I received a copy from NetGalley and I'm willingly leaving a review
I liked the day-to-day stuff, the two boys, then the grandfather and his faith. Ellis did not impress me but Clay did, as well as her older brother. The ending is predictable but sweet. Everyone needs a shawl like Ellis had (with pockets too!). There were too many places where I thought "None of your business, Ellis" and "Who do you think you are?". Ellis won't tell Clay what she heard when he had a fever and rambling stuff; at 62%, that was still going on and it was getting old, by the end of the book, it's really dead. Those ramblings were important to Clay but he couldn't remember them and she wouldn't talk about them saying it wasn't serious talk. I'm really confused how Ellis can justify going outside because it's a beautiful day, thus not dangerous, when Thomas told her to stay inside because IT WAS dangerous, regardless of being a beautiful day or not. Ridiculous.

The Alamo Bride will have readers attention from the first chapter, and not let go until you've reached the very end. The way Y-Barbo brought this story to life was amazing. Her attention to detail, and thorough research was evident on every page. And when you get to the end (which will happen faster than you want it to), you may just find yourself going back to the first page so you can enjoy it again.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Alamo Bride is a fun read. It keeps the reader guessing which is great. I recommend this romance to all readers.

This was a quick read that takes place in the south near the time of the Alamo. It moved pretty slow at the beginning and then at the end it moved way too quickly. I wanted to love the characters but never really got hooked. It was an entertaining read, it was just a little too quick and felt rushed. It won’t be going on my Re-read list, but I did enjoy it overall.

In 1836, Ellis Valmont finds a man wounded and unconscious in a stolen pirogue (a type of canoe) she and her mother Sophie treat his wounds. Ellis saw the man disembarking with the New Orleans Greys the previous day in Velasco and why hasn’t he moved on with the other members of his unit? As his fever rages, he mutters odd things about the war and about buried treasure? Ellis writes down and keeps a record of what he talks about and she discovers his name is Clay Gentry.

Ellis is concerned he has lost his mind or he’s a spy for the American president Andrew Jackson or for the enemy who continues to threaten the republic of Texas. With her father Boyd and brother Thomas away fighting, Ellis has to follow her instincts and faith in god.

Ellis and Clay leave for the San Jose Mission, here Ellis takes care of the sick and wounded, with his memory slowly returning and Clay remembers his promise to help his friend Sam Houston. The story has links to the novel, Pirate Bride, many of Maribel’s descendants are included in the narrative and their history. Both Ellis and Clay are strong characters and role models, they believe in doing what is right and the lord is walking alongside them and keeping the Mexicans from crossing the river into Texas.

I received a copy of The Alamo Bride from NetGalley and Barbour Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Kathleen Y'Barbo has written a story with a Christian theme and it’s the 7th book in the popular Daughters of The Mayflower series. I liked reading about Ellis’s use of herbs in healing, the couples links to New Orleans and their budding romance. Three and a half stars from me and I wish I had read all of the previous books in the series.

The Alamo Bride was an intimately personal read for me. I am a true-blue Texan, being born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and my family has ties to several places in Texas that date back centuries, so I share the author’s sentiments of connection to this story, as well as to the history of Texas.

Clay and Ellis are both fiercely loyal to causes that they believe in and, in this case, to the independence of Texas from Mexico. This was such a tumultuous time in Texas and The Alamo Bride highlights yet another facet of this fight to freedom.

I admire how brave and fiercely loyal Ellis is to those she cares about. She is so ardent that she puts her own safety at risk to help others, even if they are strangers. If someone his hurting she wants to help heal them. That kind of love is intense and admirable, considering the unique situation she finds herself in: essentially bringing a stranger back from the dead.

The snarkiness between Clay and Ellis was entertaining, and added an element of humor to an otherwise depressing situation. The attraction between Clay and Ellis is subtle but evident that there is something brewing beneath the surface, even while Ellis struggles with trusting Clay, while Clay also tries to remember his past. The whole part about the feathers made me absolutely swoon, the beauty in the simplicity, while the powerful metaphor is something I will personally take with me, “and under his wings shalt thou trust.”

