Determined to save her father and siblings from a crumbling Chicago tenement, Emilia Stanek becomes the long-distance bride of a Montana rancher. But when she arrives in Helena, a rugged lawman shatters her plans with the news that her husband is dead—and deeply in debt.
County sheriff Mac McCall can’t afford to be distracted by the pretty young widow, not with scandalous secrets emerging as he investigates his friend’s suspicious death. Mac’s gruff order that she leave town at once only spurs Emilia’s resolve to take ownership of her late husband’s ranch and face his debtors. But as her defenses soften, Emilia begins to accept Mac’s help, feel compassion for his own wounded heart—and learns that trust means taking a leap of faith.
This was a pretty good. The twists in the book make it so much more than just a mail-order bride template. The author leaves you satisfied and yet left you with questions that will keep you reading the series to find out more. I can’t wait to read more in this series. I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

The concept of mail-order brides is a little scary to me but I do realized it happened. This novel is about one of the things that go wrong. Emilia's father is desperate to get her and her siblings out of Chicago so she becomes a bride. After reaching Montana, she fights hard to take care of her family when finding out her husband has been killed. I was not expecting a novel with a lot of emphasis on prostitutes, madame and brothels. This was just an okay book for me.

Much like most mail order bride reads but a twist with the groom. Written well, period appropriate and easy flow.

Murder. Mystery. Satisfaction.

It will make you lose sleep. If you’re like me and read at bedtime, the problem is that you won’t want to stop reading. I was engaged with the lead character Emilia right away, and thoroughly invested in the story shortly thereafter. Emilia lives in Chicago with her brother, little sister and father in terrible conditions. She is a planner – one of the best – and finds a way for them to get out of the tenements by becoming a mail order bride to Finn who is in Montana. They have carefully laid plans but other people put a severe twist in their plans. Emilia’s father accelerates their wedding plans with a marriage by proxy. Therefore Emilia is married when she, her brother and sister go to Montana ahead of schedule, but when she arrives the sheriff tells her to go back home – Finn was dead. They can’t really go back, so she decides to settle her husband’s debts and stay on the farm. The sheriff is against it, figuring that Finn’s killer might come back. But he has no idea how twisted and turned things are going to get as those involved with Finn’s murder will blacken his name and pull Emilia in. This is one I can highly recommend, a very well told Christian Historical with lessons of faith.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Kensington Publishing - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Promise Bride is about a lady named Emily Stanek who is living with her family in Chicago. After her mother's death, Emily has taken on the role of a mother figure to her younger brother and sister. She works hard as a sale clerk but her and her father are barely making ends meet so Emily answers an ad to be a mail order bride. She is to marry Finn Collins by proxy and move her family to Montana to be a rancher's wife.

When she arrives in Montana with her brother and sister, she thinks she is going to meet Finn but she is met by the Sheriff who tells her she needs to leave and head back to Chicago. What the Sheriff does not know is she has no home in Chicago anymore and she is in Montana to stay. When she learns that Finn has been mysteriously murdered and is heavily in debt, Emily digs her heels in and tries to make Finn's ranch a home and to pay off Finn's debts. The Sheriff, Mac McCall, was Finn's best friend and he fears Emily and her family may be in danger as well so he takes on the role of protecting them. As he does, he realizes Emily is a kind and honorable woman. He grows fond of her. When the case of Finn's death unravels, Mac comes up with a plan to keep Emily and her family safe, the question is will Emily go along with the plan.

I really enjoyed The Promise Bride. I love the romance between Emily and Mac. Emily's little sister, Luci, just captures your heart as well. It is well written and really held my interest. I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fan of mail order brides and find them to be a light and fun read. Boy, this book is that and a whole lot more. I was just as shocked as the protagonist, Emilia, when she arrives expecting to be greeted by her husband. Instead, she's met by the sheriff to find out she's not meeting him, because he's been murdered. Emilia has left Chicago with her younger siblings, for a better life. My heart broke for her as she figures out a way to pay some debts her husband has left and settles in a strange place. She is much more tenacious than I expected, a trait that I really admired. I found it interesting that they were married by proxy, something I'd never heard of before.
There are several lighthearted moments in the book. Emilia is definitely a city girl with her knowledge of running her ranch limited to what she's read in books. There are some unexpected twists and turns thrown in that held my attention throughout. I am looking forward to the next book in the series and am curious to find out what's in store for future Montana Brides.
Thank you Netgalley and Kensington for the copy of The Promise Bride. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own.

This book tracks a young woman and her siblings from Chicago tenements to Montana where she will marry the writer of a mail order bride advertisement. Emilia has a lot of grit and is resourceful. She deals with her younger siblings with patience. She deals with incredible upheaval with grace. The townsfolk she meets feel like real people. I was surprised at the twist the author presented in the beginning of the book and wasn't certain as to where we would go on this journey. It was nice to read something that kept me intrigued and wondering and curious throughout. Very good reading. Recommended!

