Ok, first off I do not normally read what I consider "religious" novels & to be honest I didn't think this would be one, but it was. Though the religious part of the book fit into the story line & was needed for the first pilgrims I found it to be a bit monotonous with the amount of religion in the book. I understand it was needed for the story line, but it got to the point I started skipping over those sections. 

Otherwise the story line & historical accuracy was spot on to what I believe how it would have been for the first Pilgrims arriving at Plymouth. The Indians were even brought into the story line which I thought was a very nice touch.

Overall I consider this to be a religious roman novel. It was very good, but I doubt I will read anymore of this type. It just is not my thing.

The Mayflower Bride is a love story between Mary Elizabeth and William who meet on the Mayflower.  I'm not sure why, but before I started reading, I thought the book would be more about their marriage (after their arrival in America) than about their courtship.  Most of the novel takes place aboard the Mayflower, and it stays close to the facts.  As someone who knows about this time in history, there were few surprises. 

Mary Elizabeth and William spend little time together.  Although I'm sure this is more historically accurate, it's hard for me to emotionally connect to that type of relationship. I felt more connected to the individual characters and their struggles, which I thought the author did a good job of portraying.

This was a clean, quick read that would appeal to lovers of historical fiction. Even though we know that the Mayflower makes it, there were still plot turns that kept you on your toes.

To be honest, I think the description makes the book sound more exciting than it actually is. But, having said that, I enjoyed the book, and found the story moved at a fairly rapid pace, which kept me interested. While I appreciate that the main focus of the story was the voyage itself, at times (rather like the pilgrims) I found myself wishing that they wouldland in the New World and get on with it! I found the characters were mostly believable and likeable: I think it was the less pleasant characters that I found to be less well described.
As a Christian myself, I didn't find the continued Bible references too annoying, but I imagine that if you were reading this as a non-believer both the Bible verses and the slightly "preachy" tone would become increasingly irritating. 
This gets a solid 3 stars from me - I enjoyed it, I wanted to finish it, it held my interest - but I'm not sure I would want to read another book by the same author.

This is the first book in the new daughters of the Mayflower series. In beginning of the book, Kimberley Woodhouse added a letter to the readers explaining the work involved in writing this book. She said that she carefully researched historical documents and journals to keep the book as accurate  as possible. I never realized that that the English of the day didn’t have common spelling, a lot of it was phonetic. If you’ve ever struggled to read  children’s phonetic first papers, you will realize how difficult this task actually was. For  this story, Woodhouse  included some people who actually lived during this time, while making other  characters fictional. 

This a Christian book, and the author doesn’t only pepper it with a small amount of Christianity, like too many Christian authors do, instead she saturates the pages. You know right from the beginning the characters live  devout and pious lives  filled with respect, caring and prayer for each other. They are very well portrayed by their actions and words, and I got a  real sense of how important their religion was to them.

I will admit that I really disliked history in school. Having to read about past times, that I felt had no relevance to my life, was so boring. The textbooks dull. Books like this have brought the past alive for me in ways that I never before imagined, and I’ve actually become a huge fan of historical fiction, much to own surprise.

Whether you are like me, and hated learning about history in school, or a fan of this genre, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

The characters will take a hold of your heart, in this deeply poignant story. I was glued to the pages of this story, even though I know the history of the Mayflower, and have read journal accounts of those on board. Kimberley Woodhouse breathes new life into the history of not only the Mayflower but also the beginnings of what would become the United States of America.

This eloquent story gives readers an intimate look at what life was truly like on the Mayflower. The strength of character that is required to embark on a dangerous ocean crossing. No cozy private cabin, only a gun deck shared by strangers and littered with supplies. You won’t find bathrooms, the only privacy provided is a sheet separating your family from the next. No sturdy beds, or even straw mattress, just the blanket you brought (you did pack a blanket, I hope!), and the hard wood-plank floor beneath you.

Come travel across an ocean with the brave colonists on the Mayflower. With little more than the clothes on their backs, into a wild untamed wilderness. Into a vast unknown land fraught with dangers. There wasn’t a sturdy home, and stores filled with supplies on the other side of the voyage. Uncharted land welcomes them to the New World. Mature forests, thick with vegetation, there are no roads or signs to mark the way.  It’s the end of fall and the beginning of winter. Will the dwindling supplies hold out until the gardens can be planted and start producing?

