I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more from this author .

Mary Elizabeth Chapman starts out on the Speedwell with her father & brother from Holland. They are among the Separatists coming to the ne world along with the Mayflower. After several tries to leave England they transfer to the Mayflower for the voyage. She meets William Lytton & they become friends. As time passes they have more feelings for each other. William is not a Separatist but gradually becomes more interested in the Bible. There are many hardships and illness on the voyage. When they finally spot land they are in the wrong place. This is a love story but then it is so much more. It gives you a look at how hard it was to cross the ocean with so many people and when they arrived so late in the year what suffering still awaited them.

I had a hard time getting into this book every time I started it I just could not get into it. I was just bored with it sorry no recommendation from me.

Wonderful historical novel! The first of a series of three books by different authors following the stories of three ladies generations apart of the same family. This, I felt, was the most historically accurate of the three. It's main characters were fictional but there were many many real characters, events and motives that really did happen. Best way to learn about history is through a story! The characters were also very endearing, and though there were sad and realistic parts like support characters dying that are not normally a part of a romance, it added to the authentic feel of the story and made me all the more appreciate the resiliency and authenticity of the events. Great read and one I plan on reading again!

The Mayflower Bride is such an eye-opening book! I had no idea that the Separatists originally left from the Netherlands. I also had forgotten that it took them quite some time to establish Plimouth Colony once they finally arrived in America. I certainly don't envy all of their hardships and the harsh conditions that they had to endure. However, Kimberley so beautifully portrays the Saints' struggles and their devout faith throughout their entire journey. Mary Elizabeth's and William's relationship developed slowly and sweetly under these trying circumstances, and understandably, this book has a lot of emphasis on faithful endurance through life's trials. I could've done without the one aspect of the story that involves William's record keeping for the Virginia Company. It added so little to the story, and its resolution wasn't very climactic or exciting.

***I received a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley and am under no obligation to provide a positive review. All opinions are my own.

I received the e-version of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

Slow moving at the beginning, hallmarky, the kind of book you know is going to end well- excuse me sir, “the fairer sex”? Go away. Now. You were doing good till that point, you are no longer accepted. Classic boy meets girl and nothing goes wrong? Quite possibly. A two minute meeting (or less) and she’s dreaming about the guy? Uh-huh. Of all the cliche books I’ve read, this is top five. Maybe three? Honestly, I’m trying to get into this book and it just isn’t happening. The idea is great, the execution? Eh. Mary Elizabeth sounds like a 12 year old at times. Can the eight year old please stop calling himself a man? Yeesh. I know, different time and stuff, but still. Let a kid be a kid.

At the end of the day, zero plot, zero romance, and zero character development. I finished this book, but good grief it was boring. Very half baked. Points for research and historical accuracy, but that’s about it. Would I read the other books in the series? I would try them since they’re written by different people.

While I felt this book was fairly well written I found I did not care for it at all. I liked the idea of the story line, but I found it to be quite depressing. The main character was always facing a major tragedy. I would have a hard time purchasing a book by this author or recommending it to anyone

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the characters, but I also really loved that this was actually historical fiction - the settings and descriptions made the time period realistic. There were a few things off about the historical aspect, but nothing too jarring. William's friendship and developing relationship with Mary Elizabeth was well done. Overall, a good read in a time period that I don't typically read.

We all know the story.
But with The Mayflower Bride, you won’t just know what happened, you will live what happened!
This book is not historical fiction. This is history come to life! The Daughters of the Mayflower series begins with The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse and I whole-heartedly give this book 5 stars. The amount of effort put into the historical research for this book was magnanimous. Of all the characters in the story, only seven of them are fictitious. I learned so much about the lives of those first settlers than I knew before.
As you experience the pain and struggles endured by the Mayflower voyagers, you will, as I was, be impressed by their strength and courage. Even the best laid plans often go awry, and for the Saints and Strangers on the Mayflower, sorrow and sickness plague their journey every step of the way.
These weary travelers learned to depend on God for strength to endure, courage to face the unknown, and to find joy in the little things. They believed God has sent them on this journey, like the Israelites in the wilderness, could they trust God to bring them safely to the promise land?
The main character Mary Elizabeth struggles with fear. Along the way, she finds her faith tested more than she ever imagined and discovers the source of true courage.
William Lytton wants nothing more than to flee his past and make a new life for him in the New World, but along he journey he finds faith and family—two things he never thought he’d have.
There were many lessons to be learned through this journey.
Patience
Joy
Getting out of our comfort zone
Praising him in the storm
How we could all grow so much more in these areas! As a person often plagued by fears, the courage of Mary Elisabeth and the other “pilgrims” touched my heart. They left their homeland and loved ones on a journey to a New World. One where they would be free of religious persecution and allowed to worship him as they believed the Scriptures taught. They lost so many of their members through sickness that first winter and yet they praised him anyway. Oh, that I would remember to praise him in the storm and have patience that his timing is always best.