I love all things Alamo, so I knew this was going to be an enjoyable read, but I didn’t realize just how much I would be transfixed. I also appreciated the author sharing quite a bit of her research at the end of the novel. As a history nerd myself, I found this part just as fascinating as I did the fictional narrative.

This was a pleasing and educational read that has a thread of faith and love, combined with suspense, and wonderful characters, that took me on an incredible literary journey that I won’t soon forget.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.

I wanted to enjoy this book and fully expected to, especially because another book in this series by the same author was my favorite one in the Daughters of the Mayflower collection so far. However, this book didn’t reach that same level for me.

There were aspects that I enjoyed. I really adored the grandfather character. He very much reminded me of Anthony Quinn’s character in the movie A Walk in the Clouds. The family aspects of this story were pretty good. The family reunions were really great. I liked that a road trip was featured; I’m a sucker for that sort of thing, so I definitely enjoyed those scenes.

The title was very deceptive to me. With Alamo right in the title, I fully expected the battle of the Alamo to play a huge part in the story. The Alamo wasn’t mentioned until 66% in, and there was only one or two tiny scenes that took place there. Talk about a huge let-down! There was only one tiny skirmish that the leads were on the outskirts of, but there was never a piece of the battle for the Alamo that I saw the leads participate in. I was very disappointed in that whole aspect.

I was uncomfortable with how certain characters were drugged just so they wouldn’t be trouble for their caretakers. This seemed excessively done.

The pace was super slow for my taste. The guy was in a coma or in and out of consciousness for 50% of the story and had very little memory with not much remembrance happening for the remaining half of the book. This kept the pace really slow for me, especially since there were only a couple of pockets of action sprinkled in. I wasn’t expecting such a slow pace, since The Pirate Bride by the same author was action-packed and quick-paced.

I was excited that there were spying and treasure hunt aspects… until they vanished. I had been hooked in by the early premise of Clay’s being a spy and on a secret treasure-hunt mission to support his cause. However, those aspects disappeared and never returned except to be breezed over in a one-sentence mention that they didn’t really matter anymore. Well, they mattered to me.

Some portions of the story felt stilted with non-natural speech patterns, and there were some too-contrived plot points that were clearly by design to make the characters struggle or mistrust someone. I wish they could have been smoothed out to feel more organic.

I really liked the snake moment and the whole chore-list angle. Those were fun aspects but were over in a blink.

I adored that this story took place in Texas, and I enjoyed learning more about the New Orleans Greys.

However, I’m now not sure how much of that information was accurate, because the author’s note mentioned that history was “bent.” I purposely don’t read the “alternate history” genre, because I don’t like altered-history stories, because they don’t accurately reflect what happened in history. Being a history nerd, I really appreciate when historical fiction stories (that are not labeled as “alternate history”) accurately represent historical eras, facts, and figures.

Since it was mentioned in the author’s note that future books will continue to “bend” the facts that the author feels “need bending,” I won’t be reading any additional Y’Barbo books, unless I still have some in my NetGalley backlist. I’m sad to remove her books from my to-be-read lists, because I have really enjoyed a couple of her stories prior to this one and had considered The Pirate Bride a favorite.

Content: gambling mentioned

I like this series so much, but this book was so much more than I expected. The Alamo is famous, and also heartbreaking. It's 1836 and a really sick man is rescued by Ellis Dumont. What is she to do with what all this man is saying while he's out of his mind? Is this real, or just fevered delusions? Ellis and Clay are strong characters. I liked the references to the prior book in this series by this author. That would be The Pirate Bride. It added in some family history that I liked. There's a lot of Texas and Mexico history worked into this story. It did a great job of taking me back in time to see things through the eyes of these characters. Faith wasn't excluded, and in all, I feel like this is another five star book in the series.

My digital copy came from the publisher and Net Galley. This review contains my thoughts and options of this book. A positive review is never required.

Was not a fan overall. Not quite in my genre and that's why but something just wasn't clicking with me when I read despite how much I wanted to like it. :(

I have really enjoyed this series’s. You are looking clean books that have adventure, love and a bit of mystery. You will love this series!! Happy Reading 🤩

Book 7/12 in the ‘Daughters of the Mayflower’ series. Stick a fork in me… I’m done with this series. This review/rant may contain spoilers. Just saying.

