Well, yes, I do have weddings on my mind at the moment. One particular Wedding, as beloved son and beloved daughter-in-law get married in a couple of weeks' time.
Yet marriage, as we know, is both fairytale and in-real-life, romantic and prosaic... just so with the four stories gathered together in this book.
The book opens with a conundrum: a preacher in love with an Unsuitable Girl finds himself on the receiving end of wise advice from four older preachers, sitting round a fire, telling stories...stories of unlikely marriages to similarly Unsuitable females.
Each story has a happy ending for its unlikely heroine: a girl who behaves like a boy - until she has to help her neighbour with womanly tasks, thereby discovering her femininity while demonstrating her strength. A clever, independent woman is more than competent at running a newspaper. A plucky victim of a tornado, unwillingly accepting help to rebuild her ranch and her life. And a vulnerable woman, unjustly accused of murder, who nevertheless comports herself with winsome dignity.
The women are not 'rescued' by a handsome prince -whether that be a hard-working rancher, an ambitious editor, a wandering cowboy or a conservative lawyer - yet each one discovers strength in herself and in the relationship. There are five happy endings in this book: the four stories, and the story of the confused preacher who finds... yes, he finds that his Unsuitable Girl is, in fact, eminently suitable to be a preacher's wife.
Although written by four different authors - Mary Connealy, Robin Lee Hatcher, Margaret Brownley and Debra Clopton - the stories form an agreeable whole. For an enjoyable, light read, it is well worth looking out for more from the same authors.
Western romance is not my particular interest, but I was given this free of charge by Booklook Bloggers, who always offer quality books. This was no exception.
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