My husband's 10th great grandfather was William Bradford, so I was definitely looking forward to reading this book; and it did not disappoint. This is the heartrending and horrifying fictional story of the Separatists voyage across the Atlantic to the eastern coast of the United States in 1600-01. This story is vividly written and closely follows the historic timeline of events while using a few fictional characters mixed among the actual sojourners. Woodhouse's historical research is evident throughout the story.
Due to the inability of the Speedwell to continue the journey because of damage, the Separatists and the Strangers (those whose religious beliefs did not align with the Separatists) were crammed together onto the Mayflower. There was a high price paid for those who sought a new world where they would have religious freedom. Many were ill due to rough seas for the entire journey and some died. Others died due to scurvy or pneumonia. Of the women who braved the journey, only 5 arrived alive. Woodhouse does an incredible job of describing the efforts and bravery of the women who made the trip. One even delivered a baby during the voyage.
The central focus of the story is the developing relationship between Mary Catherine Chapman, a Separatist, and William Lytton, the carpenter on the ship who is a Stranger. Bringing both a poignant love story that develops slowly and sweetly as well as the budding growth of William's faith in God to the forefront, made this along with the history an excellent story.
I also appreciated the information Woodhouse included at the front regarding the cast of characters to understand which were fictional and which were real people. The notes following the story offered additional historical information that was quite interesting.
Definitely made my 2018 Favorites list and highly recommended.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. In fact I tried really hard to. However it was poorly laid out and poorly edited, not to mention that the writing was rather sub par also. Which was a shame as the idea behind the story was really rather good. I liked seeing Southampton in the story (which was a given seeing as how the Mayflower sailed from there...). Sadly though, I couldn't finish this book. Mainly due to the bad lay out and poor editing. Had that been okay then I may have just about been able to get through this.

My expectations for this book were a little bit different from what the book actually was. I was expecting more of a romance within the historical fiction story. While there are elements of romance, it is squeaky clean and full of scripture. Again, this isn’t bad, just not what I was expecting.

One of the things that I found most interesting about this book is how the author detailed people’s lives aboard the Mayflower. I think in general history gives us a romanticized image of their journey, but it was anything but. Quite a few times it is mentioned how dirty and smelly the ship was, and how sick people were. These little details really make a piece of historical fiction in my opinion.

While this story wasn’t exactly what I expected, it was a very cute, quick read. I read it in one sitting during the weekend, and I enjoyed learning a little bit about the Saint’s journey on the Mayflower, as well as a nice, clean love story. While this is an enjoyable read, I don’t think it is anything particularly special or riveting, and my rating reflects that.

When I first heard about this series, I was super excited! Over the past year, I have researched my family history, and I discovered that I am a descendant of several passengers of The Mayflower.
We all know that the voyage of The Mayflower was horrible for the passengers. I feel that Kimberley Woodhouse did a wonderful job portraying what it would have been like on that voyage. The true story is compelling, and this book brought the story to life for me, though the main characters are fictional.
I enjoyed reading Mary Elizabeth and William's story. There was much for these characters to struggle through, but their love story was sweet and believable. I did, however, feel that the character of Peter and the problems that came along with him were not particularly necessary to move the story forward. There were enough challenges for the characters to overcome without him.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book, and I look forward to the rest of the series.