I started this story several times and finally decided to finish it to get it off my reading device. Maybe it was me and I was having an off day, week, month, or year. I see all the 5-stars in the ratings; however, I did not enjoy it and not just because I knew what was going to happen at the Alamo. **** SPOILER: that actually happens off the page and was only a line or two as someone quickly explained that it had fallen and what happened after. So, no worries… no angst… I was concerned for nothing. **** End Spoiler ****

One of the main problems with this story were the many plot holes and choppy writing that left me not knowing what was happening half the time. I found myself asking… [What?] quite a bit throughout the story. Plausibility was one problem… why did they do that? How the heck did they accomplish that? Propriety was another… what were they thinking? They should know better… but apparently didn’t know or didn’t care. What was up with our heroine? She couldn’t decide what she wanted to do about our hero. She took her jolly good time in trusting him and telling him what he needed to know in order to do his duty. The old amnesia trope is a risky plot-line. This one slowed the story down to a crawl and I wanted to scream to get it over with. I wanted to shake both characters. I had some sympathy for him but she was getting on my nerves.

The author seemed fixated on snakes. I hate snakes and snakes were mentioned way too many times. There were snakes everywhere. Snakes didn’t need that much attention. I am still shuddering just thinking about… you know… them. Then to top it off… I worried the whole book only to find out the problem had already been taken care of… back at the beginning of the story and I and the hero didn’t know about it until the end. He just shrugged it off… but I, on the other hand, was furious. What-the-heck? Why didn’t they tell me… um… him? This was vital information and seemed like a cheap shortcut at a way to end the story with his honor intact with minimal explanation. Really?

I volunteered to read this from the publisher via NetGalley with no expectations of a review. The views and opinions expressed are my own. Read at your own risk. I enjoyed the forward [author’s family history in Texas] more than I did the story. Go figure.

My thoughts

Would I recommended it? Only to the ones that love this type of romance.

Will I read more of this series ? I have a few to read but after reading them I won't be going on with the rest of the series

Would I read more by this author? no

Sadly this series isn't for me since I can't seem to get into Christian Romance, but on the other hand I do love historical romance just not this type. The story is well written and she does bring her characters to life as well as the history and places she's written about,But I'm just not enjoying it as much as I was hoping.And at times I want to just put it down but that's just me and since I do have a few of the others I'll be reading them as well and hopping that there's something about this series that I'll like to keep going on with it, With that said I want to Thank NetGalley for letting me at least try this out to see if its something I would like.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I felt like it had a lot of great parts that never really came together the way they could have. I love a good amnesia story, but this one was fairly tepid. All the tension built with the amnesia just sort of fizzled and the story ended. It was the same with several other plot points. It did have great characters though. All of this sort of combined to make what I felt was a good book that should have been great. I enjoyed the references back to Maribel from The Pirate Bride, but again, they felt like could have been more somehow.

As a new resident of the state of Texas, I was hoping to learn more about the Alamo and the fight for Independence, and I did learn a few things, especially about what it might have been like for the common people already living here. I also did not know about the Greys from Louisiana.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read, but I don't think it lived up to its potential.

I read this a while ago and forgot to post my review ... I liked the book, it was interesting if average. Honestly, it was really good just slightly predictable for me but I liked reading about the Alamo since I haven't read many books on the time period, though I have watched several movies about it.

It’s 1836 and Ellis Dumont finds Claiborne Gray unconscious. Gray has been mumbling strange things and Dumont isn’t sure if the words about treasures or war; if he’s lost his mind or a spy. Dumont does learn that the man does know a thing or two about the war and knows people in the area.

As part of The Daughters of the Mayflower series, I was more than happy to read Alamo Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo! Each book in this series is written by a collection of authors and not one is better than another. As a reader, I’m often pleasantly surprised at the historical facts included in the books and the intertwining of an unexpected love story mixed in.

It’s amazing how the women in this series find strong and courageous men who swoon them! Claiborne Gray goes from unconscious to protector between the covers of this romantic storyline. Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong!

Ellis Dumont is unsure who to trust along the way. As the reader, I wasn’t sure who to trust either!! This book had several unexpected events and characters that leaves the reader wondering what’s real and what’s not.

