Twice Promised by Maggie Brendan, ©2012 ~*~ The Blue Willow Brides series, Book 2 ~*~

 

~*~ The Blue Willow Brides series, Book 1 ~*~ We are introduced to Greta Olsen in Deeply Devoted. She arrives in Wyoming from Amsterdam, Holland, with her sisters as one becomes a mail-order bride.

                      ~*~ The Blue Willow Brides series, Book 2 ~*~
          
In Twice Promised, Greta travels to the beautiful Rocky Mountains. She immediately finds a Miss Cora Johnson also answered the Mail-Order-Bride ad for... the same man. Only he didn't place the ad!

 "I'm here to pick up Jess's mail-order brides," he said. He twirled his Stetson in his hand." --Twice Promised, page 16

Both women traveling in the same rail car ~*~ arriving at the railroad depot, sitting on the same bench, waiting to be retrieved.... Shocking, indeed!

Did you catch that "s"??
They did!
Ordering for the "general store" certainly has seemed to get out of hand!

Greta gave Zach a hard look. "Cora's right. Now we both have arrived to marry a man who doesn't even know we exist!" --page 19

Lucky for Zach, "he has a plan."

"What do you say, ladies? Are you willing to give my plan consideration? Let's say in three weeks, if either of you hate it here or don't take a shine to Jess, then I'll pay your train fare back home." Greta groaned and Cora winced. "Or to wherever you'd like to travel." --page 20

I liked the light-hearted warmth of the characters as both women become friends, banding together in a fast growing mining town, Central City, Colorado, in 1888. Historical Fiction is my very favorite and I am not left behind as they begin their adventures together. They have a few surprises of their own! They are survivors. I'll agree with Greta: "This should be interesting."

Their "intended," Jess Gifford, is busy running the local Mercantile. His brother, Zach, of all people, has placed an ad to free up his time, or so it was thought. Two brothers, their Granny, and throw a third damsel-in-distress into the mix! Oh my! A third missing his attentions ~*~ and... she has a brother who wouldn't mind being chosen by either of these two lovely "eligibles," should they decide they are through with those Giffords!

Oh, dearie! Zach's plan doesn't come across exactly how he told them, when he blurts out in front of a young family also, in the store making purchases:

     Jess looked sharply at him. "And just what might you have to do with these two young ladies?"
     Silas and Annabelle nodded their curiosity. He might as well go on and break the news to his brother now, while he was listening for once. Zach stood between the two ladies, draping an arm around each of their shoulders. "I want you to meet two very important women in your life, Miss Greta Olsen and Miss Cora Johnson. One of which will be your future bride."

   Greta smacked at his hand and Cora took a step back.
   Annabelle's eyes widened, and Silas gave his wife a warning look.
   Zach sighed. Nothing like having an audience. Jess would get him for this.
   "Oh my ..." Sue said.
   Jess pulled back with surprise. His gaze flew from Zach to the two women, who stood waiting. "My future bride?"
   "Yep! Thanks to the US mail." --page 39

And then there's the explanation to his brother:

"... I took it upon myself to help you out by placing an ad for a bride--actually, two. I thought if you had two to pick from, that would make it easy." --page 42

[As you can tell, it took a little explaining to get from page 39 to 42!]

Drum roll, lol. It is not long before the two women make plans of their own. With so many transitions, they handle it all with noble courage. Apron in hand, they are the two new "hirees" of the mercantile! Maybe it was Zach's plan but, really, it is theirs now! That takes gumption. And... they fit in nicely! Think there may be a little more activity in the general store from here on out. Rearranging.

There is more to this story than I have told you. A locket clue. So well written and you will want to join them on their new excursion.

A customer returns to collect his order... Okay, the mercantile is about to fill up. It won't take long for the news to get out ~ in fact, Granny already knows when Jess goes to visit her later in the day... 

"Cole," Silas offered him a handshake. "We were just inviting Jess and Zach for supper Friday, as well as Greta and Cora, two mail-order brides who just arrived yesterday. You may as well come too, unless you've got plans."

I am drawn to Blue Willow china and have collected several pieces. There are legends behind it of one woman with two men seeking her ~*~ one who has her heart, the other her father is arranging for her.

Did you notice the stamp on the back of this plate?

Or would you choice Country Rose china?

Maggie Brendan is the author of the Heart of the West series and Deeply Devoted, which was a 2012 ICR Award finalist. A member of the Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Georgia Romance Writers, Maggie lives in Georgia. Visit her at her website MaggieBrendan.com.

I liked the flow of Twice Promised because it brought you into their daily lives and thoughts. Both ladies had their individual likes and giftings and were freely themselves ~ that is, after they stopped second guessing and assuming the intent of others! A very good story and one I will read again. Any age would love this book. It is universal!


Thank you to Revell Blog Tour Network Historical Fiction for this copy of Twice Promised, Book 2 in the Blue Willow Brides series, by Maggie Brendan to review in my own words.