Book Review | The Truth About Love by Nerys Leigh

Review by Iola Goulton @IolaGoulton

Nerys Leigh's Escape to the West series is unique.

All the books run concurrently, which means the stories can be read in any order as none comes first. Each book follows one of five women who have come west to California as a mail-order bride. The Truth About Love is the fifth book in the series.

Josephine Carter finds herself pregnant and alone when her confidence game partner abandons her, absconding with all their money. Now she has to complete the ultimate con: get married, and convince her new husband the baby is his. She can't do that in New York, so she signs up to be a mail order bride.

But things don't go according to plan.

She's soon alone again. Now she has to fend for herself in her new home, and find a way to support herself and her impending baby. She is befriended and helped by Zach Parsons, who works at the local hotel. He's attractive, but she's married ... and pregnant. And Zach's a man, and she's done with men. After all, it was men who got her into this predicament ...

Zach is attracted to Jo, despite knowing she's pregnant and not a Christian.

She's a challenge, in more ways than one. She's fiery, independent, intelligent, opinionated. And he's falling for her.

I've enjoyed all the books in this series, and The Truth About Love was no exception. None of the stories have easy matches, but this has perhaps the most for both characters to overcome—Jo especially. She has to overcome her mistrust of men and place her faith in God. Zach is the perfect hero—strong, loving, and forgiving in he shows the way we are all called to love others.

The only downside to The Truth About Love is that we've now had all five stories from the mail order brides, and I don't want to leave Green Hill Creek. It must be time for Pastor Jones to organise another trainload of brides!

Recommended for fans of Christian Western romance.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

About Nerys Leigh

Nerys Leigh writes thoroughly romantic Christian historical love stories. She loves heroes who are strong but sweet and heroines who are willing to fight for the life they want.

She’s from the UK, which you would think puts her in a unique position to not write about mail order brides in the American west, but the old adage of writing what you know has never appealed to her. She has an actual American read each book before publishing to make sure she hasn’t gone all English on it.

No One’s Bride is the first in the Escape to the West series which tells the stories of a group of women willing to travel across America to find happiness, and the men determined to win their hearts.

Nerys can be found relaxing and generally enjoying the view at http://nerysleigh.com and https://www.facebook.com/NerysLeigh.

About Iola Goulton

Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Unpronounceable Names (Iola is pronounced yo-la, not eye-ola and definitely not Lola).

Iola holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and currently works as a freelance editor. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat. She is currently working on her first novel.

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What Books are you Looking Forward to Reading? (And a Giveaway)

By Iola Goulton

This is a repost from my author website, where I post a Bookish Question every Monday. This week: What books are you looking forward to reading in the rest of 2017?

It’s the end of June (already!), which means we’re halfway through the year. I’ve read a bunch of books, but there are still more books to read. There are always more books to read.

Here are the books I’m looking forward to reading (click on the covers to buy on Amazon):

Books from Debut Authors

Count Me In by Mikal Dawn

An accountant as a heroine? I don't think I've seen that before, so I'm looking forward to finding out Allegra's story.

Someplace Familiar by Teresa Tysinger

I've heard good things about Someplace Familiar. It's a debut novel, and the start of a series. Well, it's best to start at the beginning, right?

Books I Own But Haven’t Read Yet

(Don't judge me. You have a mile-high to-read pile as well. Don't you?)

Finders Keepers by Sarah Monzon

Finders Keepers has just won the Selah Award, and I’ve read (and reviewed) the sequel, but somehow haven’t managed to read this yet.

 The Whys Have It by Amy Matayo

I love Amy Matayo's writing and the way she shows authentic faith in a real world. And the cover ...

My Unexpected Hope by Tammy L Gray

My Unexpected hope is the sequel to My Hope Next Door, which is a RITA finalist, and was one of my top picks for 2016. So I have to read it, right?

The Wayward Heart by Nerys Leigh

The Wayward Heart is the third book in Nerys Leigh’s unique mail order bride series—unique in that each of the stories in the series is happening at the same time, so you can read the series in any order.

