12 Brides of Summer Novella Collection #4

Title: 12 Brides of Summer Novella Collection #4 Authors: Vickie McDonough, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer & Davalynn Spencer Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Series: The 12 Brides of Summer #4 Reviewed By: Arlena Dean Rating: Five Review:

"12 Brides of Summer Novella Collection #4" By: Vickie McDonough, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer & Davalynn Spencer

My Thoughts.....

about: The County Fair Bride by Vickie McDonough

Purdy Willard is still one interesting character....she is not back in town...has she changed? What will happen when Purdy 'starts out to rescue her father's job that turns into an unexpected romance?' How will this county fair turn out? Well, to get this story you will have to pick up this good novella.

about: The Honey Bride by Diana Brandmeyer

What will happen when Katie gets a letter from a friend [her friend and neighbor] the Gibbons.giving Katie a loan...and Pete Dent is now at her place to help her [along with her grandmother[Oma] and Henry] to rebuild a barn. Now, what was up with those 'bee hives? Another interesting story...

about: The Columbine Bride by Davalynn Spencer

Will Lucky get another chance at love with Buck? To find out you will have to pick up this wonderful written story.

I thought these were three wonderfully written story of true love that I would definitely recommend as a good Christian read.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great stories loved every minute of this Book

12 Brides of Summer #4 is an entertaining book with three wonderful stories of trusting God to lead you to the right place. The first bride has to overcome her own stubborn and obstinate traits to trust God and her man. The second bride has to trust God to overcome her fear of everything. The third bride has to let go of her grief and thinking she has to do everything herself. They are all wonderful love stories and I highly recommend this book.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Now I am going to buy the first three in the set because I enjoyed it so much

The County Fair Bride by Vickie McDonough The Honey Bride by Diana Brandmeyer The Columbine Bride by Davalynn Spencer  
The fourth and final in this series of monthly Collections is another great choice for quick, satisfying summer “beach” reads for those of us who enjoy Christian historical fiction set in the American Old West.
  Each of the heroes is ready to embrace the desire for family, while each of the heroines is working to overcome a fault (including a reforming “mean girl”).

These particular stories read as though they are related to an ongoing or upcoming series and I would gladly read each of them again if they were expanded and further developed. Short stories (I know they call them Novellas, but I do have a small quibble about the length) like these are often a bit rushed feeling, and these are no exception.
  4/5 stars for entertainment and integration of faith. I very much enjoyed having characters who turned to God, not just due to adversity, but as a matter of course. Diana Brandmeyer’s Katie in particular strikes me, in hindsight, as someone simply walking in her faith as best she can.
  This review refers to an ebook copy, read courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.   It’s publication date is set for September 1, 2015 and at approximately $1 per story is, I think, well worth the cost of the ebook if you are a fan of historical Christian romance.

An enjoyable set of short stories set in late 19th century America: faith, family and friendship in the warm summer sun!

In the first story, The County Fair Bride, the main character Prudence (first mentioned in the Fruitcake Bride) returns home from an extended stay with her aunt to unhappily find another man sitting in her father's mayoral chair. Changed from her time away, and determined to be a better person, Prudy tries to help out, as the town coffers are very low. Thankfully the new Mr. Mayor is a patient man, and together they come up with a good solution to help the community. It was nice to see Prudy mature into a sweeter person from her last episode. Adam was a generous and patient man to let her interfere as she did!

The second novella, The Honey Bride, has a sad start, but ends on a sweet note as Katie Tucker gets help in unexpected ways from her neighbors to save her family's farm. The ranch hand, Pete who lends a hand, is an all around great guy. I really liked how patient and considerate he was of shy Katie, and how he helped her younger brother be "the man of the family" working on ways to keep everything going. I felt for Katie as she tried to be brave and work outside her comfort zone, asking God to help her and to provide for her family. Good examples of trusting God to meet our needs, taking him at His promises, and working through fears.

The third story, The Columbine Bride, my favorite of this set, centered on Lucy, a young widow trying to restore her farm with two small children in tow, and a lot of hard work ahead. Her neighbor shows up anticipating her needs, befriending her children and breaking down her wall of fear and bitterness. Will he succeed in helping or get shot in the process? Loved the character Buck and his quiet thoughtful ways of demonstrating kindness and love to this hurting little family. Trusting God for help and waiting on Him were uplifting themes in this story and the others also. 

