The Marrying Man

This was the first of Ms Criswell's books I've read but won't be my last. She has a deft touch with humor and poignancy as she weaves a charming love story between two utterly wonderful characters. Sarah Jane Parker is a spunky heroine any reader can easily identify with. Far from perfect, she's marvelously human and a woman you'd want as your friend. And Ashby Morgan is a hero to make you sigh. The secondary characters are well-drawn, especially Ash's meddling uncle and teenage daughter. You'll laugh, you'll shed a tear and you'll sigh as you read their story.

Ashby Morgan, known to the townsfolk as The Marrying Man, is in dire need of a wife, but he doesn't know that. He thinks he and his tomboy daughter, Addie, are just fine without a woman around. His meddling uncle, Zeke, though, has taken it upon himself to remedy the situation. Unknown to Ash, Uncle Zeke has contacted the respectable Miss Cartwright's finishing school in Philadelphia and the perfect woman is on her way to marry Ash. This doesn't necessarily sit well with him, but when he meets Sarah Jane Parker at the train station, the wickedly beautiful Sarah Jane Parker, Ash thinks he may just give this a shot. They're married almost immediately and return to the Morgan house to deal with the wild Addie.Sarah Jane is not exactly who Ash thinks she is, at least not strictly speaking. Running away from the finishing school that she's called a prison for six years, Sarah Jane did a little illegal maneuvering with the correspondence from Zeke. Now she finds herself the wife of a man who has been widowed twice, is the owner of a large coal mine and has a daughter who is more like a boy than a little girl. This plan isn't exactly what she had in mind, but she is rather taken with her handsome new husband. Taking a deep breath, the indomitable Sarah Jane leaps into marriage and motherhood with the same reckless abandon she has dealt with everything else in her life. THE MARRYING MAN is a delightful, nicely written romp. Sarah Jane and Ash are terrific together, verbally sparring while they're slowly falling in love. The secondary players here, Uncle Zeke, daughter Addie and Ash's younger brother, A.J., are absolutely imperative to the story. They are as mesmerized by Sarah Jane and her antics as Ash is bemused by many of them. Ms. Crisswell does a great job moving this sweet story along. The dialogue is perky at times and appropriately poignant when necessary. The reader may be able to predict what will happen in the end, but not how it will happen and that's part of what makes this an exceptional story. A quick, enjoyable read, THE MARRYING MAN is a great book to cheer any reader.

The last thing Ashby Morgan wants is another wife. After having had two of them, he's content to raise his daughter and to mine his land. But his uncle, having taken it upon himself to find him a wife, demands that he go to meet this paragon of virtue at the train station.Though she advertised herself as a paragon of virtue, Sarah Jane knows that she falls quite short of the mark. But she's desperate to leave the school her parents have put her into. In order to fit the bill, she polishes her image in the letter she sends to Ashby Morgan and, having been found acceptible, meets him at the train station.From the moment they meet, the attraction between these two is explosive. Sarah Jane's naivete yields a frankness that throws our hero out of his complacency and obliterates his determination to remain unmarried.The Marrying Man is a charming and heartwarming story about a woman who is seeking the acceptance of her willful spirit. She finds this acceptance in Ash Morgan and a kindred spirit in his daughter, Adelaide. Criswell does a wonderful job of offsetting Sarah Jane's willfullness with her vulnerability without weakening her character. In addition, the bond that she comes to share with her stepdaughter is memorable and endearing. Ash is a hero to be admired for his ability to sense the truth behind Sarah Jane's character, almost immediately, and to appreciate that her true nature, rather than her false advertising, is what makes her the perfect woman to be the love of his life and not just a mother to his daughter.

This was the first historical romance novel I have read, but it certainly won't be the last. Millie Criswell keeps you hanging on every word and dares you to put the book down. I felt as if I would miss something every time I stopped reading. In addition to rpoviding insightful information into the live of coal miners, it made you fall in love with the characters and laugh and cry right along with them!

After six years at the Cartwright School of Finishing and Comportment, Sarah Jane Parker is going to take charge of her future. Her big chance to escape arrives via standard mail from the most unlikely of sources-- a bachelor from West Virginia who's searching for a mail order bride. Not one to miss an opportunity, Sarah Jane answers the query in the headmistress's name, suggesting herself as the perfect bride. Her waiting bachelor has thoughtfully enclosed a train ticket to West Virginia, so all Sarah Jane needs to do is pack and run away to her future!Waiting around a train station is not Ashby Morgan's idea of a good time. He has a coal mine to run, and little time to do much else. Still, odds are his future bride is on the next incoming train from Philadelphia. Lord knows he needs a wife and helpmate something fierce. His wayward teenage daughter is out of control, his house definitely could use some sprucing up, and who wouldn't want hot meals and willing loving every night? After outliving his first two wives, Ashby just isn't too keen on giving a third woman his last name. If it wasn't for the fact that Sarah Jane is supposedly known for her sweet and biddable nature, Ashby wouldn't have decided to go through with his proposal.The headmistress of the Cartwright School may have sworn that Sarah Jane represents bridal perfection waiting to happen, but Ashby is in for a heck of a surprise. His purportedly docile wife is a hellcat parading in a wedding dress. Life in Morgantown won't be the same after Sarah Jane has come to stay, and neither will Ashby Morgan for that matter.Millie's THE MARRYING MAN is charming! The romance simply sizzles off the pages as sensual Ashby falls fast for the spunky Sarah Jane. You don't want to miss this one. Millie Criswell deserves high praise for this tale of love at its finest.