With a faith in God, and a desire to bring their families out of the persecution of the Church of England and to a New World where they can openly worship and follow the Bible. The brave Separatists embark on the journey of a lifetime.

I appreciated the strong threads of faith seamlessly woven throughout. I genuinely enjoyed reading this story and I’m eagerly anticipating the stories to follow! I give this story 4.5 stars and encourage you to pick up a copy or request it from your local library. You are sure to not only enjoy yourself, but learn something along the way!

(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.)

It was a really good book! I learned alot of interesting facts! Great love story!

I love history. This book was filled with actual hisrtorical events and it is fascinating. This author did her research.  I can't even imagine being on the Mayflower and experiencing all the hardships that they endured. These pilgrims were Faith filled people  and knew God had called them to this new land. The story uses fictional characters as for the hero and heroine and the romance was so sweet. What I loved the most besides the history and romance was the inspirational message throughout the book.
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion

I absolutely loved the history in this book. The author's research was fascinating. I love that the fictional characters were woven in with actual people on the journey. However, I felt like I never really connected with the characters. They didn't have as much depth as I would have liked. But the book was still worth reading for the interesting history.

I want to thank the publishers and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my opinion. I liked the main character, Mary, and how she grew throughout her journey. I really related to her in terms of how she had doubts and fears yet still chose to trust her God and move forward. It's something I know well and how hard it is to do. I liked the love interest as well, how he was honest and kind. The story was interesting and I liked how they wanted a place to be free to practice their faith. I felt the trials they went through were very harsh and detailed it made me feel as I was there with them

The Mayflower Bride by Kimberly Woodhouse was an easy read and was not bogged down with a lot of historical details.  Mary Elizabeth, Dorothy, William and John Alden's stories were interesting and kept my attention. Conditions and passengers sickness on the Mayflower was eye opening. I would definitely read more of her historical fictions.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and this one definitely satisfies.  Character development of Mary Elizabeth is complete and compelling.  The reader is rooting for her and feels her emotions just as strongly.  Sadly, Williams character could have been developed more robustly, but one can't help but hope for him as well because Mary Elizabeth is so taken with him.  My understanding of the Separatist movement is more rounded just from reading this book - it connects some areas for me that I could not relate to.  The novel makes me hungry to read more!  I read the entire book in one day, yes, it's that good.  It's an easy read, and sometimes that is just what one wants, something nice, clean, easy and satisfying.  All of those things are here.  Thank you Ms. Woodhouse.

I received this book from NetGalley and Barbour Publishing, and thank you Kimberly Woodhouse for writing it.  

My goodness the perils the first colonists endured to get religious freedom.  Which in turn caused me to not want to put this book down.  The story is about Mary Elizabeth Chapman, her brother, and father,.  It also follows the lives of her best friend Dorothy, and William Lytton - a carpenter on the Mayflower.  The ships encounter setbacks, illness, and terrible seas.  But through it all Mary Elizabeth and William find friendship and then love.  Departing so late put the Mayflower arriving in the New World later than expected.  It also put them in line with terrible storms which cause horrible seasickness -- to which Mary Elizabeth and Dorothy cared for the settlers.  Once they reached the New World is when Mary Elizabeth faced her biggest tribulations.  But in the end her faith,  love for others and William get her through, to which she is truly happy.

This book was very good, you could tell the author did a lot of research into the events of the crossing of the Mayflower and its passengers.  The things they encountered on their travels over were so much more than I could ever imagine.  I would highly recommend this book to other readers.  Now on to the next book.

First off, thank you to both NetGalley and Bookish First for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.  I really wanted to like this book - I read the excerpt on Bookish First and couldn't wait to read the rest of the novel.  I love historical fiction and I have not read a book set in this time - the founding of the United States.  Love when the author incorporates real historical figures into the fiction (Myles Standish, etc).  However, while the story started off strong, it sort of petered out after that for me.  I would have liked more writing about the way they were going to build the settlement, the struggles, and triumphs rather than continued musings of the main character which I soon found boring.  I also did not realize that this was a faith-based book - while that is fine and I like learning about different faiths and cultures, I felt like the relating of scripture overtook the book rather than enhancing the story; that may make the book more enjoyable for some, but just not my thing (and I wish I had realized this in advance).  As I said, I really wanted to like this book, but it, unfortunately, fell flat for me.

