The Captured Bride is an exciting, fast-paced story that contains a wonderful mixture of mystery and romance. The two main characters, Mercy and Elias are complex, realistic, and I loved both of them. Mercy is strong-willed yet struggles with insecurities and guilt. Elias deals with feelings of failure and regret. As much as I love history, I don’t know more than the basics about the colonial days in America, so I greatly enjoyed the information the author weaves throughout the story. There is also an afterward that contains additional interesting historic facts. The author uses all the senses in her descriptions giving me the ability to smell the forests, horses, and campfires; hear the jingle of bridles, bird song, and raging rivers; and feel the rain on my face. The time period is rustic and rugged, and there are some violent scenes, but they are not gory or gratuitous. I was breathless by the end of the book and look forward to reading it again and again.

This took me on a fun journey reminiscent of Last of the Mohicans, I really enjoyed where this book takes you. I love reading historical pieces and I had a great time on the journey this book took me through.

I absolutely love the Daughters of the Mayflower historical fiction series. This one by Michelle Griep is set during the French and Indian War. Mercy is a kick-butt lady who has extraordinary eyesight. This eyesight makes her the perfect scout. Elias Dubois is a traitor and faced hanging, but offered a deal to get some stolen gold to another fort. One catch is that Mercy and Elias are to be traveling as a married couple. Just an awesome read with lots of edge of the seat moments in which they need to get out of precarious positions. It is not the travel that is the hardest for these two travelers, it is the thought of losing their hearts that makes this book so good. Another great book by Michelle Griep. I have read a number of her books and they are just awesome!

Mercy Lytton is a woman of two cultures, daughter of a descendant of the Mayflower settlers and a Mohawk chief. She works as a scout for the British army during the French and Indian War. Elias Dubois is a man of British and French descent who has been imprisoned as a traitor by the British. Mercy and Elias are tasked with a small group to deliver a captured shipment of French gold to another British fort, but danger lurks around every corner from both sides of the conflict, and Elias has more to his mission than the others know. Add to this the explosive romantic tension between Mercy and Elias, and you’ve got the ingredients for an epic adventure!

This was another great installment of the Daughters of the Mayflower series. I love Michelle Griep’s writing because she creates good plots, has an eye for historical detail, and she manages to make faith in God an integral part of her characters’ identities and the plot without being heavy-handed about it; it feels natural. Mercy and Elias were both great lead characters, and other supporting characters were interesting and sympathetic as well. Sometimes it’s awkward when modern, white authors try to write Native American stories, but this felt realistic (to someone who admittedly knows only a small amount, anyway) and respectful. Definitely recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

The Captured Bride is book 3 in the Daughters of the Mayflower series, each one is a standalone with no connecting threads. There are now 12 books in the series, I am slowly making my way through them. They are historical fiction in the US with this book taking place in the late 1700s.

This was an enjoyable read, I enjoyed Mercy's spunk, her strength and determination, as well as her honest heartache and grief.

Enter in Elias, a dangerous man saved from the gallows to go on this secret mission. What follows is an adventure through the wilds of early America. The Captive Bride is a story of trust doing the right thing and finding one selves. Faith plays big part of this story, taking place in a time of conflict and new beginnings.

Michelle Griep is a new to me author, I enjoyed her writing style and could feel her knowledge of the era and appreciate the amount of research that she did which shines through through this story.

Enjoyable story! Intriguing history with Michelle Griep’s signature depth of character development and adventure. An incredible faith journey with fascinating layers of intrigue and romance.

This was another wonderful addition to the series, and I really enjoyed it! Anyone who is interested in the French and Indian war and early colonial America should be reading this series. I also was glad to see that the author treated the Native American culture with respect. The story and characters was well drawn out, and I really enjoyed the dialogues between them.

Thank you to Net Galley and Barbour Publishing for the chance to read and review this book. I really like this series, and this story did not disappoint. The details of the setting are amazing, and the characters are so realistic. There is some romance, but it is not the primary focus. There's lots of adventure and breathtaking moments along the way. Mercy and Elias are posing as a married couple to return some gold, but things are not quite what they seem. They are traveling in covered wagons, and the author does a great job of describing all of the hardships they meet along the way. Great story-I plan to read more in this series!

If you like history, then this book is an interesting read, but a little predictable, as many romance novels are. However, I found the historical references to be accurate, and the treatment of the native Americans to be fair.

This book was very atmospheric. It really came alive for me because of the attention to detail within the setting and time period and the vividness of the action sequences. There were great action and conflict that wasn’t just drama for drama’s sake. It was an intriguing story with lots of surprises. I enjoyed the unique characters and the forced-marriage angle, which was written really well.

I adored Livvy. She brought light and joy to every scene she was in.

The fights with the Indians were well expressed and popped right off the pages. It felt like I was right there watching these things happen mere yards away from where I sat.

The thing that I’m disappointed in is that so much profanity was used. These words and phrases that take the Lord’s name in vain were sprinkled throughout the story, dropped here and there like chaff on the wind. I’m not really sure why they were included, because all they did was detract from the reading experience, at least for me. They certainly did not add anything to the story.

I wish I could find a story by this author that I really connect well with from beginning to end, without the profanity issue popping up at all, because her way of describing things is so vivid and unique, and she creates wonderful atmosphere for the eras about which she writes.