Books I’m Waiting For

Ghost Hunter by Lisa Harris and Lynne Gentry

Ghost Hunter is a suspense novel set in Tanzania and the United States. That’s all I know about it. But it’s by Lisa Harris, which pretty much guarantees a winner.

Ghost Hunter releases in August 2017.

The Captivating Lady Charlotte by Carolyn Miller

Regency romance is one of my favourite romance genres, and it's great to see more Christian authors in this space.

The Captivating Lady Charlotte releases tomorrow! I can't wait! Well, I can. Because I have to. But you know what I mean.

A Dangerous Legacy by Elizabeth Camden

I love the way Elizabeth Camden melds new-to-me historical research with faith and romance.

A Dangerous Legacy releases in October 2017.

An Inconvenient Beauty by Kristi Ann Hunter

More Regency romance, from award-winning Kristi Ann Hunter. I've read and enjoyed every one of her books so far, so I have no doubts about this one. And the cover is gorgeous.

An Inconvenient Beauty releases in September 2017.

Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan

Legal suspense. What more do I need to know?

Legal Proof releases in September 2017.

What book or books are you most looking forward to reading in the second half of 2017?

You might look at this list and wonder why I haven't included Then There Was You by Kara Isaac. 

That's because I've already read it—and if you haven't, I definitely recommend you add it to your list. 

Or comment below—I'll choose one commenter to win a Kindle copy of Then There Was You, or the Kindle book of their choice from my list above.

Comment by 7am on Friday 30 June 2017 (Australian Eastern Time) for a chance to win.

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nzto download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more at www.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
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Iola's Top Ten Christian Novels of 2016

By Iola Goulton

I had a lot of trouble writing this list last year—it’s no small feat to narrow over 150 books read into a top ten list for the year.

This year, I decided I’d get sneaky. I’ve been writing monthly posts of my favourite books for my author blog, www.iolagoulton.com. So coming up with this list should have been easy, right?

No.

But after some arguing with myself (I won. And I lost), I’ve managed to come up with a list of my Top Ten for the year. I stuck to novels published this year—cutting non-fiction and novellas was the only way I could do this … but I must cheat and give a shout-out to the excellent Aussie Summer Christmas romance novella collection. Click here to read my review.

So here are my Top Ten Christian Novels published in 2016 (in alphabetical order. It was enough trouble to narrow them down to ten without having to rank them!):

Since You’ve Been Gone by Christa Allan

Since You’ve Been Gone starts with a twist on a cliché: a groom who doesn’t show up to the wedding, and a bride-to-be who is left to work out why. The obvious is soon discovered (he’s dead in a car wreck), but that doesn’t answer the important questions … Click here to read my review.

Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin

An excellent dual timeline story from Lynn Austin, showing the difficulties faced by early American settlers, and their determination to succeed. And their faith. Click here to read my review.

The Cautious Maiden by Dawn Crandall

This is the fourth novel in The Everstone Chronicles, and it’s as good as the rest. Don’t worry—you don’t have to read them all. But you’ll want to. Excellent historical romantic suspense. Click here to read my review.

Intermission by Serena Chase

Intermission isn’t Serena Chase’s first novel, but it’s the first one I’ve read—an excellent Young Adult novel with some valuable lessons about God and obedience. Click here to read my review.

Can’t Help Falling by Kara Isaac

Kiwi author Kara Isaac has actually released two books this year: Close to You, and Can’t Help Falling. While I’ve read and enjoyed both, Can’t Help Falling is definitely my favourite. Click here to read my review.

A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears

A Heart Most Certain looks like a typical romance novel set in the American West in the late 1900’s—a sweet romance between two almost-perfect characters. Bland, predictable. But it’s anything but, and that’s what makes it so good. Click here to read my review.

No One’s Bride by Nerys Leigh

I love a good mail order bride story, and this one was excellent. Even better, it’s the start of a series and I’m already holding the date to review book two. Click here to read my review.