All the stories have connections back to the authors' novellas in the Twelve Brides of Christmas collection, but are fine to read as standalones. I am going to go back and read the ones I missed, just to get their backstories.  Recommend for anyone who enjoys inspirational fiction in a historical setting!  4.5 stars

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-book provided in exchange for my honest, unsolicited review.)

All three novellas are by different authors, but are all similar, while still being unique stories. However, I am slightly torn for the rating of this book. Part of me loves these quaint stories about love in the late nineteenth century, but part of me strongly dislikes the multitude of God references.

I finally decided on five stars, primarily because when I selected this book it was clearly stated that it was a Christian romance, but also because I shouldn't be judging a book by it's character's religion. Much to the same way I can read book with characters of a different sexual orientation than myself--I can read books, and not take offence to, with different religious beliefs.

I loved this book from start to the end.  I loved all the writers! I have been blessed to read all of these series so far and it's another one that I want to add to my home library when it comes out.  If you like/love, love Christian love stories you won't be disappointed.

A wonderful way to end this series of books with these three authors

Escape to old west.  Great characters with hurts, wants and needs that I could relate to.  Really enjoyed the read.

Unfortunately this is the last book in this series.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire series.  Even though all three novellas are different by three different authors, they similar.  They are very good.  They show trusting God leads one to the right place.  With the help of God, one can overcome anything.  I highly recommend this book.

I had the chance to read a few of the 12 Brides of Christmas novella collection this past winter and I loved reading these little, short, sweet stories; so when I saw that there was a 12 Brides of Summer novella collection that was being released this summer by the same authors as the Christmas collection I was excited to give them a go. This time, instead of being released as individual stories, they have been bundled into 4 novella collections, each containing 3 short stories of about 50-60 pages in length. I’m going to speak to each short story as well as the collection as a whole.

My favorite story of the three was The Columbine Bride by Davalynn Spencer. The storytelling here felt much longer than the 50ish page count that it actually was. Sometimes these romances can feel rushed to at least give you some result in the short page count, but this one did not feel that way at all. There was a very natural progression of gratitude becoming friendship, and then friendship turning into caring, and then without realizing that it has become something a little more. The four main characters, Lucy, Buck, and Lucy’s two young children, all had very defined personalities and I knew what made them tick pretty quickly. Buck is very much the horseman and uses a lot of horse terms to describe his family and Lucy’s family – the word choices of his thoughts provided even more definition to his character. The chapters alternate between being from Lucy’s and Buck’s perspectives and they flowed together seamlessly. I could certainly see this story becoming a full novel of the relationship and I would eat it up.

My next favorite was The County Fair Bride by Vickie McDonough. The story arc here covers the time period of developing, planning, and carrying out of a county fair in a small town of Texas – pretty much the length of a summer. While the story covers more time period that The Columbine Bride, the narrative felt a little more like a compressed timeline. I think the author felt the need to provide more backstory to tell of Prudy’s evolution from former mean-girl to reformed “nice” girl, which took up a little more of the space and maybe contributed to the feeling of a compressed story. That being said, I did find the evolution of the romance to be believable. There was action throughout, right from the first scene that made the story pop.

Finally, The Honey Bride by Diana Brandmeyer. While all three of these stories focus on women trying to find their way out of a hardship, Katie seems to be the one that had the most difficulty due to the nature of her personality as well as the event that takes place at the beginning. I think this is why I struggled to get to know her as well as the other two heroines. There was also a side focus on this periphery character, W.D., and I felt like it took away from Katie’s story some. I think that W.D. would possibly have an interesting spin-off story though.

In terms of the collection as a whole, I thought it was quite enjoyable. All three stories are quick reads – took me about an hour a piece. It was a nice break in between some lengthier reads and was still satisfying. There is nothing that ties the three stories together in any way besides that they take place in the summertime – but I was ok with that. In terms of the amount of religion incorporated in each story, I felt like it was well balanced and integrated naturally into the characters. As in life, some are more tied to their faith convictions that others, but it never roamed into the preachy territory. I was very happy with this collection and look forward to reading the others. You do not need to read these collections in any certain order as each story is a standalone story.

