Cover Image: The Erie Canal Brides Collection

The Erie Canal Brides Collection

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Member Reviews

Travel the progress of the Erie Canal from New York to Ohio as men and women live and work and love along the route of the canal as it’s built and traversed. Families will come together, and God will bring these couples the love they didn’t expect. Their faith in God and determination to make lives for themselves. Danger, intrigue and unexpected meetings just may bring these seven men and women together to find the love of God and each other they didn’t know they’d been looking for. The Erie Canal Brides is a journey that these couples will take to find faith in God and each other.

The Erie Canal Brides is seven stories written by bestselling Christian authors who’ll take the reader on a trip along he Erie Canal as their characters find love of God and each other. These stories will bring the reader a little danger, emotionally charged situations, and tension. These couples will stand up to the prejudice, disappointment, loss and find joy and love in God and each other. The well written characters take you back into the 1880s during the construction and use of the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal Brides brings the reader on a trip along this well-known American waterway along with the characters. Lives will be forever changed, and families will be brought together. God will help these determined characters find and what they didn’t know what they were looking for. The Erie Canal Brides is a wonderful collection of stories by well-known authors that will be a must read for historical Christian fans and will bring new ones to the genre.

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I don't know why but of late I haven't been able to get into the romance collections. They are still just as sweet and interesting as always but I haven't found them to be to my tastes lately.

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Live by the Erie Canal
Barbour Publishing presents stories by different authors in "The Erie Canal Brides Collection. 7 Romances Develop Along Manmade Waterways of New York and Ohio". "The way of a Child" by Lauralee Bliss starts out with Melanie O'Neill being left behind by her fiancé in Little Falls, New York in 1817 when he moves to Ohio. On a drive through the country side she encounters Matthew and Like, sons of David Marshall. Will the Erie Canal project keep Melanie and David together or keep them apart? Rita Gerlach's story "Wedding at the waters" talks about Charlotte Summer who travels with her uncle to Goshen Creek in August 1819 where her uncle takes a job as a doctor and how she risks everything to attend to her first love.
The other stories are similar: men and women meeting, trying to live their lives with the challenges, opportunities, and joys they face while trying to decide if they have a future together as a couple, as a family. Ramona K. Cecil writes in "Digging for Love" about the fact how misconceptions about social classes and judging people based on their nationality causes harm and this not only when the heart is involved. "Return to Sweetwater Cove" by Christina Miller warms the heart. "Journey of the Heart" by Johnnie Alexander deals with the Underground Railroad. Charity Sinclair is a great character, shows the strength of her beliefs, and is an example for others. The Separatists and their beliefs and lifestyle are the center of "Pressing On" by Rose Allen McCauley, and Sherri Wilson Johnson presents a romantic mystery that treats the topic of forgiveness in "The Bridge Between Us".
Most of the stories take place after 1825 when the Erie Canal was opened and brought opportunities but also challenges to the people in these stories. I highly recommend this collection with its believable and wholesome characters to everyone who is looking for an historical, inspirational, and relaxing read. I appreciated the different writing style of the authors of those who were known to me previously as well as of those who were new to me.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheErieCanalBridesCollection #NetGalley

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A very inspiring set of books !
I loved all these stories, of course I did have my favorites. I read this book over the course of a couple days picking a different story to read each day. I quite looked forward to having a different take on the Erie Brides every night :) and now I have some new authors to follow and find more books. I think that these authors did a great job describing the characters and their surroundings. I sincerely recommend you read this book.
I volunteered to read this book from Barbour Publishing in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed with in are my own.

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Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River, and soon other states like Ohio created canals linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Suddenly the Midwest was open to migration, the harvesting of resources, and even tourism. Join seven couples who live through the rise of the canals and the problems the waterways brought to each community, including land grabs, disease, tourists, racism, and competition. Can these couples hang on to their faith and develop love during times of intense change?
This was a pretty good anthology. I liked each of the stories by the different authors. I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

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Barbour Publishing's Bride collections are favorites of mine, especially when I need something lighter to read. This one centers around the building of the Erie Canal in the early 1800s. There is a lot to be learned about that endeavor, with seven short romance stories to accompany the gaining of that knowledge. For anyone looking to learn more about the canal's history and seeking a fun romance, look out for this one! My thanks to the publisher and for providing me with an ARC, for this my honest review.

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Seven romance novellas set in the 1800s, arranged in chronological order. They followed the typical arc of these type of stories: girl meets guy in first chapter, there's some obstacle that threatens to keep them apart, the obstacle is overcome. Some stories did it better than others. My favorite story was the last one - The Bridge Between Us - by Sherri Wilson Johnson. She did an excellent job of developing the characters and really making me nervous through the conflict. Not all of the stories were my cup of tea but overall it was a pleasant light read.

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Summary: The Erie Canal Brides Collection contains seven short story romances. Each story is set in the early 1800s with an underlying theme of the construction of the Erie Canal.
My Thoughts: A few of the stories seemed very short to me. So short, there wasn’t even much room for a plot/problem/romance.
My favorites were definitely Digging for Love, and Journey of the Heart. Journey of the Heart-I would have loved for that one to have been a full novel-such a fascinating storyline, and lots of great suspense.
Overall, I felt some stories were good, some OK, and there were a few really great ones. So, kind of a mixed bag on this one.
Mainly, if the stories had been a bit longer, there might have been room for more development of the plot lines, and I might have enjoyed them more.
I realize there isn’t much room in a collection for longer stories, but perhaps had there been less stories, they could have been longer?
Anyway, just my thoughts-nothing against anyone’s writing styles-more of just a length issue I think.
As always, I would like to thank Barbour Publishing, Inc. for providing me with a free digital copy of this collection in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

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If you’re a fan of historical American Christian romance, you’ll enjoy The Erie Canal Brides Collection. Touted as “7 Romances Develop Along Man-Made Waterways of New York and Ohio”, it’s written by a talented group of various authors. Each book feels complete and wasn’t a one-night read for me – it may require an investment of time. I perused a digital version so I can’t speak to the heft of the actual print edition, but there was a lot to consume in this one!