Content: profanity (sprinkled throughout), nudity (one scene, that I recall), crude comments, tobacco, alcohol

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, but I ended up reading that while listening to the audio version my library had acquired. This review is my honest opinion.

The characters in this book were so diverse: two trail-worn scouts, a traitor, and bratty general’s son? What a great combination for a wilderness mission smuggling gold!

I loved the complexity of this book all the way around—like I already mentioned, the characters were individually unique yet each with hidden secrets (some very dark) of their own. Half of the time, I wasn’t sure what would unravel next with their character. The guessing game kept my interest piqued.

And then there was the plot. Just the setting of posing as a family to safely escape the scrutiny of enemies they might pass hyped up the tension. And then there was the more intimate tension as trail-tested Matthew had to pair up with the bratty Rufus and Mercy (another scout) had to pretend her marriage to the traitor Elias. There was definitely enough action and excitement to keep the story going forward—and yet, at all times, it was very believable.

Because Mercy and Elias were pretending marriage, it did make for some crude comments by others. And then there were their whole feelings for each other. For those who like romance, I suppose the romance thread was well-done and their affections for each other took a steady climb instead of unrealistic plunge. For a conservative reader, though, I definitely wouldn’t recommend this for conservative readers under 18, due to the comments that were made.

Two of the characters were very easily seen as Christians from chapter one. It didn’t dig into their personal spiritual lives quite as much as I had hoped, but the author definitely wasn’t afraid to mention God and seeking Him throughout the characters’ lives. At the same time, I found that there were several light uses of the Lord’s Name (like, “____ but she was obstinate” type).

Reading this book makes me very interested in the other books in the series by other authors.

*I received this book from Celebrate Lit and happily provided my honest review*

3.5 stars

This one is a bit hard to review because there were times I was really interested and times I was really not. I felt like the second half was the best part and I had to reread the beginning twice to figure out what was going on and who was related to whom. The part with the bad guys after them was superbly written, so that I could feel the suspense and danger, but I didn't get much about what the leads' careers meant to them...it felt more scene by scene than getting a real sense of their history and futures.

Mostly it felt quite historically accurate, which was enjoyable, except for a scene with a barberry thicket out in the wild...barberry didn't come to the US until the late 1800s and didn't escape into the wild until the 1900s. But then most folks really don't care much about botanical details, and having fallen into barberries before I had great sympathy for the characters.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

Surprisingly, I received an email saying that because I read The Mayflower Bride, publishers Barbour Books would like me to read another book from The Daughters of the Mayflower series. These books are easy to read and have enjoyable storylines. Let’s just say I was honored to read another book from the series!

Mercy Lytton was raised by the Mohawks and has a keen eyesight for her surroundings. She’s chosen to accompany some men in a risky mission. They are to get a shipment of gold safely into British hands. This gold was stolen from an Elias Dubois, who was thought to be a traitor. Now, Elias is offered freedom in exchange for getting this gold to the French.

Little does Elias know, but the twists and turns expected from such a delivery really do happen and more. Let’s just say Mercy’s keen eyesight is more than for this stolen gold, especially with the likes of Elias around.

Action-packed and full of twists, surprises are around every turn in The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep. Easy to read, this book is a wonderful addition to The Daughters of the Mayflower series.

The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep was provided complimentary in exchange for an honest review. I give this book five out of five tiaras! I recommend this book and series to anyone who’s looking for an easy romantic read with Christian connotations.

#bookslattesandtiaras

Another of the fantastic books in this series. The whole series is just amazing and this book is not an exception to that. Kidnapping, love, danger, and so much more! Native Americans and sound Biblical principals there's everything to love about this novel. I can't say enough about this book, so you simply have to read the series and this book!

I voluntarily read a copy of this book from Net Galley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and this review is left of my own free will.

Intense story from the French & Indian war about a cross breed Mohawk Scout who works with a Queens Ranger. They are paired with a French traitor to pose as a family moving across Upstate NY to the next Fort. This is country I'm familiar with, and find the description of the woods and plant therein quite accurate, bringing back memories of the area where I grew up.

Mercy is unique in being a female scout, as well as being unusually tall and with blood of an Indian leader. Elias also has an unusual background and is not as he seems. He's on an important mission involving many lives. Their trip us full of danger, mystery and secrets with lessons and growth in faith. Christian Historical Fiction.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher and 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.”

I guess I should have expected it based on the title, but I wasn't at all ready for the bride to be captured. LOL, then I couldn't put the book down because I had to know what happened next. This is such a great series, I have enjoyed each one!

I loved that this story did not follow the typical, historical romance 'formula'. It was a very unique tale that immediately drew me in. Not only is this a very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters, but the suspense builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. A great series starter!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Barbour publishing for this free copy in exchange for an honest review*

So I’m out of order buuut this is the second book by Miss Griep I’ve read. Gee stories seem to resonate with me the best between all the authors and I think it’s because she’s so good at being historical accurate while also modernizing the story!

The French and Indian War is raging and people on both sides are being forced to choose sides continually.  Mercy Lytton is special.  She was raised by the Mohawks and has skills like no other.  She scouts for a group being sent on a mission by the English.  Of course it doesn't turn out to be so simple.  It never is.  She crossed paths with Elias Dubois, who ha been spared from hanging for a special mission. 

A good read that fills up several hours.

Good read and great adventure! Lots of twists and turns that you never see coming. If you enjoy spies, intrigue, diversion with a little drama and romance then the Captive Bride is a good read for you!