I really hope this is not the last of the Novella Collections for the 12 brides of summer. I absolutely loved this series and I look forward to reading more by these authors. I am very happy with the novellas that were written and I am looking forward to re-reading these novellas many times. This is a good way to get to know authors. If you find a story you like, then you should look up that author and read more by them.

Prudy Willard returns home to care for her frail father, and helps the interim mayor put on the county fair.

After losing her father in the fire that took their barn, she is left to care for her brothers and grandmother, Pete Dent comes up with a way to help them out without it seeming like charity.

Lucy is determined to go back to the homestead even though her husband is gone. Buck Reiter decides to lend them a hand, and help them make a go of homesteading again.

A fantastic collection of stories, full of heart, and plenty of great characters. I loved the cute kids in the Columbine Bride, and how kind Pete was in The Honey Bride. The County Fair Bride was full of humor and plenty of witty dialogue. A fun fast paced read, great for picking up during a busy day. i don't want to give too much away, but this is definitely a great series, and I'd definitely recommend it!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 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."

The 12 Brides of Summer Novella Collecrion #4 The County Fair Bride Prudence is afraid of coming home but it's time. Time to face the shameful past and try to cheer up her father during his ailment. But the stranger that meets her at the station rapidly goes from being a threat to her fathers career to being a threat to her fragile heart. Adam decided right off that this beauty will be the death of him with her imprudence and rudeness. But there is a town in major need of capital, will they be able to work together to save the town?
The Honey Bride Well I think that girls gifted with shyness are actually the most blessed because they get attention from the best of men. Men full of patience and love for them. By the time Katie realized that Pete gives her the time of the day he was already in love with her for over a year and did all he could to coax a smile out of her. Readers look at this - one smile and he decided to not move out of town no matter how much he wanted to go and find his brother. It's not so much fiction as it is reality. Adorable!  The Columbine Bride Lucy  a young widow with two charming children can give Nate, a bachelor neighbour, all he ever wanted - true home. But life's troubles and inner pride just might work against their future.  All in all these stories are amazingly written. All in different parts of the USA, all a combination of fun adventure, mysterious troubles, touching love that saves them all. I adored reading them!
Disclaimer: I have received a free copy of this book from publisher, through netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Title:  12 Brides of Summer Novella Collection #4  Author: by Vickie McDonough, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, Davalynn Spencer Genre:    Christian, Romance  ISBN  9781634095785

This collection has 3 stories by wonderful authors writing from1800's. Each author gives you a wonderful story of time gone by. Pull up a chair bring a drink as the authors bring you a compelling stories from the past.

The Country Fair Bride by Vickie McDonough

The Honey Bride by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

The Columbine Bride by Davalynn Spencer

Each of these stories have pain and sorrow as they overcome issues learn how do deal with things out of their control. They are basic on faith and love which this world need more of. These are heartwarming reads that will stay with you as each learn to love and find the mean of their dreams. This is a collection I had trouble putting now. There is something for everyone here. I hope you take the time to read these wonderful stories.

