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Book Review of The Blizzard Brides

The Blizzard Brides
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3284 more book reviews


This story is based on some blizzards that struck America almost without warning in the 1870s and 1880s. At first, I was aggravated that there wasn't a complete story in this prequel. After thinking about it, I realized that 113 pages weren't enough space to do much more than to allow readers to understand the situation and meet a few characters. Nebraska (Last Chance, specifically) was a great choice for such an incredible blizzard in September.

Some of the women came to Nebraska (in years past) as mail-order brides. Heather Barnes was one such wife; her husband was the tracker leading a hunt. The men of Last Chance needed to gather enough meat to see their families through the difficult winters of Nebraska. Most of the men went for a week's trip to hunt buffalo. Jackson Barnes also ran the butcher shop for the town; while Heather was the town midwife (assisting Dr. Woods).

After the shocking deaths of the hunters, as well as some citizens caught out in the blizzard, the Paster admonished the women that they had to marry -- and quickly. While the women were reeling from so many changes in their lives so quickly, they got together and wrote an advertisement for Matrimonial Times (mostly because the ladies did not want to marry the Pastor or any of the local men remaining). After two weeks, letters start arriving. The story ends with each woman collecting some of the letters and heading home.