The biblical story of Ruth, Naomi and their kinsman redeemer, Boaz, can be found in the Old Testament book of Ruth. It's one that many Bible scholars know well and words spoken by Ruth in the first chapter are often quoted at wedding ceremonies for their heartfelt words about committing to someone.

"Sixty Acres and a Bride," just like the story of Ruth and Naomi on which it is based, is a wonderful example of a young woman trusting God for the best plan for her life even when she doesn't fully understand what is in store for her.

Rosa, Weston, Eliza, Jake and the other members of the Garner family are all believable characters with their own sets of characteristics and personalities. A couple of characters that were not so well-developed were neighbor Jay Tillerton and his wife. Although they appeared in the story only minimally, their actions caused Rosa and Weston to behave in certain ways and it would have been nice to learn a little bit more about their characters.

Read more of this review:
http://www.examiner.com/review/review-sixty-acres-and-a-bride-by-regina-jennings

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Share/Like this Review?

Rosa has left everything she knows to travel from her home in Mexico to go with her mother-in-law to Texas. Both of them newly widowed, Rosa and Louise hope to make a new life at Louise's old homestead. Rosa tries so hard, doing everything expected of her and more as she knows not what else to do. When she changed her faith to Christianity, her family cast her aside. When she married Louise's son, she loved him but could not make him love her back. Is she slated to go through life with only her faith to guide her?

Arriving at the ranch, they find they owe back taxes that could be nigh impossible to raise, even if the women work from dawn to dusk, but they try. Rosa settles in and finds the Garner family a delight and is happy to call them kin, even though many still don't trust the young Mexican girl in their midst. The neighbor man makes several advances toward Rosa but she knows she dare not say anything or the small town may think she started something. She finds Weston handsome, but knows he is still grieving for the wife he lost years ago. Also, her new friend Molly has set her sites on him. Rosa has no plans to remarry, just to work hard, follow God's teachings and save her house and sixty acres. But what if God has something else in mind for her?

Sixty Acres and a Bride is a riveting read with compelling characters. A community that is small enough to know almost everyone, yet large enough to not know anyone really at all. The sense of family is strong within the novel as well as faith, hope and love. I was a firm believer in Rosa from the start and hoped she would find happiness and a sense of completeness. Does she find it? You'll have to read it to find out!

Share/Like this Review?

I enjoyed this novel, Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings. Also, what a beautiful cover! Highly recommended.

Share/Like this Review?

As a blogger I have the utmost respect for all that authors do to get their stories out there for us to read. Research, plot development, character design, editing, re-editing it all has to be unbelievably hard work. I don't care how talented you are a story doesn't end up perfectly easily. I'm sure Regina Jennings a debut author with Bethany House Publishers can tell you just as much. With her book Sixty Acres and a Bride you get a story that is almost perfection and it's obvious that she has poured her heart into it.

Sixty Acres and a Bride is a good debut. If you like westerns and biblical fiction this is a mix of the two. Ms. Jennings has taken the story of Ruth and set it in 19th century Texas. While I haven't always been the world's biggest biblical fiction fan I love westerns and will read almost any romance I can get my hands on. This story does a great job of staying parallel with the biblical story of Ruth and presenting a historical Texas however I found the romance to be lacking. Some have mentioned that it was quite sensual but I didn't see that at all. It's not that I did not like the characters because I did. I really felt for Rosa and how she was ostracized by the women of Texas simply because of her appearance and free spirit. Weston was what a cowboy should be, quiet, handsome and loyal but both people together fizzled. The ending certainly was romantic but it didn't not seem to fit with the rest of the book. I felt like they were more friends than lovers. If their story was drawn out a little more (think a sequel) I think it would have been more believable.

Sixty Acres and a Bride is a solid start for Regina Jennings and I'm really looking forward to her next book. Hopefully it involves Texas or a western setting because she makes that come alive so well. Her complex characters are worth getting to know and themes of family and faith are so important and worth exploring again.

Share/Like this Review?