Review: Want Ad Wedding by Cheryl St.John

Print Length: 288 pages

Publisher: Love Inspired (April 5, 2016)

From Goodreads.com: Second Chance Bride   

When Daniel Gardner convinced the residents of his Kansas boomtown to advertise for mail-order brides, he never expected the woman he once loved to respond. But Leah Swann steps off the bride train…pregnant and widowed and in need of a husband. Drawn to protect his fragile childhood friend, Daniel proposes a marriage of convenience.

Seeing her onetime best friend waiting to meet the bride train is a wonderful shock for Leah. After her first rocky marriage, a practical partnership with Daniel sounds perfect—as long as her heart doesn't get involved. But when she starts to fall for her husband, will her plans of a fresh start be ruined…or is a real marriage to Daniel exactly what she needs?

Cowboy Creek: Bringing mail-order brides, and new beginnings, to a Kansas boomtown. 

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Let me begin by saying that I did enjoy this book - for the most part. And while there were things that I felt were lacking (which I will get to in a moment), I also feel like this was the perfect introduction novel to give the readers a taste of the town, but leave just enough unsolved in order to keep them reading (or at least I sincerely hope this is the case). 

The characters (even the ones not entirely central to this story) were a complex and endearing bunch of people. You could honestly see yourself in this town just coming to life with these people. And thankfully, not all of the people were who they appeared to be which made the entire thing seem more realistic. This author definitely has a gift with words in being able to paint a thorough picture of what life was like back then, and I could honestly see this novel becoming a movie that you would see on Lifetime or The Hallmark Channel. 

Now for what I didn't like about this novel. To me, it felt like there were details given throughout the story that were left unfinished, and while I wouldn't necessarily say this one ended on a cliff-hanger, it does end in way that would entice you to keep reading the next book in the series. I wish even a few of the details had been tied up at the end - who was trying to sabotage the town? What became of the Murdoch gang? WAS LEAH'S BABY A BOY OR A GIRL? Even an epilogue to tie up that part of Leah and Daniel's story would have been better than nothing. 

All things considered however, I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys either a clean Christian romance, or even a good clean Western romance. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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Want Ad Wedding is available from Amazon.com