Substitute Bride really captures the character of Elizabeth really well right down to the details of her gown.

Now for the most important part, the story. I love mail-order bride and marriage of convenience stories and this book covered both...just one of the reasons why I loved it! This is also a great story because the relationship between Ted and Elizabeth actually seems real! It's a gradual growth of love and respect that involves a lot of secrets, lies, and heartache that a lot of "real life" relationships must overcome to thrive or fall apart because of. There's some teasing and fun but there is also some arguing and clashing between Ted and Elizabeth that makes for well rounded characters and a great romance. The faith message is VERY strong and covers trust as well as asking forgiveness of one's family, friends, and enemies and more importantly, God. The Substitute Bride is a terrific story for readers of Christian romance and one to read in 2010!

To learn more about Janet Dean and her other books visit:
Her WEBSITE
Her BLOG
Group BLOG




Comments

  1. Oooo...this sounds really good! Thank you, Renee! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank YOU Lori for stopping by! I really think that you will like this story...you can always borrow it from your sister! LOL!

    xoxo~ Renee

    ReplyDelete
  3. Renee, thanks for the awesome review of The Substitute Bride! Elizabeth and Ted hold a special place in my heart. But then, all the heroes and heroines in my books do. :-)

    Great blog!

    Janet

    ReplyDelete

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