jjares reviewed To Have and to Hold: The Spinster Bride / The Bride of the Black Scot / The Man from Wolf Creek / The Ninth Miss Noddenly on + 3270 more book reviews
Being familiar with each of these authors; I ordered this book because of its high rating. Of the four authors offered, Elaine Coffman is a favorite. Please note: Each of these short stories is original to this publication. I've begun to watch for such things because publishers often slap new covers on older material, without mentioning that they are reprints. This is not a reprint.
THE SPINSTER BRIDE (Jane Bonander) --
This is a very satisfying story; it had everything -- drama, rage, deceit, love. Kate McCurdy's niece, Brynna, ran off with one of their farmworkers (to his land in Texas). Later Sage Reno (who was 10 years older than Brynna) sent a single letter telling Kate her beloved niece was dead and the baby had died too. Eight months later, Kate received a short, unsigned note saying there was another baby. Kate sold off her Ohio farm and immediately headed for Texas to rescue the baby from the awful Sage Reno. Things weren't exactly as she thought.
THE BRIDE OF THE BLACK SCOT (Elaine Coffman) --
This is another great story; this time taking place in Scotland (after Culloden). King George sends Lady Juliette to marry the Black Scot because he is tired of her turning down his (the king's) previous suggestions for a husband. She travels via horseback with her maid and falls in love with the leader of the 8 Scotsmen who lead her to the Laird's castle. Unfortunately, she's betrothed to the Black Scot, not Stephen Gordon.
THE MAN FROM WOLF (Joan Johnston) --
Cale Landry is a fur trapper living alone. He finds an elderly trapper having problems in a sudden snowstorm. Cale helps him by allowing the man to stay in his cabin overnight. Orrin Schuyler waits until Cale is asleep and hits him hard with a cast iron pan, leaving him for dead. Orrin steals Cale's (whole winter's long) bundles of prime furs and uses them to gamble away. When Cale finds him, Orrin barters away his daughter for 3 months. Not very interesting; I didn't even finish it.
THE NINTH MISS NODDENLY (Kasey Michaels) --
Jonathan Wetherell, the 14th Earl of Mayfield, wants to marry the 9th daughter, Virginia Noddenly. However, her father insists that each daughter marries in turn. Since Virginia has 4 sisters still unmarried, she and Jonathan are in a pickle. Worse than that, one sister wants to marry the gardener (Lettice Ann) over her father's dead body, and another sister (Myrtle) never wants to marry.
This is a cleverly plotted, humorous romp into marriage. I really enjoyed it.
** Overall (from the favorite-to-least-favorite story): Bonander, Michaels, Coffman, Johnston.
THE SPINSTER BRIDE (Jane Bonander) --
This is a very satisfying story; it had everything -- drama, rage, deceit, love. Kate McCurdy's niece, Brynna, ran off with one of their farmworkers (to his land in Texas). Later Sage Reno (who was 10 years older than Brynna) sent a single letter telling Kate her beloved niece was dead and the baby had died too. Eight months later, Kate received a short, unsigned note saying there was another baby. Kate sold off her Ohio farm and immediately headed for Texas to rescue the baby from the awful Sage Reno. Things weren't exactly as she thought.
THE BRIDE OF THE BLACK SCOT (Elaine Coffman) --
This is another great story; this time taking place in Scotland (after Culloden). King George sends Lady Juliette to marry the Black Scot because he is tired of her turning down his (the king's) previous suggestions for a husband. She travels via horseback with her maid and falls in love with the leader of the 8 Scotsmen who lead her to the Laird's castle. Unfortunately, she's betrothed to the Black Scot, not Stephen Gordon.
THE MAN FROM WOLF (Joan Johnston) --
Cale Landry is a fur trapper living alone. He finds an elderly trapper having problems in a sudden snowstorm. Cale helps him by allowing the man to stay in his cabin overnight. Orrin Schuyler waits until Cale is asleep and hits him hard with a cast iron pan, leaving him for dead. Orrin steals Cale's (whole winter's long) bundles of prime furs and uses them to gamble away. When Cale finds him, Orrin barters away his daughter for 3 months. Not very interesting; I didn't even finish it.
THE NINTH MISS NODDENLY (Kasey Michaels) --
Jonathan Wetherell, the 14th Earl of Mayfield, wants to marry the 9th daughter, Virginia Noddenly. However, her father insists that each daughter marries in turn. Since Virginia has 4 sisters still unmarried, she and Jonathan are in a pickle. Worse than that, one sister wants to marry the gardener (Lettice Ann) over her father's dead body, and another sister (Myrtle) never wants to marry.
This is a cleverly plotted, humorous romp into marriage. I really enjoyed it.
** Overall (from the favorite-to-least-favorite story): Bonander, Michaels, Coffman, Johnston.