The Thirteenth Chance by Amy Matayo

Everyone has been telling me I need to read Amy Matayo’s work. I finally did, and everyone was right. She’s brilliant—real characters with real strengths and failings. I’ll certainly be reading more. Click here to read my review.

The Long Journey to Jake Palmer by James L Rubart

No, I didn’t include this simply to include a token male author (although I do read a lot more female authors than male). James L Rubart is an excellent writer of almost-speculative fiction. I say ‘almost’ because we serve a God of miracles, so who is to say these things couldn’t happen? Click here to read my review.

On the Edge by Theresa L Santy

On the Edge won the FaithWriters 2013 Page Turner Contest … and it certainly was a page turner. I’ll be watching for more from this debut author. Click here to read my review.

Although my choices are a mix of contemporary and historical, American authors and authors from England and New Zealand, they all have one thing in common. No, they’re not all romance novels (although yes, most are).

No, the one thing they all have in common is flawed characters doing their best to become better people.

Just like we all do in real life.

Book Review: No One's Bride by Nerys Leigh

Review by Iola Goulton

Mail Order Bride—from a British Author 

I was immediately intrigued when Nerys Leigh emailed me asking if I’d like to review No-One’s Bride, a Christian mail order romance story set in the American West in 1870. I do love a good mail order bride story—but it’s not something I typically see from British authors. Actually, I don’t get a lot of review requests from British authors at all, and I think Nerys is my first from someone with Welsh origins. Okay, I’m making that assumption because my daughter is Cerys (also a Welsh name), and the only Nerys I’ve ever met had Welsh parents. It’s possible her parents named her for Star Trek character Kira Nerys …

Anyway, onto the review

I was initially impressed because the email was exactly targeting on the kinds of books I like to read: Christian fiction, specifically, Christian romance. And I do like a good mail order bride story. Almost as much as a good marriage of convenience story …

I asked Nerys if she could send me a sample so I could decide whether or not No-One’s Bride was something I’d like to read and review. She obliged by sending me the whole book (hey, that was easier than the first couple of chapters), and I’m grateful she did because I read the whole novel in an afternoon, interrupted only to feed the family (who can be positively unreasonable sometimes. Expecting me to feed them).

Orphan Amy Watts lies when she agrees to become a mail order bride. She has no intention of marrying Adam Emerson, the bank and post office clerk from a tiny town in Northern California. She only knows she wants to go to San Francisco—as far away as possible from her rich, influential and lecherous New York employer.

Adam has prayed for God to bring him a wife, and he is overjoyed at his first sight of Amy—she is beautiful. He’s also pleased to find out she’s a likeable person—until she confesses that she doesn’t want to marry him. But she’s going to do the honourable thing and stay in town long enough to pay him back the money he spent in bringing her here.

While Amy was a great character and I fully understood her motive for her inappropriate behaviour, it was Adam who caught my attention. He’s the perfect gentleman, the perfect romance hero (if he has a fault, it is perhaps that he has no faults. Hey, it’s 1870 and the guy can cook and do laundry!).

I very much liked the Christian content—Adam and Amy each had a strong Christian faith, and this showed consistently throughout the book. I thought the writing was strong, especially for a debut author, and I especially liked the humour sprinkled throughout:

Amy was one of five mail order brides delivered to the tiny town of Green Hill Creek, and I think the remaining novels in the Escape to the West series will be the stories of the other four women.

Overall, No One’s Bride is an excellent debut novel, and I’m now looking forward to the next book in the series—Sara’s story. And waiting for Jo’s story because of what wasn’t said …

Recommended for fans of Christian historical romance from authors such as Mary Connealy, Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, Carol Cox, Jen Turano and Lucy Thompson.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review. If you'd like to learn more about Nerys Leigh, pop over to Iola's Christian Reads tomorrow for an interview.

It's release week and I'm feeling generous ... leave a comment today, and I'll pick one commenter to win a Kindle copy of No One's Bride. Winner will be chosen 10:00 am Monday 5 September, New Zealand time. 

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nz to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more atwww.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
Facebook (Author)
Facebook (Editing)
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter