The Mayflower Bride is the beginning of the new series, Daughters of the Mayflower. I thought it was a great start to this series and look forward to the others when they release. I give this one 4 stars.

A sweet romance involving a young woman who travels with her father and younger brother from Leyden, Holland to England, and then on to the New World in search of religious freedom. An unmarried woman in the 1600s has little choice about her destiny, and Mary Elizabeth Chapman doesn’t really want to venture to the proposed colony. She’d rather stay safe in her known world, near her mother’s grave. Only the fact that her best friend, Dorothy will be on the voyage bouts her courage enough to accept her father’s decision. 

William Lytton, orphan, once again finds himself alone in the world—this time after his mentor and friend passes away. William honors his mentor’s wish and signs on to travel to the new colony. Before the voyage, one of the shareholders approaches him and asks him to keep record of what happens with the Separatists. William agrees, after all what harm could come of simply keeping record?

After multiple problems with the ship, the Separatists find out that they’ll have to join their fellow travelers on the more seaworthy Mayflower. The crowded conditions throw two unlikely people together—Mary Elizabeth and William. The storms and sickness that torment the passengers and crew test both of their mettle. As William leans more about the group, he starts to reconsider his lack of belief in God. 

The author does a nice job of presenting a historically accurate novel. Mary Elizabeth and William grow as characters as they face each new hardship. The elements and the ship act as the real antagonist of the journey, but the author has included a one-dimensional antagonist that causes problems for William later on in the story. The resolution seems a little contrived. I didn’t love the book, but I didn’t hate it, either.

We are persecuted, but not forsaken; cast downe, but we perish not."

After reading this book about the 'Separatists'--the group we commonly call the Pilgrims--I find myself very thankful, like Mary Elizabeth, for all the seemingly small things that I take for granted. Clean water, fresh fruit and vegetables, a warm house, and clean clothes. This group was amazing in their zeal for worshipping God as they believed from their Bible study, leaving everything (more than once) to live according to their faith, and traveling to a new land. Endurance and faithfulness were key themes, also trust, grace and hope as they suffered tremendous hardship and loss.

The author does a good job of mingling fictional characters with historical ones, recreating the journey of extreme hardship and many losses.  It was easy to imagine from the descriptions what it must have been like on the journey. The growing faith of William and Mary Elizabeth was inspiring. William was my favorite character. Honorable, hardworking, hoping for a fresh start in a new land. His relationship with Mary Elizabeth was tender and sweet. I liked how she went from a timid, insecure young woman, to a stronger, caring, outgoing individual as she helped others, believing that "...I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me."

Recommend to readers who enjoy historical Christian fiction based on real events, with a squeaky clean romance. This would be a good read for teens. 3.5 stars

I usually love historical fiction but this was not one of my favorites.  It was very hard for me to stay connected in the story.  It seemed like it was very well researched but the actual story was just flat to me.

A very well thought of and researched novel that takes us back to the pilgrimage. To be presented with the toughness and dangerous these people faced during their crossing makes me wonder how far off is it from the people fleeing for a better life today...
Along with thought-provoking moments, we get a tender romance and a story about endurance through storms and trials. Truly inspiring.

Come on board and travel to the New World on the Mayflower.  The author weaves a fascinating historic tale of the voyage of the Mayflower and the early settlement in Plymouth.  This story was well written and the author vividly captured the trials and difficulties of our Separatists, who fled England because of religious persecution.  The author provided a lot of detail, her research paid off.. Some parts of the story were slow moving but the ending was exciting.  My favorite quotes of the book are:  "But prayer was a beautiful thing.  As soon as he laid his burdens down at the heavenly Father's feet, he knew he'd done the right thing."  "There would never be a perfect church because it was filled with imperfect people." .and "Amazing what a few months of hardship could teach.  To find joy in even the smallest matters."

I am very excited for this series. I love the idea of a multi-generational saga covering the important historical events in the United States. And I loved that it started with the Mayflower because there are not enough books about the Pilgrims. 
Having said that, this is the first novel I have read by Kimberley Woodhouse. And while the historical details were fascinating and seemed accurate, I felt that I was being told the story. I never lost myself in the story and never forgot I was reading a book. 
I am looking forward to the rest of this series and to seeing what other authors and events I discover.

When I first saw The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse I knew I wanted to read it. There are so few books about the time on the Mayflower I was instantly intrigued. It was interesting to read familiar names from history thrown in with the fictional characters. The trials and tribulations that were encountered on their journey were brought to life in a way that had me cringing at the thought of what people went through to make a new life in America. I also understand the struggles of the "Separatist" a little better. 

We tend to forget what it must have been like for people to make that journey in the 1600's and then to realize when they got here, there was basically nothing. It's not like they could run down to the corner store for a bag of flour. It took a lot of courage and an enormous amount of faith to leave everything and start completely over. I'm interested to see what comes next in the Daughters of the Mayflower series.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. These are my own honest opinions.

When I first learned that Barbour Books had contracted with a number of authors to write their new series, The Daughters of the Mayflower, I knew I was in for a treat.  
 
Late last evening, or perhaps I should say in the wee hours of the morning, I finished reading the first book in the series, The Mayflower Bride, by Kimberly Woodhouse.   

Having conducted extensive research, the author, has penned a captivating read about the Separatists and the Strangers on their voyage to the New World.  While it is a work of fiction, some of the characters in the novel are historically real; such as Miles Standish; William and Dorothy Bradford; William and Mary Brewster; Edward and Elizabeth Winslow, along with others too numerous to name here.  

In addition, a number of historical events are also included in the novel, events I do not recall having ever read previously and it most definitely was not included in my public-school education.  In fact, due to not being familiar with some of the events, I took a few minutes to do a bit of research myself. Kimberly Woodhouse did an outstanding job of not only researching but also relating the events so as to make the reader feel a part of them. 

Adding colorful and realistic fictional characters provided the novel with a realistic experience to the experience of the ocean voyage, including the cramped quarters; seasickness; discord between the Separatists and the Strangers; numerous storms; lack of food supplies; illness; death and burial at sea.   
I could hear the waves as they crashed upon the ship; smell the sea salted air; the claustrophobia of the of the tight quarters below deck, along with the stench of illness and the lack of sunlight; feel the chill of constantly wet clothes and cry tears of grief as one after another of the Mayflower's passengers died offshore, before every getting to even set foot on the new land.    

At the same time, I could feel the excitement and the apprehension of the Separatists as they prepared to leave everything they had ever known to cross a huge ocean to settle in a land they had never seen.  Too, I could feel the excitement of finally seeing land and setting their feet on solid ground once again. 

This is going to be a great series! I am very much looking forward to the next release.

Can I just take a moment to say how much I love the cover for this book? In fact Barbour has outdone themselves on exquisite covers for this whole series. It's one of the main reasons I wanted to read these books. Kudos! I was also really excited because I like unique books whether the setting, time period, plot, what have you. This book met fit the bill as there aren't a lot of books set during the time of the Mayflower. I do have to say, however, that the story itself fell a bit flat for me. There was an imbalance with showing vs. telling so the character seemed flat and I could never really picture myself in the story. The dialogue, also, did not sound like real people having a conversation but very much like a third person putting words into their mouths (like my daughter does when she plays with her dolls).

Thank you Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Mayflower Bride. It is a good, fast read. I read it in one sitting with a heated blanket and my pet dachshund. The writing is descriptive, the characters likeable, and I wanted to finish it quickly.

The story centers around Mary Elizabeth and William. Mary Elizabeth is a hard working but timid young woman who boards the ship, Speedwell. She and her father and brother are Separatists looking for religious freedom in the Virginia territory. William is a young man who has been dealt many hard knocks in his short life. Orphaned young, he was taken in by relatives, who promptly kicked out to fend for himself at the age of nine. He was rescued by a good Christian man named Paul, who taught him to be a carpenter and make something of himself.

At the beginning of the voyage, the Speedwell develops a leak that won't stop and the passengers are forced to board the Mayflower. So, Mary Elizabeth and William begin their adventure together. The story outlines the hardships the people faced on their journey. Storms, loss of water, scurvy, and starvation are just a few of the challenges that Mary Elizabeth must overcome to build a new life for herself.

Overall, I liked the story a lot. I especially enjoyed the author's notes at the end. She outlines who was real and who was fiction. She includes more history in the notes, which I enjoyed reading. 

I saw that the Mayflower Brides is a six-part series. I look forward to reading the future parts.

The book was a nice lead in to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  While it is about the true Separatists' journey to the New World, and there is a lot of history included in the text, there is also some of the modern myth included as well.  It is a clean, Christian-fiction novel that will teach you a little bit about history, geography, people, and faith.  I look forward to the next couple of books in this series, where they follow the descendants.

This is the first book in a new series by Barbour. I had high hopes for this first book. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it was horrible but it lacked firepower. 

Mary Elizabeth and her family leave everything they know behind to sail to the New World. Mary Elizabeth hates leaving her mothers grave. While sailing on the Speedwell, the Saints go through many trials. They eventually join the Mayflower. Again, they go through many trials but their faith remains strong. 

William Lytton is a carpenter seeking to make a new start in the New World. 

Both Mary Elizabeth and William discover more to life, themselves and God as they make their way to a new life in the New World. 

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including Netgalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.