The Perils of Pauline

I think authors need to consider when drafting a book if they’re laying on a hero’s or heroine’s difficulties a bit too thick. That certainly happened in this case. As the book opens, not only does the heroine have to mind her younger children and take care of an ailing mother who has a chronic stomach complaint, she also has to deal with her mother's absolute lack of appreciation for all that she does. Hoping that becoming a mail-order bride will improve her life, she winds up married to a cruel drunk who is soon killed in a mining disaster. Then she works herself to the bone and near-death trying to keep the ranch going. Seriously, I feel like I was just shaking my head the whole time, wondering what calamity would befall her next. This heroine had enough troubles for several books… and too many for one!

Hazelanne is a nice story of a women caring for a sick mother and 5 siblings. She wants more and applies for a mail order bride. What she got in a husband is not what she expected. A nice story with good characters.

I'm giving this book 5 stars because I really enjoyed this book!! I loved how this author painted vivid pictures of the country and in 2005 I took a cross country vacation. But of course a lot of things have changed a lot!!
In this book I was taken back along the same route I took only I felt as if I was seeing it for the first time!!
This author has done her job if she's able to do that for me. Well done Linda!!
My thanks to Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this book. No compensations were received and all opinions are my own..

Overall a pretty good historical romance. Author is new to me and I am not certain that I would read more of her books. Writing just didn’t satisfy me. Thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

This was a complimentary book courtesy of netgalley - thank you

I love historical fiction and this was something out of the ordinary for me, being set in 1884 in the Utah Territory

I found this enjoyable and intriguing as lots of the content was new to me - I had vague knowledge about mail order brides and have read other romance books set in that kind of time - this was superior to all the others I have read

I found this an engaging story of a woman setting out to make a better life for herself and needing to survive whatever was thrown at her
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I would say this was a really great holiday read but with enough content to also make this an unusual choice for a book club

One of my favorite aunts was named Hazel, so a historical fiction book named Hazelanne was a must-read. Hazelanne is the oldest child of a sickly mother. She feels she is destined to spend her life caring for here family. When a friend suggested she answer an ad for a bride, Hazelanne decides it is the only way to escape his dreary life. On the way to Wildcat Ridge, Utah, she catches the eye of the stage's shotgun rider, Brice MacAnsrews. When he learns she is engaged to a drunk, he is not happy. A week after her wedding an explosion at the mine kills her abusive husband. When Brice going to Hazelanne's ranch after the explosion, he finds here injured. He offers a marriage of convenience. Twice in the matter of a few days, Hazelanne gets married.

As they get to know one another over time, trust and affection grow. Can the ranch give them a common ground to build a life together? This was a sweet book about a courageous young woman.

Widows of Wildcat Ridge book 15
1884 Utah Territory
"in order to survive, on occasion they [women] had to be more practical than romantic."
The name of the series gives a lot away. The story of Hazelanne is very interesting. She grew up taking care of her large family, but left to take some of the financial burden off by becoming a mail order bride. Not expecting what she got herself into. Her new husband had a farm, but wasn't pleasant at all. She was very adaptable - she was raised in a city, but learned quickly how to care for the animals and try to please her demanding, unloving husband. She'd only been married a short time when the Gold King mine blew up and most of the town's men were killed.
Brice was the "shotgun messenger" on the Wells Fargo stagecoach she had ridden to her new home in. He had been quite taken with her, so he went to the mass funeral, then impulsively married her afterwards just to give her his name. He returned to his job, only getting back to town long enough for dinner every Saturday. Engaging story of a woman who set out alone for a better life and did what she had to do, learning as she went.

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.”
#Hazelanne #NetGalley #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout

Hazelanne was the first book I've read in the Wildcat Ridge series as well as the 1st novel by Linda Carroll-Bradd. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Hazelanne is a young woman who leaves her family as a mail order bride; hoping to find a loving husband and a family of her own. Only to find that her husband is a cruel man. Conveniently for her he dies within days of their marriage and she quickly marries the handsome man she met on the stage coach ride to meet her husband. The story line had great promise, but the convenience of each event in Hazelanne's life caused the book to lose its appeal for me.

What a good look we got when it came to the life Hazelanne had before she sent to be a mail-order bride. She had a huge weight of responsibility on her shoulders. But I've got to admit that when I read the response from her soon to-be-husband, it didn't look any better. Sounded like he just wanted a housekeeper that he could work hard. One that he could sleep with. Yuck right? It didn't take long to see she was jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
Brice also had a hard life striking out on his own to survive at a young age. And despite that he was still an honorable man. An honorable man who was running from anything that smacked of permanence. Not wanting anything to tie him down. Too bad that he had all those unwelcome yearnings towards Hazelanne. They had one strange marriage until things hit the fan and he finally has to face some things.
I did enjoy the fact that the author included the information about a certain homemade dumpling noodle that Hazelanne was making. It was called, "Spätzle" and it made me smile. Why? Because ran across that recipe that I've used for several years now. Of course, I think the one I have is a simplified version that adds butter and doesn't have the nutmeg and has a slightly different spelling...Spaetzle.
This book had fewer chapters than some books but they were chock full of emotions that kept the story going forward. It didn't end up feeling too small at all.
By the way, what a sweet eBook cover, I really liked it.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”