With so many choices, I was exposed to authors I had never read before and dug into an aspect of history that I’ve never really thought about. Some stories were a little deeper, some a little more emotional, some more preach-y than others, but there is definitely a title for everyone who is a fan of this genre included in the pack.

I was provided with a copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Full review shared on my blog: https://lifelovelaughterlinds.home.blog/2019/04/11/book-review-the-erie-canal-brides-collection/

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I enjoyed reading this book. There was some history about the building of the Erie Canal.

I would recommend this book

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I enjoyed reading about the building on the Erie Canal during the different stages of development. Also I enjoyed reading about the different towns the canal went through and how it brought goods to their town and how they were able to travel by water way. Reading this reminds me of the trip I took last Summer to Cumberland, Maryland to visit the Cumberland Visitor Center which houses the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Inside the museum are many pictures of digging the canal and water travel. I was absolutely fascinated and could fully enjoy this book more because of the visuals I had while reading it. I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction looking to learn something.
Publish date March 1,2019.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Books through NetGalley. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own.

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This is a book with 7 stories about the Erie Canal.I love these stories with a touch of history and so much more. Each story is well written and an easy read. I love tge length of each story as I can finish it in a single setting. Being an Ohio girl, I learned lot of the canal history and have visited several sites along what was the canal. I enjoyed this book. Thanks netgalley and Barbour Publishing for the arc, the opinions are my own

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You can feel the surge of excitement around the building of the canal and the changes it brought to the area and the people.

The Erie Canal was dug, by hand, across Upstate New York state and Ohio in the early 1800s. It brought a lot of people together, in many ways, because of the way it was made and the communities it went through. These 7 stories are an interesting and diverse look at the people whose lives were impacted by it. I live close to part of the canal, so it makes it a little more personal to me. Of course my favorite one is about the Irishman who worked digging the canal, my second favorite about the German village, since my heritage is both Irish and German. All the stories include interesting historical information about this vast area and the early days of the canal. It's easy to become thoroughly engrossed in each story. They're written with great depth. You can easily envision the characters and feel as keenly as they do what they are going through. Never a boring moment! Each also has a message of deep Christian faith which I feel competes any story.

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.”

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A sweet, clean collection of historical romances. Each of the seven stories had there on unique POV around the Erie Canal. Each story was a relative quick read and they were all enjoyable. Well worth the read.

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The Erie Canal Brides Collection: 7 Romances Develop Along Manmade Waterways of New York and Ohio is a collection of seven stories. These stories include:
The Way of a Child by Lauralee Bliss
Wedding of the Waters by Rita Gerlach
Digging for Love by Ramona Cecil
Return to Sweetwater Cove by Christina Miller
Journey of the Heart by Johnnie Alexander
Pressing On by Rose Allen McCauley
The Bridge Between Us by Sherri Wilson Johnson
This collection is great and I highly recommend it.
Five stars.

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The Erie Canal Brides by various authors is a collection of seven stories set in the early 1800’s when the canal was the quickest way to move supplies and people. The stories are each unique and the settings are various towns along or near the canal. I enjoyed each story and the characters, both with good intentions and some not so good. The stories give a fictionalized view of what life was probably like back then. For many the canal made doing business in surrounding areas much easier and therefore more profitable. Others saw the canal as bringing ruffians who worked to dig the canal and later working on the boats to disrupt their peaceful lives. Some did not want to sell their land for a canal they felt was not needed. I felt very attached to many of the characters and their struggles with choices they had to make. I enjoyed this book very much as it delved into the history and time of the canal. All of the main characters are Christians though they may struggle with doing what is right. The stories include the characters leaning on scripture many times but are not preachy. I give this book 5 of 5 stars and believe it will appeal to a wide range of readers.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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The Erie Canal Brides Collection features 7 couples that were brought together one way or the other along this waterway that connects various towns in New York and Ohio. Along the way, the novellas highlight the benefits and challenges faced by the population from pre-canal to post-building years. It was quite clear that though the Erie Canal was instrumental in bringing business to the smaller towns, lots of social ills also came in tow. I was quite intrigued by the discrimination against Irish immigrants in the 19th century and it is an issue that I will educate myself on.

The Erie Canal collection gave me the travel bug and will look forward to adding some of these places to my North America bucket list.  The collection is heartwarming and will be a great pick me up that one can leisurely read.

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The Erie Canal Brides Collection includes seven novellas. The stories are varied in social status, culture and location, but they share the commonality of the Erie Canal. All by different authors and all entertaining. This collection is a fun read for fans of historical romance fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

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This collection of stories was written entirely by authors I was unfamiliar with. I enjoy reading these collections because of all the new-to-me authors that I discover:-) The Erie Canal Brides Collection takes you from Ohio to New York, from wealth to poverty, & from farm fields to city dwellings. Each story is unique, yet they are all tied together by the Erie Canal. As someone who has visited many of these places, I was impressed by the through research that the authors had done so they could accurately describe the countryside, & attitudes towards the workers during that portion of history.

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As far as novella collections go, this was pretty decent. Of course the stories are short, and the romance often unbelievably quick, but they are still entertaining. I don't know if any of these will stick with me, but they were worth the time to read!

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