I've often wondered what it would be like to live during some of the more famous events from history. Not that I necessarily want to live during some of those events but just wondering about the people who did live during those events. I have several ancestors who have been in some amazing parts of history, reading some of the stories that have been kept about those events have been neat. One of my favorite movies is based on the book, North and South. In it Margaret goes to the Great Exhibition in London to see all the wonders of the world. I always love that scene because I have an ancestor who lived at that time who walked several miles to visit her grandmother. Her grandmother wanted the granddaughter to stay and go see the exhibition, and especially the first steam powered locomotive. My ancestor talked about how they laid tracks down on the street to watch this train engine work. To think about how much of an advance that was for them but to us it seems small due to all that we have and see in our lives today.

The first printing press, the first airplane, the first lightbulb. Columbus sailing off to find a new world. Pilgrims leaving behind all they knew to find religious freedom in a land unknown and undeveloped. The fears they might have had. The excitement. The stress. The joy. All of it building as they sold their possessions and chartered ships and land agreements and worked towards that day arriving and setting sail into the vast and open ocean. The unexpected (or maybe expected and anticipated) casualties and sorrows. The sickness. The change in plans. The weather. All that they had to encounter to go from point A to point B and being those early pioneers(yes they were called pilgrims but I use the word pioneer because they were pioneering the way) to help bring about change. 

This book opens with two dear friends, Mary Elizabeth (our main female character) and Dorothy, eavesdropping on the meeting of the elders to discuss leaving for this new land and who would go with the initial group. Dorothy is full of excitement and adventure and is practically bouncing off the walls with anticipation when she first hears the plan. Mary Elizabeth? Not so much. She is reserved, scared, fearful of what's to come, fearful to leave behind her life and fearful of how her family will survive. She's already lost her mother to illness, her father is still mourning her and has not been himself since her passing. Mary Elizabeth is unsure about the path that lies before her. But drawing from her deep beliefs that God will direct her path as she puts her faith and trust in him, she moves forward in preparing for her journey.

Our main male character then comes on the scene in his own story. He is in a different part of Europe than Mary Elizabeth and has had his own struggles in life. He is joining the group bound for the new world as a master carpenter and is happy to not look back on his dear old mother land. Life has not been anything marvelous and wonderful for him. Being orphaned young, ignored and unwanted by family, living on the streets for years until finally a kind man rescues him and teaches him the skills of a carpenter. His rescuer dies after encouraging William to join this group and find a better life.

These two characters' lives collide as they start their adventure on the two ships bound for America. The love story between them is sweet and tender and very befitting a Separatist's life. It's not easy or necessarily pleasant at some points but it was very sweet. They help strengthen each other with all the trials and sorrows that come their way on this journey.

I think a good way to describe this book is to connect it to its subject matter. The Separatists group. Nothing flashy and glamorous. Not anything fast paced and big. But slow and steady (I mean that in a good way, not degrading). The pacing of the book is constant, but it isn't fast. There are moments of peril and many, many moments depicting struggles and trials that were faced by this group. The author did a great job in her research of this group and compiling it all into her novel. Each chapter has a date in the voyage so we see the time frame of the voyage and of how long certain events or sicknesses lasted. There are many, many characters within this book that she pulled from actual people who were on the voyage. At first when I was reading the list of characters at the beginning of the book, my head spun a little bit. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep them all straight or not. Honestly, there are a lot. But I took a deep breath and decided that at least I had a reference chart to look back at if I couldn't remember who was who. But guess what? I didn't need it. The way they were presented was done in a way that me, with my spinning head, was able to keep them all straight and I didn't feel overwhelmed once with who was who. Most of those listed were just minor characters but the author shows us who they are at the beginning in a glossary of characters. So don't fret if you see the big list and think, like me, how you're going to keep them straight.

