Jamie, by Caroline Clemmons, is the first book in the Series, The Surprise Brides.
5 Stars
This story takes place in Colorado in 1880.
The Surprise Brides is a set of four books, each written by a different author telling the story of one of four brothers and his “surprise” bride. This whole idea of my favorite authors coming together and collaborating on this multi-faceted story is exciting. From the prologue to the end of Jamie’s story there are tantalizing tidbits that spark the reader’s curiosity about this thrown-together family and builds anticipation for the next story.
Jamie is the oldest of the brothers and so to me his and Olivia’s story seemed to be the reasonable one to read first. Each book is a stand-alone story, but the way the stories naturally blend, you cannot read just one and stop.
Kind of like eating potato chips.
In the prologue we learn Fiona Fraser decided to take the problem of her poor, lonely, unmarried sons into her own hands and surprises each one with his very own mail order bride. You can imagine the ruckus when these unexpected wives-to-be arrive at the Fraser home and are presented to the four, self-reliant, independent Fraser men, none of which felt he needed a wife at this particular time in his life. Each of Fiona’s sons have good reason not to be happy with the situation his mother is forcing upon him.
Jamie has been married before and the only good thing to come out of that challenging union was his two beautiful but undisciplined children. Mama Fraser appears to be quite proud to announce that Olivia is a teacher in her introduction to her oldest son. Olivia will soon realize that between the scars Jamie suffers from his first experience with marriage and the unruly children her heart goes out to, that her work to make this marriage a happy and loving one will not be easy.
Olivia steps up to the challenge when her mother-in-law injures her leg and must take to her bed. As Olivia manages the household and makes progress with the children’s behavior, she falls in love with her new family and husband. She doesn’t realize her love and courage will be tested in a most severe way that could end in tragedy if she fails to protect all she holds dear.
Will Jamie recognize the blessing he received when Olivia entered his life? Will their marriage ever become the union they both long for? Will tragedy bring an end to their story?
All the questions are answered in this well-plotted and beautifully told story. I was captured from page one and my interest did not waver once throughout the story. This is a book for someone that enjoys stories of big families filled with big personalities lots of changes. I look forward to reading more of this family’s adventures.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015272I3W
The other three brothers' books are:
The Surprise Brides: Caleb by Callie Hutton http://amzn.to/1KvP4id.
The Surprise Brides: Ethan by Sylvia McDaniel http://amzn.com/B015PG1FOI
All four books are available in print and also from Nook, iTunes, and Kobo.
Mary Adair is the author of the award winning, bestselling Native American Passion series set in the Colonial Carolina and England. She and her husband live on the side of a mountain in Eastern Oklahoma with a menagerie of pets.
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