By Deeanne Gist 2009
BACK OF THE BOOK:
in 1860's Seattle, redwoods were plentiful but women scarce. yet a man with a wife could secure 640 acres of timberland for free.
Joe Denton doesn't have a wife, though. His died before she could follow him to Seattle, and now the local judge is threatening to take away his claim. In desperation, he buys himself a Mercer bride--one of the eastern widows and orphans brought to the Territory by entrepreneur Asa Mercer.
Anna Ivey's journey west with Mercer is an escape fromt he aftermath of the Civil War. She signed on to become a cook--not a bride. When she's handed over to Enton, her stubborn refusal to wed jeopardizes his land. With only a few months before he loses all he holds dear, can he convince this provoking, but beguiling, easterner to become his lawfully wedded wife?
THOUGHTS:
This book was really funny. When they first go to the church and Anna thinks Joe is just really religious untill the preacher starts the wedding vows had me laughing out loud. The one problem I had with the book was near the end when the main problem is resolved and three new ones pop up. There were only fifty pages left and i didn't see how it could all get fixed without a sequal. Luckily, the problems were fixed and i am not waiting for the next book to see how it ends. (Sometimes i like sequals, but i really like things to be resolved before i move on to a new book.)