The first story in the novella is, “The County Fair Bride” by Vickie McDonough.  This is a short, sweet romance that begins with two characters that seem an unlikely match.  But that old saying says that opposites attract, right?
Prudence Willard is a woman who is of a strong, forceful personality.  A year ago in the story, Prudence with her overwhelming attitude caused problems for the church pastor and his fiancée and had to leave town to live with her aunt.  In that year, Prudence, under the tutelage of her Aunt Louise realized what kind of person she had become and how much trouble she had caused.  Deciding that she had been more like her Mother than she cared for, Prudence vowed to change her ways.   Prudence’s father, who is the town mayor, falls ill and Prudence travels home to be with him and to help where she can.  She is nervous of course of facing the town, especially the pastor and his wife, after her behavior.  Soon after arriving home, Prudence decides that the best way to help her father is to make sure that the man who has taken over the position is fully aware that he will not be keeping her father’s job.  She is determined to dog his every step to make sure her father’s interests are secure.
Adam Merrick has heard about Prudence Willard and her headstrong behavior, but he isn’t at all prepared for the whirlwind she creates in her wake.  He finds her beautiful but rather difficult to deal with.  No matter how much he tries to tell her he doesn’t need her help, she keeps showing up.  Then to have her accuse him of ill managing the town funds is just ridiculous.  When Prudence demands to know what his plans are for the town and building up the funds, he explains his idea of holding a county fair.   Adam and Prudence are both excited over the county fair and they decide to work together to make it happen. By spending time together and slowly growing to admire each other, Adam and Prudence find they do feel more than friendship for the other.  It isn’t until an accident occurs on the day of the fair that those feelings are admitted by Prudence.  But is it too late to say what she feels to Adam?   The County Fair Bride is a where to very opposite people are brought together through redemption and learning to overlook faults in favor of strengths. Vickie McDonough is a wonderful author of sweet western romances to enjoy.
The second story is “The Honey Bride” by author Diana Lesire Brandmeyer.  This is a story that has the underlining lesson that if our lives go up in flames, God will make something beautiful of the ashes.
Katie Tucker loses her father in a fire leaving her to look after the farm, her brother and her grandmother.  But she has a problem….her father called her delicate and said she will never marry for it.  But Pete Dent sees her courage and her shyness and knows she is far from delicate and wants to marry her.  When Katie finds that her father took a loan out on the farm she tries to find a job to pay the loan that is coming due soon.  To add to her sorrow she will also feel guilty as she discovers that the loan was for the Queen bees she begged her father for in order to sell honey and the wax.  Determined to save the farm as her brother’s legacy she prays for help from God knowing she can’t do it alone.
Pete Dent has had a rough life.  He lost his parents and then his younger brother was adopted separating them.  Pete spent several years drifting trying to find his brother and never settling down which lead to be branded with suspicion.  When Pete meets Katie he falls for her and decides he wants to stay.  When Katie’s father dies in the fire, Pete wants to step in to help and enlists the aid of his friends to convince Katie to hire him to work the farm.
When a drifter shows up at the farm saying that he was hired by Katie’s father she isn’t sure what to do but knows she isn’t comfortable with him.  Pete shows up to help with the drunken, foul mouth drifter but still feels lead to help the man.  W.D. as the drifter calls himself proves himself to be less than ideal to be around with his drinking and attitude.  When God leads Pete to confront W.D. a discovery is made that may force Pete to leave Katie.  Will Katie accept the news or is just too much after all that has happened?
A very good and easy read to enjoy the afternoon with.  Learn the lesson with Pete and Katie that God has planned for them and watch HIS work unfold.
The third book is by author, Davalynn Spencer and is titled, “The Columbine Bride”; A beautiful story of personal strength and determination with God’s love leading the way.
Buck Reiter gave up his life plans to help his widowed sister raise her so and care for the ranch.  Now years later he feels it is his time to leave and find his own place.  He wasn’t expecting God to place him in the mercantile at the same time widow Lucy Powell and her children would be.  Believing his offer to help comes from the Lord’s command to help widows and orphans; Buck doesn’t expect to lose his heart to this family and wish to become a part of it.  Over time, Buck comes to admire Lucy and must choose between her and his life dream.
Lucy Powell cannot accept any more charity.  She has had enough and is determined to support herself and her children.  Her neighbor, Buck Reiter, comes to her aid but she is stubborn. His persistence soon wears her down and she finds she has come to depend on and care for Buck.  Her children love Buck and ask her if he will be their Pa.  Asking God daily for Him to show her the path to follow and placing her trust in His guidance, Lucy finally admits that she loves Buck and wants to marry him.  Lucy informs her daughter that a lady must wait for the man to ask her for marriage… so she waits for Buck to do so.
When Buck is late coming back from the range, Lucy is scared that she has lost him just as she had lost her husband.  Placing her faith in God, Lucy waits and trusts that Buck will come home.
This collection of summer brides was inspiring in that it shows we don’t know what God has planned for us, but if we allow him to take charge and follow the path he sets for us, then we may find ourselves surprised in ways we never imagined.  I love collection such as these for their easy reading and loving messages.  Each story had characters you will love.  Inner strength shines in the women and the men show they admire, respect, support and love them just as they are.

Collection. This collection includes:
The County Fair Bride by Vickie McDonough The Honey Bride by Diana Brandmeyer The Columbine Bride by Davalynn Spencer My favorite was Vickie McDonough's The County Fair Bride.
This is yet another don't miss book of this series.
Highly recommended.
5 stars.

