Welcome to 2026! Here you can read what I think about what I've read. The books are ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) and I hope you enjoy this blog. See my Featured Post at the bottom of the page, It's always a book I highly recommend. If you're an author email me, and I will respond if your book interests me. If you just love reading about these stories, I hope you will subscribe to my blog. Have a wonderful day and may the Lord Jesus bless you.
This starts out as a typical mail order bride scenario, but instead Mary Ann's whole family comes west. Being tricked into coming by his sister, Mason makes her his maid and nanny. The relationship grows more naturally than usual stories. The characters are well written and the story flows very smoothly. I really like Mary Ann's character and even when things go wrong, she seems to straighten her spine and try to make the best of a bad situation. Mason would have been totally blind to Mary Ann's character and the work ethic that she displayed.
Lady Preston is the most impressive character in this story. All of the male characters are just a little over done. Who does what the Duke did to his best friend? Earl of Oxbridge thinks he is too big for any woman. Our heroine, Clarissa thinks she has to win the season, while Miss Buttery-Clements makes off with the prize. To be honest, who needs a villain in this story with the main characters and the supporting characters doing the dirty against each other. As I said, Lady Preston our Zodiac Matchmaker keeps the story going through all the chaos.
I thoroughly enjoyed Fancy's adventure in getting her son back. Fancy fell for Joe and they worked well together. Some of the things people said about Fancy reminded me of Dolly Parton's song "Fancy". Fancy was daring and brave, proving a mother's love. Adding in Piper gave more life to the story, and an interesting side happening. This story is well worth the read and a little bit of magic happens on train 1216 with some matchmaking from Henry Manners. It's a shame that this was Henry's last ride.
The story is well-written and the plot carries the story. The vow is extraneous to the story although it is clearly about the vow. The vow is why he married her, not how he came to love her. The problem in this story is not the vow itself, but should have been him actually trying to court her or finding her someone who would care for her and keep her safe, then forcing a marriage that clearly is going to make her unhappy. It has a happy ending, but the whole story is rather sad.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Worn Sandals is a true example of how to live Grace. There are at least four moments when I had to stop reading to cry, tears ...