The Alamo Bride was provided complimentary on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I give it five out of five stars because it kept me engaged and it fits in well with The Daughters of the Mayflower series! This a great getaway from the COVID-19 self-quarantine life!!

Aspiring healer Ellis Dumont finds a man unconscious, feverish, raving about treasure and war, on their Texas land. Ellis's father and brother are away fighting with the Texans. She's convinced that he is either crazy or a spy, but for which side?



Claibourne Gentry doesn't remember his mission, or what brought him to the Dumonts.



Will Ellis risk it all for her family on the word of a man she just met?



A bit slow to start it takes a awhile to get going because of how long Claibourne is unconscious, and the uneasiness of their acquaintance, as well as the situation.



Ellis's grandfather is a strong a protective patriarch, watching out for Ellis, her mother, and younger brothers.



Ellis grows over the course of the book finding a sense of purpose in helping others. Clay also finds a chance at a new start upon meeting the Dumont family. Ellis struggles to put faith over fear, and is inspired by the strong women in her family.



Overall, a entertaining read, though it had a slow start, and at times the way that the plot moved was hard to follow. I admired Ellis's desire to help others and do meaningful work. A pleasant historical read.



I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A map leading to a family treasure is a great way to begin this fictional account of the Alamo battle. It is not really a story about the battle but about Clay and Ellis.
Clay is shot quite early in the book and is saved by Ellis and her mother. As a result of falling after that Clay loses his memory and can’t remember why he is where he is. He had an important meeting but why he couldn’t remember. Thus starts his recovery and eventual love for Ellis.
For me this was a rambling account of their eventual travel to the Alamo and the reunion of Ellis’ family. I really enjoyed the read and can recommend to anyone. A good clean book but without a lot of Christian influences although there were some Biblical quotes. I read a lot of Christian novels but don’t let this deter you either way.
I believe even if you are not a Christian you could enjoy this book as well.
I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley and barbourbooks. Thanks for the opportunity to read this preview the opinions are my own

I liked this book. Clay is on a mission from Andrew Jackson and gets hit in the back of the head. When he wakes up he realizes that the money he had has been stolen but he is going to go on his way anyway. He ends up getting shot and loses his memory. Ellis finds him and nurses him back to health. Ellis is a very stubborn young lady and doesn't listen to anyone nor to reason. Ellis and Clay both try to find her father and brother and there are tricks along the way. The romance between Ellis and Clay was so sweet and I liked how they developed that. The rest of the book in regards to the history part was a little dry for me but all in all I liked the book. I received this book for free and I am giving my review.

"I doubt a man who marries her will be worried about whether she will starve him. He'd have much bigger problems than an empty belly if he were to take that lady on as a wife."

"The Alamo Bride" (2019, Barbour) is a standalone Christian historical romance set in 1885 in New Orleans, Louisiana and in the sister cities of Velasco and Quintana, Texas. Written by Kathleen Y'Barbo, this is the seventh installment of the multi-author "Daughters of the Mayflower" series. According to the series' official website, "This . . . series follows a family tree linked by the daughters across American history from the landing of the Mayflower through the events of World War II."

Rating: 5 stars

The heroine: Ellis Valmont

Ellis, a Texan - or rather, a Texian - is descended from "Spanish noblemen and French privateers. . . Her family tree was populated with brave souls who fought and died for a cause greater than themselves."

The Valmont family is a significant contributor to the fortification of Texas. "It was a source of pride to both Papa and Grandfather that Valmont Shipbuilders was bigger than any other enterprise in Velasco other than the military outpost of Fort Velasco." Also, Ellis' brother and father are in the military supporting the cause. She worries about their safety. . . and wonders whether they're still alive.

Side note: Initially, I had a moment of confusion and stopped reading to confirm that Ellis is, in fact, a female character. Looking it up, I found the following on Babynameshub.com: "Ellis: It's a boy! Since 1880, a total of 37,229 boys have been given the name Ellis while 7 girls were named Ellis." (Try your own name on this website!)