The Promise Bride by Gina Welborn and Becca Whithan is the first novel in the Montana Bride series. It’s about Emilia Stanek who wants a better life for herself, her brother, sister and her father. Living in a run down tenement in Chicago in the late 1800’s, she struggles with their filthy living conditions. She answers an ad for a mail order bride in Montana, and actually falls in love as they correspond. She can hardly wait to become a rancher’s wife and have clean air to breathe. and a home to call her own for her family. Her Dad is in poor health and suggest she marry by proxy and leave for Montana early and he will follow later on.
She arrives in Helena and instead of her new husband welcoming her, she is met by the sheriff, Mac McCall, who tells her that her husband has been murdered and the best thing for her is to turn around and head back to Chicago. He doesn’t understand she cannot go back for there is no home to return to. She is as determined to stay and make a successful life for her and her siblings as the sheriff is to see her gone…..If you like western Christian romance with murder, prostitution and good down to earth folks all mixed together, then you will love The Promise Bride. The only down is I felt like the ending was too hurried. Like they needed to end the book and did just that. Although it was a happy ending……..I was gifted this book to read and review and the words are my own.

I’m not really sure how I ended up with this story on my kindle, but I was looking for a book to read, so I chose this one. The cover on my kindle didn’t show this image, but my first glance at this cover doesn’t really appeal to me. It looks like a book created by an unknown publishing house, with a less than polished look. Essentially, the designer for the cover needed to place a little more time and effort to improve the cover.

However, despite the less than polished outer cover, the inside of the book is what matters most.

The Promise Bride is about Emilia Stanek who is to become a mail-order bride. The husband-to-be marries her via proxy and Emilia is set to arrive by train with her two siblings in tow. However, the sheriff ends up meeting her at the train station to inform her of her new husband’s death. The sheriff wants her to return to Chicago, but Emilia has other plans. She plans to pay off her husband’s debts and remain on the ranch to live and work off his debt.

In the meantime Mac McCall just wants Emilia gone, so that he can focus on who and why his best friend was killed just days prior. Overtime, Emilia being there only becomes a distraction as they both try and make things go.

For the most part, I did enjoy the story. The plot intrigued me and despite some of Emilia’s more annoying features, I did like reading and enjoying her dialogue with the sheriff.

A few things that did bother me about the story, and that was the extra time spent at the beginning with Emilia and her job. This could have been an area that was cut short and just left with the promise of a job upon her return. The long-windedness of this part just seemed a little too much. Especially since it didn’t really hold an integral part in the story. Just that she was promised a job when she returned.

To me that last part of the story just seemed to be rushed and thrown together. Don’t get me wrong, I truly did enjoy the story, it just was difficult piecing all the pieces together while new data was inputted. The reason for Finn’s death (her husband) was never really answered and just remained an unanswered question dangling in the wind.

Also, if you are a rancher’s wife, even if you owe a debt, there is no way on earth you could fix meals, take care of ranch chores while at the same time working in town to pay off the debt. To me, it just seemed a bit reaching. Seems like the circumstances of the ranch and the land could have changed, especially the distance that they had to travel to get to point A and B.

On the epilogue portion of the book, I would have enjoyed it more had it been a true epilogue with details that were helpful instead of mysterious. Such as, did Da make it to Helena?

Would I recommend this book, maybe. For me, there were more questions than answers that needed to be solved.

The Promise Bride is where Montana meats Mail Order Brides - Victorious. Poor Emilia marries long distance for certain reasons that you need to find out for yourselves. I don't want to ruin it all for you - she goes to Montana to meet her new hubby and gets there and finds she's a new widow in major debt and run out of town by the Sherriff but she refuses to go ( you go girl) she takes over the ranch debt and all and guess who tries to help her? then there is a romance or is there a brewin' with someone? is it good or bad? from GOD or not? Will she get out of all this mess?

The Promise bride

A great start to a new series. I really admire Emilia and how she worked so hard. She was a mail order bride that got married by proxy, when she got to her husband she finds out he had been killed. The sheriff tries to help her in many ways but she wants to do things herself. She wants to take care of her family. There is also a mystery to the book that kept me wondering how it was going to end up. I received the book from the author and net gallery . Loved it.

Mail order brides face unfamiliar challenges from the unknown truths behind the letters they receive. Emilia staked her and her family's welfare in the hands of Finn, her intended; moving them from Chicago to Montana territory. Only to discover on their arrival in Montana, Finn was dead!
Page turning goodness in this engaging clean historical romantic suspense! Glad to see smart, strong, dedicated and moral characters in Emilia, her family and the sheriff as well as in many supporting townspeople. Entertaining and enlightening. 
Voluntarily read ARC, through Netgalley and publisher, for honest review

The Promise Bride by Gina Welborn and Becca Whitham is a captivating beginning to the Montana Brides Romance series. Through a proxy marriage, Emelia finds herself a widow before she's even a wife. She became a mail order bride to escape the horrors of tenement living in Chicago in the late 1880s. She was willing to do anything to get her siblings and father to a better place. Arriving in Montana she is met by a handsome lawman who greets her with the message that her husband is dead and insists that she turn right back around and go home. And the story just grabs the reader's interest and with several twists and turns to the plot, sweeps you right along to a climactic and satisfactory ending. With strong characters, fast-paced action and the tension of romance the authors bring an entertaining story to their readers. I won a complimentary advance reader copy of the book in a contest. I was not required to write a review and the opinions are my own.