I’m sorry, but I just didn’t get very far into this book before losing interest. It’s not that it’s badly written, because I thought the parts I read were interesting. And I normally am interested in the Mayflower and Separatists. Since this book has already been released, just thought I’d go ahead and submit this.

I thought the author did a wonderful job mixing how difficult, tragic and loss filled the journey on the Mayflower was with the hope of his passengers. There is a romance but it is not the main focus of the book. I was a little thrown by the title, it made me think the romance would be a larger focus. It's still a good book, one worth reading. I definitely recommend reading the author notes, they are very informative.
I rounded the stars up to 4 because of the epilogue.

The Mayflower Bride is the first book in a new series called The Daughters of the Mayflower. I was intrigued by the idea of a series that has a common theme (all of the books so far have the word "bride" in the title) and they are written by different authors. I am looking forward to comparing the different writing styles of each author and the way each approaches the theme.

I have never read a book about the first pilgrims and their journey to the New World on the Mayflower. Kimberley Woodhouse has obviously done a lot of research, as she notes several factual events and characters in the author's notes. I appreciated the realistic description of what the travelers went through to endure a long and treacherous crossing and the hardship of settling in a wild, new land. That aspect of the story was very well written. The novel was a little slower pace than what I typically prefer, and the romantic tension did not build up as intensely as I'd hoped. I love reading Bible verses and Biblical truth when it's interwoven through a story and flowing right into a story line. This novel had a lot of Bible verses, but the placement of them felt a little forced to me at times.

Personal takeaway...Even when the circumstances seem impossible, we can have courage and trust in God to guide us through.

I'm glad I read this book and I am definitely looking forward to the next books in the series.

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley to share my honest thoughts and opinions, which I did.**

3 1/2 stars

This is my first read from Kimberley Woodhouse and my first look at the Mayflower, beyond school history books. I enjoyed learning more about this expedition and the sufferings and hardships experienced by those settlers. Her novel is obviously well researched and I appreciated the historical facts and truths kept in the story to give a true representation of history through fictional characters. The story was a quick, enjoyable read. Very clean story with a lot of reference to God and scripture, with the obvious hand of God in the storyline and in how the characters face their trials. A nice little romance as well.

This is an interesting beginning of a series written by different authors who give readers a heart-felt peek into the lives of two brave souls; Mary Elizabeth Chapman and William Lytton and their daring boat ride as they seek a better life in a new land – story set in 1620. Would they make it to the promised land? They didn’t know. I liked what Kimberley wrote in author’s notes where she tells readers what was real and what she added to make the story work. She elaborates a little more there about historical event. I liked that.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series. The titles and covers of the next books look very interesting! Looking forward to reading them.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from blogging for books. 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”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
Book Fun Magazine https://tinyurl.com/y9lwbfrs
SVP Promotion

It seems there’s much I didn’t know about the journey of the Mayflower, which brought religious dissenters to the new world. Kim Woodhouse’s coming-of-age story is both entertaining and informative. The opening pages are set in Leiden, the Netherlands, in 1620, when motherless Mary Elizabeth learns that her family will be embarking on the voyage of a lifetime. Committed to caring for her much younger brother, Mary Elizabeth doesn’t expect romance to enter her life any time soon. But that’s exactly what happens when the expedition is forced to put in for repairs in England and she meets William.

Kim Woodhouse has deftly woven known facts and supposition about Mayflower’s voyage with imagination and exquisite detail. History tells us that the journey was anything but smooth. Through Woodhouse’s writing, we get to experience the hardships of the turbulent seas, disease and malnutrition. We witness birth and death, joy and pain, and the separation between the ‘Saints’ and ‘Strangers’ onboard. The narrative continues when the Pilgrims reach land and go in search of a suitable site for their colony. The hardships did not stop and the winter of 1620-21 would take as harsh a toll on the people as the voyage, if not more so.

The Mayflower Bride is the first in a new series published by Barbour, called Daughters of the Mayflower. Six books are scheduled to be published in 2018, all written by different authors, and are set between 1620 and 1814. The next title, The Pirate Bride, is due within the month. Kim Woodhouse is also the author of The Patriot Bride, book four in the series.

Thank you to Barbour Publishing for my complimentary electronic copy of The Mayflower Bride.