“A Reluctant Bride” ~ Book Review

Jun 10, 2019 by Rachel

Welcome back to Rachel’s Back Talk! I’m so glad you could join me again. Today I am reviewing the first book to Jody Hedlund’s newest series, “The Bride Ships”: A Reluctant Bride!

 

As is my custom, if I could ask Jody one question about A Reluctant Bride, it would be — “What inspired you to write a series about the bride ships?” And if you want to know why I asked that, I guess you’ll just have to read the book to find out!

 

And without further ado, onto Rachel’s Back Talk!

 

From the Back Cover:

Living in London’s poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins has little hope of a better life. When she’s offered an opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees. After witnessing so much painful heartache and loss in the slums, the bride ship is her only prospect to escape a bleak future, not only for herself but, she hopes, someday for her sister.

Wealthy and titled Joseph Colville leaves home and takes to the sea in order to escape the pain of losing his family. As ship’s surgeon, he’s in charge of the passengers’ welfare aboard the Tynemouth, including sixty brides-to-be. He has no immediate intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, the two must fight against a forbidden love.

With hundreds of single men congregating on the shore eager to claim a bride from the Tynemouth, will Mercy and Joseph lose their chance at true love, or will they be able to overcome the obstacles that threaten to keep them apart?

 

Rachel’s Back Talk:

5 – award winning covers

                    

Every book I read from Jody only gets better and better. And I absolutely LOVED the start to her new series. The characters of Mercy and Joseph were just so real and I enjoyed getting to dive in and learn more about them.

Mercy was such a tender heroine, carrying so much emotional baggage. Doing what she thought was the only option to help those she loved, Mercy boarded a ship – finding out later it was a bride ship and she had no desire whatsoever to get married. And yet, Mercy continued to be that “angel of mercy,” always caring for others in need over herself.

Joseph also discovered his tenderness and true calling through his time wandering about searching for his purpose. Though he grew up with wealth and could basically have anything he wanted, Joseph was instead dissatisfied. It was interesting to see his journey as the one who didn’t know what he wanted to instead realizing exactly what it was God called him to do — which just so happened to be what he was running from. 🙂

On the outside, Joseph and Mercy seemed like such opposites and yet, it was on the inside where their similar passions lay. The reader can draw so much inspiration from Mercy’s story and why it is so important not to merely dwell on who you were born as but who God is calling you to be.

 

I received a free copy from the author. No review, positive or otherwise, was required — all opinions are my own.