The hero: Claiborne Gentry

Clay is "aiding General Houston to bring freedom to Texas." Hailing from Tennessee, but possessing papers declaring him to be a citizen of Louisiana, Claiborne is ". . . the nephew of a governor [William Claiborne] . . . and the grandson of a pirate [Andre Gallier] who sailed with the infamous Jean Lafitte. . . . Here in New Orleans, Clay's resemblance to the grandfather his family never spoke of had caused him to fit in rather than look out of place. And when a man was carrying a secret on behalf of the president of the United States, looking out of place was not the goal."

Historical setting:

From the book:

"We are all citizens of Mexico until the question is finally settled with war." -- Ellis' grandfather

"Just yesterday, news of the battle in Gonzales had reached the city. A squabble over ownership of two cannons very likely had launched what would become a full-blown war."

This description is referring to the Battle of Gonzales, which is considered the beginning of the Texas Rebellion.

Christian elements:

"No buts… Trust does not allow for any buts. We pray for their safe return until the Lord shows us proof that was not His will." -- Ellis' grandfather

*By two percent into the story, I was happy to see that there were already two Bible passages.

*"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust" is a recurring theme in the book.

https://people.com/pets/hen-protects-chicks-from-rain-video/ Just for fun, check out this video clip showing a hen protecting its chicks from the rain.

Is it clean/chaste? Yes, certainly.

What I liked:

*The following is a slight spoiler, but it occurs early on in the story.

SPOILER

In this book, I was treated to a favorite trope of mine: a heroine nursing a sick or injured hero back to health. The reverse situation is just as fun to read, but I don't see it used by authors as often.

END SPOILER

*I enjoyed the conversations between Ellis and Clay.

"I see you like it," she said without looking over at him.

"That is one possibility," he said as he scooped more eggs onto his plate . . . "Or perhaps I am just too polite to tell you that the eggs need more salt and the bacon wasn't crisp enough."

What I didn’t like:

*In the first half of this story, there isn't much dialogue between Ellis and Clay.

***********
Below are links to my reviews for all the previous books in the series. "The Pirate Bride" was also written by Ms. Y'Barbo.

Book 1: "The Mayflower Bride"
Book 2: "The Pirate Bride"
Book 3: "The Captured Bride"
Book 4: "The Patriot Bride"
Book 5: "The Cumberland Bride"
Book 6: "The Liberty Bride"

Other recommendation(s): The concept of this series reminds me very much of the "American Adventure Series", an excellent Christian historical children's series that I read part of, years ago. The first in the series is "The Mayflower Adventure."

The bottom line: This was a very enjoyable historical fiction novel. I recommend "The Alamo Bride" to fans of the "Daughters of the Mayflower" series, American history, and Christian historical fiction.

It was a pleasure to read something by Ms. Y'Barbo again, and I'm sure I will read more of her books in the future. I hope to read the rest of the books in this series, even if I can't get them via NetGalley at this point.

I got this particular book as an ARC, so my thanks to NetGalley and Barbour!

When Clay Gentry finds himself in a tight spot, he joins up with the Greys in order to find an old family treasure buried in Texas. After getting shot and losing his memories, Ellis is tasked with caring for Clay and bringing him back to full health. Since he rambled like a madman during his sleep-induced recovery, Ellis doesn't know if she can trust Clay.
For the most part, I enjoyed this story. Ellis's character is headstrong and reckless. Two traits that could make or break her character. At times, it did both. I loathed some of her decisions, but I suppose that's part of the point of the story. We don't always make the most honorable decisions, and Ellis had to learn from her mistakes.
I found the opposites in Clay interesting. Before leaving for Texas, quite a few years earlier in the story, I believe, he's given a treasure map, told to memorize it and then destroy it. Clay has an excellent memory for details, which makes his amnesia feel extraordinarily painful. Even if he doesn't know it because he can't remember what he was like before. His running joke that he could be told anything because he'd likely forget it later was funny and brought some comic relief to a few rather tense scenes.
The time Ellis and Clay spent together in the beginning of the story built a foundation for their relationship, but later on, Ellis's recklessness and don't-tell-me-what-to-do attitude rubbed me the wrong way. I don't mind a strong female lead, and Ellis was that, but her inability to listen was not pleasant.
Other than that, I thought this was a good story. Kathleen Y'Barbo included a bit of history mixed with some fictional characters into a book well worth reading and one I do not regret.
I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.