The Promise Bride is book #1 in the Montana Brides series.
I have read plenty of mail order brides books before. I do enjoy them and have no complaint there.
I thought this one would be a pretty typical one as well. Well blow me away, this one really surprised me! It wasn't your typical mail order bride book. There was trouble right from the start. The twist and turns I just didn't see coming . What threw me for a loop was it was also a who dun it mystery as well. I eagerly read this and couldn't wait to get to the end so I could see how it turned out. Excellent plot and I can't wait to revisit Montana with the release of book #2 in the Montana Brides series.
Pub Date 29 Aug 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

She enjoys her work but her father needs a healthier environment for his lungs and her brother is hanging out with bad boys. She's twenty-one. She decides to become a mail order bride. She's real excited about making a new start in Montana. When she takes her brother and sister with her on the train (her father will be joining her later), she never expected the Sheriff to meet her at the train depot. Not only that, he wants her to go back!

Kensington Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published August 29th.

Emilia is NOT going back. When she finds out her husband she married by proxy is dead and he has debts, she doesn't give up hope. She finalizes the marriage (becoming a widow) and barters with the merchants. She ends up working a lot but that's OK with her. She did that at home, too. Her disappointments aren't over, though.

The ranch and the cabin her potential husband told her about were not at all what she expected. He said he had a two story cabin. He had a small cabin with a loft. She has chickens, cows, a pig and more to feed and take care of and she has only what she could find at the library to help her. Luckily one of the neighbors is helping.

The Sheriff tries to ignore her but he also is trying to protect her and that backfires on him. She can take care of herself! Eventually, though, they realize the attraction they have for each other is not going away.

The ending was a compromise I didn't like but I can understand why Emilia would accept it. We all do things in life we might not like to acquire what we want. The authors made their characters human.

The Promise Bride is a good, sweet and clean read. Definitely worth a read.

Emilia becomes a mail order bride in order to save her family from living in the dregs of Chicago. She feels lucky that she has fallen in love with her groom, Finn, through letters and she agrees to marry him by proxy. However, when she arrives in Montana she is told he has been killed.

Sheriff McCall just lost his best friend and is looking for the murderer but now he must make sure that stubborn Emilia and her family are protected while also trying to protect his heart.

-A main focus of the story was Emilia's struggle with the belief that if someone gives you something or helps you, they want something in return.

This was my favorite quote regarding that:

"You haven't lived today until you've done something for someone who can never repay you."


-This idea becomes a major problem for Mac and Emilia because Mac is always trying to rescue people and fix problems and Emilia doesn't want to be indebted to anyone.

-Another main idea in the story is the idea of trusting people even when it is hard.

"Perhaps that was the highest level of trust, when you gave it because of who was asking, not because of what was asked."


-Hypocrites have always bothered me and not only are the women in town gossiping, but they are doing it in the church building on the Lord's day.

-One of the take-aways from this story is that you can be strong and independent and still accept help from others. Sometimes you have to be Lazarus and let your friends carry you.

-The epilogue so makes me want to know what happens next! I hate that there are still so many questions but I look forward to a sequel.

-This was a clean, interesting story that is a mix between romance and mystery. I would recommend it. I received an ARC but the opinions expressed here are 100% my own.

Not my thing. Didn't really like the characters and found the story boring. Thank you for the review copy though!

Oh my goodness. I read this book right after reading the Brides of Montana 3-in-1 and was worried I wouldn't care for it if it followed the same writing style and lack of an intriguing plot. But I was so very wrong.

Instead, it was a near-perfect romance story staying true to wild west settings, a strong female lead, and swoon worthy love interests. It delivers what it promises without appearing contrite and is perfect for any reader that enjoys clean adult books.

It has Christian influence, but not in an aggressive manner, and always interwoven seamlessly into the story.

It has romance, but it is slow to build, and I was incredibly grateful the authors stayed away from the blatant predictability that plague most Christian romances.

And finally, we have a murder mystery to round it all out. Whatever you think it is, it isn't. So just enjoy the ride

The writing was flawless, really--too many times Christian romances can appear cheesy, corny, and sickly sweet. Instead, The Promise Bride provides natural dialogue and focuses on relationships of a small group of people avoiding the pitfalls of having to juggle too many many characters

Unfortunately, that is also where the fault comes in to play. Outside of Emilia and Mac, everyone is fairly 2-D--even Roch and Luci, Emilia's younger siblings. I'll admit that you have a surprise character, but not enough to make them seem fully fleshed out. Despite this (or maybe because of this), I'll be on the look out for the next book to see if we can learn a bit more about the good people of Helena, Montana.

Thank you to NetGalley, Gina Welborn, Becca Whitham, and Kensington Books for this beautiful ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Promise Bride is a sweet mail order bride series written by authors Gina Welborn and Becca Whitham. I will definitely look for more in this series. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books-Zebra for the advance copy.