There were moments that I skimmed. Ok, maybe I should explain something. I'm a very fast reader. Usually I read each and every word. But when I skim through sections I'm still taking in everything that is happening. So my skimming is not quite the same skimming as other readers. Does that make sense? If not, no worries. Maybe speed reading sections might be a better way to say that. I don't know. But some parts were a little slower paced that I needed to move along the story otherwise my super exhausted brain was going to fall asleep. Not because of the book, but because of everything going on in my life that keeps me very busy and going full speed right now. 

The writing was well done. The style and characterization fit very nicely with the time period and the group of people being written about. I think any reader who loves history, especially this time period or subject matter, will give this book 5 stars or more because it is done well. I enjoyed it but there are only so many times I can read about sickness after sickness, and struggle after struggle, and not feel completely wowed by the book. But this book is about the group on the Mayflower so I know why it was included. 

There's peril in the form of a bad guy. He's angry and feels slighted so he's out to cause problems and gain back what he feels should be his. So watch out for him. Hell hath no fury like a woman, um scratch that cause it's a man in this case...Hell hath no fury like a man scorned. Ok, maybe not quite the best reference for the bad guy here because all said and done he really wasn't super scary or horrible. But, he did fit in great with the rest of the feel and pacing of the book. So kudos to the author for keeping it all connected that way. 

Overall it was a great depiction of this time and group of people. Their trials, their beliefs, their having to sacrifice and say goodbye to home, friends and family. There is a lot of depiction of death and storms on the seas, tragedies but some happiness too. If you're looking for a good historical read this is one that I would recommend picking up. I know many will really enjoy it. It is a Christian fiction genre book. I think that those who love that genre will really love this book and if you're not usually one to read Christian fiction because of the fear that it might be preachy but you love historical novels, I will say this to you...try it. Go into the book with the knowledge that it is about a group of people who were seeking for religious freedom. It is very historical and it does have a lot of talk about God and their beliefs but remember that was who these people were and why they were sailing on the Mayflower, crossing the ocean to find a new home. It's not preachy but it's who they were and what they lived. Just a little thought for you. If you still aren't interested, no worries. I am looking forward to the other books in this series. I've not read anything else by this author but did notice that she wrote one of the other books in this series. I'm looking forward to reading that book by her as well to see how I like it and her writing style with a little bit different time period. Each book moves forward in time just a little bit.

Content: Clean. I think I've pretty much touched on everything that should be listed in the content section throughout my review. But for anyone who just jumped to the bottom to see if I listed content, here you go. Moments of peril due to storms on the sea, sickness, death from sickness, but nothing graphic. Some mild religious talk but that is due to the Separatist group that the story is about, I wouldn't say that it is preachy.

I received a copy from the publisher, Barbour Books, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

Overall it was a good book. The research was excellent. I liked the main characters. I just wished for a bit more intrigue or something to keep me reading. I love history, so I knew I would enjoy this story about the Mayflower. It certainly took courage to leave everything behind and endure the hardships and privations that the early Pilgrims suffered. It makes me more appreciative of those who came before us.

I am sorry, but I am unable to finish this book. It is predictable and formulaic.

This is truly a remarkable, informative book. Things, that I never knew. I absolutely find this, to be a firm foundation of the Declaration of Independence! America was founded on Christian beliefs, this book proves that. I believe this would make a great Movie! 
I highly recommend! Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒

.Kimberley Woodhouse has written a heartbreakingly beautiful, yet realistic story of the life happenings onboard the Mayflower as it traveled to the New World.  During all the struggles, deaths and sickness, but not losing sight that God was with them.
I truly wait in anticipation for the next Mayflower Bride book!
This is definitely a Five Star + book.

The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse is a great read!  4 1/2 stars.  So much history that I didn't know about. The hardships and dangers in coming to the New World.  The fictional characters of William and Mary Elizabeth and her brother fit well into the story of the Mayflower.  You get a glimpse of how the Separatist and Strangers were able to make it through illness, discouragement, and loss of life to start a new life.  

I look forward to more in this series of Daughters of the Mayflower as we journey into history.  I received this book from NetGalley for my review and all opinions are my own.