I have finished all four collections of the 12 Brides of Summer series. I think this fourth collection is one of the best. 

In the County Fair Bride, Prudence has come home to take care of her father, but finds that he has been replaced by someone else. She is incensed because she feels he was pushed out of his job. When she finally takes the time to talk to her dad, she finds he's happier not being mayor of the town. She joins forces with the new mayor to plan and produce a county fair and to fall in love. 

In the Honey Bride, Kate is deathly afraid of the bees her father ordered for the hives he got. He thought that she'd be able to make a bit of money selling the honey and beeswax that the bees produced. When her neighbor's cowhand comes to help, she is not sure if she can trust him or not, especially when a drunken man shows up on her front porch claiming that her father promised him a job. 

In the Columbine Bride, Lucy is widowed with two children and fighting to hold body and soul together. Buck finds himself intrigued by the young widow and starts showing up to help out--even with her cattle round up. She hates being beholdin', but what else can she do? 

Vickie McDonough, Diana Brandmeyer, and Davalynn Spencer have combined forces to produce a book of fun entertainment for a free afternoon. These authors know how to develop a character, set them in a plot, and keep the plot moving along to engage the reader till the very end. 

This is a five star, two thumbs up book, with a blue ribbon at the county fair. 

My thanks to Shiloh Run Studios for allowing me to read and review this book.

I really love these Christian historical short stories. The 12 brides of summer are divided into 4 collections, with each 3 stories at about 50 pages each and with each collection costing a mere $2.99, it works out to $1 a story. Highly worth it! I think the length was just right to know the characters and their romance, without dragging on with too many details or requiring too much time to read them.  The historical details, time period mannerisms/customs and richly described characters really made this series enjoyable! I do recommend!

The 12 Brides of Summer by Vickie McDonough, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, Davalynn Spencer contains three novellas by three different authors. Soulful, heartfelt and beautifully written, I loved all the stories in this book.

Three strong women get their dream man and a happily-ever-after that had me sighing and feeling happy.

The writing is expressive and all three authors are new to me and I know I am going to checkout their other books too.

This is the fourth collection in The 12 Brides of Summer series but can be read as a standalone. I will be checking out the other books in this series too.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection and could visualize the settings which took me to days gone by and had me hooked till the end. 4.5 out of 5 to The 12 Brides of Summer and recommended to everyone.

I received the book from the publishers via Netgalley and I am very thankful to them. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.

The Country Fair Bride tells the story of Prudy and the new  mayor Adam who doesn’t know what exactly to do with her at first. Prudy the daughter of the town  left the town in shame after being a hussy basically.  She thought she was in love with the Pastor Clayton, despite him having a finance. Now she has returned a changed woman, recently expecting Christ . Determine to be helpful and help her sick father , she doesn’t  expect the reception from those who she hurt. However she still the  misguide woman of before but this time harmless . However Adam is too aware of what she like previously . Will Prue get the second chance and realised that God has everything in control

The Honey Bride is  set right in the midst of the action as we watch Katie Tucker the heroine faces some difficult times and see God rewarding her in her testing times.  What starts of a simple storm soon turns bad for the Tuckers when the farm gets on fire thanks to some lighting strikes.  Sending her younger brother for help,  he only manages to find Pete the neighbour’s hand who  tries to help them valiantly put out the fire.
however it ends tragedy as her father perishes in the fire, leaving Pete to explain and her ten year old brother the owner of the farm.

Pete  feeling sorry for them wants to help but he always had dreams of owning his own farm and whilst he interested in Katie.  There a lot going on and Katie has to wonder if  everything is falling into place a little too perfect and does Pete still have ulterior  motives

The Columbine Bride

Another Lucy  but this one is a widower who has been trying to manage things since her husband died.  The ranch has been left alone as she been busy teaching and now finally she can return to the ranch to fix things and give it a go. However she has no clue what she is doing and luckily her neighbour Buck has taken a interest. After encountering her in the mercantile and wanting to help. Buck feels that the timing is perfect. His responsibilities to his sister and nephew are over and he can finally start his own family. However Lucy isn’t interested and Buck worms his way into the family and is determined to make Lucy his .