"Twice Promised" Blog Tour

Twice Promised

By Maggie Brendan

 

Two beautiful brides. One unsuspecting groom.
Three weeks to figure it all out.

 

Greta Olsen arrives in Central City, Colorado, as a mail-order bride, expecting to marry Jess Gifford, the man she’s come to know through his tender letters. But when she meets Cora Johnson, she discovers she’s not the only bride waiting at the train station for Jess.

Already shocked to find they must compete for Jess’s affection, the young women can hardly believe it when not Jess but his brother Zach picks them up from the station—and reveals that Jess knows nothing about any mail-order bride, let alone two. Will either bride make the match she hopes for?

Filled with surprises, misunderstandings, and tender romance, Twice Promised is the story of how two unlikely women become twice blessed.

Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

About the author: Maggie Brendan is the author of the Heart of the West series and Deeply Devoted, which was a 2012 ICRA Award finalist. A member of the Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Georgia Romance Writers, Maggie lives in Georgia. Visit her at www.MaggieBrendan.com.



My Take:


After reading the first in this series, Deeply Devoted, I was interested to see where the tale of the second sister, Greta, would go. I have to admit that it was pretty abrupt to find that Greta's beau from the first book was not going to be in the picture in this novel. But it did lend itself to a bit of a twist to this story.

The part of the plot that incorporated having two mail-order brides (Greta and Cora) for one guy (Jess) was cute. It was also charming when the other brother (Zach) became involved, and it became a “which bride goes with which brother” scenario.

It seemed, though, that this quandary was solved a little over halfway through the book, and while it was satisfactory, the story after that got a bit outlandish. The misunderstandings that kept occurring after the supposed resolution were too drawn out. The adults who supposedly loved each other should have just talked to each other. Right then. Without waiting. (This is one of my pet peeves about misunderstandings in books).

Additionally, the characters in this novel fell in love way too quickly. I realize that this is sort of the case with mail-order bride stories, but the characters were “in love” after only knowing each other for a week! Because of this, their love felt fickle and their happily-ever-after seemed forced.

I actually think that I enjoyed Cora’s character in this book the best. She seemed the most sincere in her faith, and she had such a compassionate heart. It was hard to connect to the characters completely since the story comes from so many points of view.
I also think that the last chapter in the book was completely unnecessary and a tad too intimate for my taste. I got the point at the end of the previous chapter.

Twice Promised was a nice, lighthearted read that was predictable but cute. The story and the dialogue was not exactly realistic, but this novel could be a fun escape from reality – an adventure of two mail-order brides.

I will give Twice Promised … 3 BookWorms.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."