A Western Love for an Unexpected Bride: A Historical Western Romance Novel by Etta Foster

This story is unusual in the fact that Mary is quiet, shy and rarely stands up for herself. She lets Emmanuel do all the fighting and taking charge. Doing what she was told, her employer's daughter sends her out to Utah to marry a man the employer's daughter was writing letters to. Emmanuel takes her to meet the man and then bring her back, but she is so wrapped up in servant mode that she allows Emmanuel to continue west while she waits for the next train east. While the characters differ, Mary needs someone to tell her what to do. Emmanuel needs someone who will devote themselves faithfully to him only. Unfortunately, we only see one instance where Mary defend herself, then she lets talks herself out of a beautiful future because she saw Emmanuel talking to his old flame. I loved Emmanuel's character in this story, because he overcomes his heartbreak by sitting back and actually seeing the relationship for what it really was. I liked Mary and she is someone I could be friends with, but this character needed to grow more than she did in this story. The story and plot work well together and keep you on edge to find out what is going to happen next.