The Golden Bride

The Golden Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse is eighth in the Daughters of the Mayflower series. Having read the previous seven I couldn't wait to dig into this one and I was not disappointed. The books in this series are easily read as stand-alone stories and are such a great collection of stories about the history of the United States. Woodhouse has done a great job with the history and setting enabling the readers to feel like they are right there in the middle of the scenes. The mix of fictional situations with actual historical events makes the story interesting and authentic. The mid-1800s was a dark time for San Francisco with the greed of the gold rush eliciting evil and crime beyond measure and there is lots of action and mystery in this multilayered story to keep the reader's interest high. Joseph, a gold miner, is fascinated with Olivia and yet she had nothing good to say about gold miners. Would she be able to see past her biases to find more than friendship with Joseph? The sweet romance between Olivia and Joseph is engaging and delightful to watch unfold despite the difficulties they encountered. The characters are vivid and relatable and their growth and maturity throughout the story is realistic. I enjoyed the portrayal of the sibling relationship between Daniel and Olivia--the love and trust they share. With a strong thread of faith in God and spiritual truths throughout, the book is also inspirational as the reader can see how God's hand is at work in the lives of the individuals. I received a complimentary copy of the book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. The opinions are my own.

The Golden Bride by Kimberly Woodhouse Olivia Brighton knows she shouldn't have married her husband, after only knowing him for only one day. Just six weeks later, she killed him. They were headed for San Fransisco to sell the miners, the stockpile in their wagon and then he was seriously thinking of trying his hand with gold mining. But instead, his harping, nagging wife killed him and buried him where he lay. Meanwhile, it's up to Olivia to get her loaded wagon and two onery horses to San Fransisco, to her last living relative-her big brother Daniel. Daniel owns his own restaurant and hopefully, he will give her a job, far away from any miners and feed and house her until she can save up some money to get her own place. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. The Golden Bride by Kimberly Woodhouse 2019 Arkansas, USA