A Bride at Last by Melissa Jagears - Reviewed by Bonnie Roof

A Bride at Last by Melissa Jaguars (Barbour,  2015)

A Bride at Last by Melissa Jaguars (Bethany House, 2015)

Set in 1885, A Bride at Last (Bethany House, 2015) is a touching, emotional story of Kate Dawson and Silas Jonesey - their connection with 9-year-old Anthony Riverton, and the struggle of each to overcome his/her personal issues and develop trust in a relationship that will bring love and fulfillment to  life.

After being orphaned at the age of 12, and enduring years of beatings from her brother-in-law, as well as having a sister who is emotionally cold (both having alcohol issues) - Kate seeks escape through her fiancé Aiden McGuiness. Finding Aiden has his own issues, and is much more concerned with his banking career than with having a family, Kate instead accepts the offer of mail-order bride to Jasper Goldwater. Upon her arrival in Breton, Missouri, Kate finds Jasper is the town drunk and it is his brother who submitted the ad, feeling it his only opportunity to secure a wife for his brother. Running from this offer, also, she accepts a teaching position at the local school and develops a bond with her student, Anthony - paying for housing, etc. for he and his mother, Lucinda, who has been unable to work for 2 years, due to her battle with consumption.

The book begins with Lucinda's death and the appearance of two men. Richard Fitzgerald is a married man with whom she had a relationship, Silas is Lucinda’s husband whom she left ten years prior without leaving info as to her whereabouts. Born wealthy, Lucinda had been unable to cope with Silas' alcohol addiction and the hard work involved in the care of his Kansas farm. Abandoned by his mother at the age of five, feeling guilt over his failings as a husband and a need to seek forgiveness from Lucinda, Silas responded to her plea of financial help by coming out to where she now boarded. He quickly realizes that although Lucinda had never mentioned it, Anthony must be his son. Unfortunately, Richard Fitzgerald, a gambler continually in debt, wants to claim Anthony as his own son - and avail himself of Anthony's pick-pocketing skills. A battle ensues between the two men in an attempt to prove Anthony's parentage - which results in Anthony's running away, a near kidnapping, and a developing romantic relationship between Silas and Kate that causes much wavering indecision, fear, and reflection on the part of each.

This all within the first portion of the book, and so much more to follow - including the humor of Kate's feistiness, and numerous scenes that warm the reader's heart or bring a tear. Melissa Jagears expertly deals with the issues of addictions, abandonment, fear of failure, forgiveness, trust, acceptance, and one's need to overcome past issues and failures by trusting God to control one's future. I loved the multi-layered characters. A Bride At Last is a book that will speak to, and inspire, many people.  

GIVEAWAY: This week on OWG we're giving away a paperback copy of A Bride at Last and a second giveaway of Winner's choice of either this novel OR The Convenient Bride Collection. Two chances to win this week--leave a comment on any of the three posts from this week to enter. You can comment on each one for more entries--three different posts with three comments counts as three entries.  VOID where prohibited by law. Ebook only for international winners unless book is available through the Book Depository.  BOTH books are available on BD for international readers who are within their delivery range.